We are constantly being asked how we got ourselves into purchasing a farm, when neither of us had any farming experience. We both have full time jobs for the City of Kingston, my husband as the Chief of Police, and myself as the City Clerk. In the evenings and weekends we run our farm, New Beginnings Farmstead, which is right outside the City of Kingston in the Town of Marbletown. This is our story.
In 2015 after several years of being together, Egidio and I decided it was time to take the next step and live together. Our current homes were about 18 miles apart, which is not that big of a deal, unless you are driving it every day and have several kids to tote back and forth. I should mention that I was born and raised in the City of Kingston, with city conveniences that included municipal water and sewer, along with a Stewart’s Shop at every corner. Egidio was born and raised in the Town of Olive, which is the top of a mountain, and his only neighbor was his parents. He used to tell me that his house was on the “main road”. To this day I am not sure what constitutes a “main road” but I can tell you it’s not painted lines. We were a definite case of a Country Mouse and City Mouse.
We had a few things to keep in mind when we began our search for a home. We both had obligations where we resided. To this day I share 50/50 custody with my ex-husband, and at the time my father was still alive and I was taking care of him more and more with each passing year. My mother had died several years earlier and my kids and I were really my father’s world. Egidio lived right next door to his parents and was very involved in their daily activities and upkeep with their property. His father was not in good health and his mother, the sweetest person alive, had her hands full taking care of him. It was very evident that we needed to find a place that was centrally located so that we could continue to be close to our families.
At first we would drive around and look for houses and properties that were listed for sale. This was several years before Covid, when you could actually find affordable homes for sale and call the realtor to go visit. Egidio worked construction for his father’s company from the time he was 12, so the option of purchasing property to build a home was a reasonable idea. Egidio wanted about 20-25 acres of property so he could set up his shop and tinker with his tools. He wanted to rebuild his Willy’s Jeep that sat under a tarp in his shop at his house. I just wanted enough room for my kids to be happy and I had a big interest in becoming a beekeeper. I had watched a few documentaries about the plight of the honey bees and I had taken a few beekeeping classes, and I was obsessed with doing my part to help save the planet by getting my own hives. Afterall, if the bees die, we die!
We spent a lot of Saturday afternoons walking vacant land, talking about the possibilities. Every time I drove to his house I would take Route 209, a different route than he took to get into Kingston. I had noticed that there was this adorable house that had been on the market for a while. It had a beautiful tree on the front lawn that had two tire swings, It was screaming for me to take a look!
One day I pulled into the driveway so I could write down the information from the sign so Egidio could call and get the details. I was so disappointed when he was told it was a 130-ish acre former Dairy Farm. The owners had moved their operation to a different location in the Town of Marbletown. It had been on the market for close to ten years. It was way too big for us, and what would we do with a farm? Our search continued.
A few months passed, and I brought up the farm to Egidio. I kept saying “It couldn’t hurt to just look at it”. Finally he agreed, and we made an appointment to visit the farm.