Mary and Morton Burdick moved to their farm at 230 Kenyon Road in 1937 when Richard was eight and Donald twelve years old. The brothers’ unparalleled work ethic and keen sense of investment was evident early on: Richard’s diligence earned him a steady job at the Bell School he attended lighting the woodstove early mornings for a quarter a day; and Donnie contributed his earnings from a paper route to help purchase the family farm. Both of the boys worked daily on the dairy farm, renovating barns and leading their oxen, Stubby and Pete, to clear land and expand their crop base in order to increase milk production.

With their eyes always toward the future and with World War II encroaching, the Burdick brothers diversified the farm and started raising broilers, supplying chickens to the war effort and providing the family with a new source of revenue as the price of milk dwindled. After the war, the farm was transformed into a Christmas tree plantation, soon developing into one of the most prolific suppliers in the state.

The two brothers married two sisters, their neighbors Marilyn and Jean Doblinger. The two couples – Donald and Marilyn, and Richard and Jean – raised their children together as one family on the farm, where they were expected to pitch in with the tasks, taught how to use all the farm equipment – as Lynn Burdick remembered  – “as soon as my feet could reach the pedals of a tractor”, and how to repair it.

The farm still offers splendid Christmas trees, and it’s not without its animals – chickens, and Scotch Highlander cows, who usually participate in the Memorial Day Parade. Pebble Brook Farm and Dragonfly Farm also produce maple products – the maple syrup, maple cream, maple walnut and peanut brittles, maple candied nuts and maple fudge that the town sampled at the Hampton Maple Festival on the library lawn this April.

The other constancy is the togetherness of the family and their incomparable work ethic, values that the next generations – the children and the grandchildren – have inherited.  Visit during the holidays for a wreath or a Christmas tree, or for sugaring season when the maple sap is transformed into syrup, and you will always encounter a family endeavor and the visible benefits of life on the farm that we’ve all witnessed at the Burdick’s.

But we’ll let them tell you themselves:

 “I’m so grateful for my Burdick family farm heritage and our barn is a favorite place of mine. As I work in the barn or go on the narrow staircase, I think of how I am placing my feet in the footprint of my father, my uncle or my grandparents. Farmers that I have learned so much from.” Kathy LaChance

 “We’re all here. If we do something we do it together.” Lynn Burdick

 “On the farm I learned that there’s nothing better than spending all day outside. Farm life definitely teaches you to appreciate it.”  Judy Buell

“I learned many important lessons growing up on a family farm including appreciating nature, observing my environment, the discipline to work hard at a tough or large job and the sense of belonging to something bigger than myself.” Joy Tyler

“Growing up on a farm leaves you a well-rounded person, with a work ethic and the opportunity to learn a variety of trades and to work well with others.” Zack Burdick Chapel

“Farm life teaches you how to work hard and the importance of family”. Nick Burdick-Chapel

 “Growing up on the farm taught me that the day isn’t done when you’re tired, the day is done when the work is finished, whether or not you are tired before it’s completed. It’s allowed me to make a good name for myself in the workplace now because I don’t give up before the job is done.” Melinda Buell

 “There is a lot of hard work. When I was younger I didn’t always enjoy it, but now I take pride in how much I know about and am able to do because of my experience that many of my peers can’t even imagine. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Emily Buell

“To me the barn is symbolic of the family farm that was started generations ago. No matter where our lives take us, when I see the barn I am reminded of the importance of family.” Tristyn Drake

 “I chose to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and become a member of the Future Farmers of America. My grandfather would say that family is the backbone of life. Family is everything.” Shaelyn Drake

 Levi is the first of the fifth generation of Burdicks on the Burdick Farm. When asked what he thinks of the farm and the barn, he jumped up and down and said, “Come on Mammy, let’s go to the barn!” Levi is learning the farm ways by riding in the tractor with his Grammy or in the hay truck with Nana as we pick up hay. He loves the animals and he already helps by cleaning up with his little wheelbarrow.