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By Robert Rosen
Hometown Weekly Staff
Farm Day is coming back to Sherborn, and it’s being organized and brought to the community by three eighth grade Girl Scouts seeking to earn their Silver Award.
Emma Stiller, Jordyn Devellis and Amanda Dye have put in nearly 50 hours apiece learning about the history of farming in Sherborn by reading historical documents and interviewing local residents with knowledge of the topic such as Betty Dowse, Susan Tyler and Betsey Johnson of the Sherborn Historical Society.
“It’s nice to have a day to see farms in my community,” Dye said, adding that she remembers when Sherborn had Farm Day when she was younger. “It never came back. We thought we should bring it back.”
In the fall, Stiller, Devellis and Dye got together to brainstorm about what they wanted to do for their Silver Award Project. They had many ideas, such as learning about the town’s many trails, but they just didn’t feel a connection to any of those ideas like they did to Farm Day.
The three girls began their research project by approaching Dover-Sherborn Middle School librarian Olive Woodward for guidance. They used the school library’s resources, but they weren’t able to find much about the history of farming in Sherborn.
That’s when they contacted Betsey Johnson from the Historical Society, who was able to give them a great deal of information about how farming had developed over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st century in Sherborn. The girls continued to learn more when they spoke with local farmers, and they learned more than they expected to.
Each of the three girls feels a connection to the farming community in Sherborn, mostly because of their love of animals. Stiller has a passion for riding horses, while Dye loves cows and sheep. Devellis loves all animals, so this project was a natural thing for her to participate in.
“Most of this was education,” Dye said. “It’s helping through research. It’s helping the community, and we’re thankful for community members like the Sherborn Business Association supporting us.”
These three Girl Scouts are inviting the community to come and enjoy Farm Day on Sunday, May 15 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. They will be set up at Dowse’s Farm (98 N. Main St.), Sweet Meadow Farm (111 Coolidge St.) and Sunshine Dairy (41 Kendall Ave.). Dye will be stationed at Sweet Meadow, Stiller will be stationed at Sunshine and Devellis will be stationed at Dowse’s.
“We worked really well together as a team,” Dye said.
Robert Rosen is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @roberterosen.
