Lilac Ridge was founded in 1937 when Stuart Thurber brought his bride, Marjorie Vander Vliet, to this West Brattleboro hill farm with six cows and one horse 'old enough to vote'. They raised two children, Stuart and Helen, here, expanding their holdings and their herd over two decades.

Stuart joined them after graduating from UVM in 1960. Helen moved up the hill, marrying Charlie Robb, and thereby expanding the Thurber farming influence in these parts.

"Stuart has never moved from his house," muses his wife, Beverly. "His folks moved down the hill when we were wed in 1965."

They are gone now; the home is occupied by the next two generations of farming here: Ross and Amanda Ellis Thurber and their three children. Two of the three Stuart daughters also live nearby; family gatherings are huge!

The farm is going well. They milk a herd of fifty mixed registered Brown Swiss and Holsteins, and have a large market garden operation of vegetables and flowers. Retail sales are made at the farm, while bulk deliveries are taken to restaurants and stores.

Sugaring is the final piece of the Lilac Ridge Farm picture. About two thousand taps insure that late February through early March is a very busy season.

By Bob Eddy
Cabot/ Agrimark