In time of harvest, farm sows its future

With outpouring of support, owner to rebuild after fire

Jen Cehelsky and her children, Ben and Hannah, are regular shoppers at Verrill Farm, often coming three times a week. They shopped yesterday for produce in the temporary farm stand. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

CONCORD - Standing in his leather hat and dirt-stained jacket, farmer Stephen Verrill doesn't look like he has even the most remote connection to diners at Boston's Rialto or the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro.

Yet the Sept. 20 fire that destroyed Verrill's farm stand and office threatened to leave many Boston restaurants scrambling for fresh produce. And it could have stranded the customers who religiously visit Verrill's farm stand, waiting in long lines for his homemade barbecue or trademark pies.

The 73-year-old farmer said yesterday that it took only a brief consultation with his daughter the day after the fire to decide that their business must go on.

"I asked my daughter Jenn, 'Do you want to rebuild?' She said, 'Yes, what else are we going to do?"' Verrill said. "That's all it took."

That and time, money, and a lot of gumption. Verrill Farm was up and running under makeshift tents fewer than 48 hours after the fire, largely because employees, local residents, and people from across the region have rallied to help.

According to the state Department of Agriculture, some 400 farms have disappeared from the Massachusetts landscape since 1984.

After the Verrill fire, residents and businesses came forward, offering their kitchens so the Verrills could bake their pies and scones. The Chamber of Commerce arranged for local businesses to feed farm employees who relied on Verrill for meals. Other residents simply visited the farm to offer support, then opened their wallets wide.

"My aim is to spend at least $60," Sudbury businessman Chafic Maalouf said yesterday as he perused Verrill's apple selection. "I made sure to bring enough cash to support them."

The fire erupted at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, while about 30 customers and employees were in the farm store. Everyone evacuated when sparks began shooting from the deli ceiling fan, and by the time firefighters arrived, flames shot from the roof.

Verrill spoke about the fire yesterday in the no-nonsense way of a man who has weathered many ups and downs in 50 years of farming. The first fire trucks that responded did not have enough water to douse the fire, he said. The nearest fire hydrants are a quarter-mile away. Nearby farmers who might have helped were at the Farm Aid benefit concert in Mansfield.

The stand, which included business offices, a conference room, and a kitchen, was a total loss. The business's bookkeeping, normally backed up nightly on disks kept off site in case of fire, malfunctioned. The last year's worth of recordkeeping was lost. Verrill called that a "big disappointment."

"One thing it says in our employee manual," Verrill said with a tired smile, "is to exercise your sense of humor."

Verrill, a Cornell graduate, inherited the 200-acre farm from his father, Floyd, who bought the land in 1918 when it was a dairy operation. Verrill ran it until the milk business was no longer profitable, then began tailoring his operation to an increasingly affluent suburban audience.

He and his daughter began selling their produce at local farmer's markets. In 1995, he built a farm stand, and customers soon came to him for locally grown produce and eggs.

The farm began delivering produce to Boston restaurants such as Hamersley's Bistro and The Charles Hotel. In the off season, the Verrills sell Christmas trees and turkeys, and they have begun offering deli food and homemade meals-to-go.

Verrill said he and his wife had just been seated at a wedding reception in Boylston when they got a call about the fire. They saw the smoke from the highway on their way home.

"There was this huge plume of smoke, and I said, 'Do you think that's it?' " Joanne Verrill said. "Sure enough, it was."

Verrill said the farm's insurance policy won't cover his losses. A dollar value had not yet been calculated. The family plans to move a modular stand onto the old site within three weeks. And by next spring, construction of a permanent building should be complete.

Two days after the fire, Verrill saw to it that pumpkin wagons rolled up to the corner near where the farm stand had stood. The farm opened for business at 11 a.m. that day.

"It was back to normal, as normal could be," said farm stand manager Barbara Hoefer.

Traditions like Thursday night pulled pork sandwiches continue, cooked on a borrowed smoker. Despite last weekend's slicing wind and rain, employees have been selling golden beets, orange blossom tomatoes, and other vegetables from under tents. And the business offices are operating out of a dilapidated trailer, another donation, that sports a sign off the back that says: "Verrill Farm is still open!"