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Growing:
A Great Experience For You
by Kara
Lynn Dunn
Fruity, savory, maple-sweet,
wooly and warm, berry-nice and fresh apple-pie-fun are among
the words travelers use to describe their experiences at farm
markets and agritourism attractions along the Seaway Trail.
“The Trail gives
people a path to follow; the markets are places to stop and
taste the flavors of the Seaway Trail region,” says
Dennis Ouellette of Ontario Orchards. Dennis (above in photo)
and his family are second and third-generation operators of
a 150-acre farm in Sterling and a very diverse farm market
located on the Seaway Trail in southwest Oswego.
The Ouellette family history
is part of local heritage. Dennis’ first experience
with roadside marketing came when he and his brother were
12- and 13-years-old in the late 1950s (the Seaway Trail was
designated in 1978). They packed apples and berries from their
farm in Sterling, carried crates to the Route 104 roadside,
and sold the fresh fruit to passing motorists. Later, while
selling produce door-to-door as a high school senior, Dennis
decided that drawing people to one location to buy produce
was a better idea. In 1966, Ontario Orchards Farm Market was
born on Route 104 west of Oswego.
Over time Dennis, and his
wife June, have added new features to entice visitors. They
planted Christmas trees on the farm and added tree and wreath
sales at the market, extending its selling season into the
early winter months. Neighbors brought in homemade bread,
pies and muffins. “The baked goods sold so well that
they couldn’t bake fast enough,” says Dennis,
“so we added our own bakery.”
The bakery’s freshly-baked
jumbo muffins and coffee draw members of the local community
traveling east to work in Oswego and west toward Rochester.
In keeping with a farm market atmosphere, Ontario Orchards
now sells products made by other enterprising local and regional
producers, such as Canale’s Spaghetti Sauce, Morgia’s
Pasta, and Dinosaur BBQ sauces.
By adding features, including
a landscaping service, the farm market became a year round
business.
“Our efforts to constantly
diversify our operation and attract visitors parallels Seaway
Trail, Inc.’s efforts to promote the diverse resources,
terrain, and attractions of the scenic byway,” says
Dennis. He notes that both the farm and farm market are located
close to scenic Lake Ontario and credits the Seaway Trail
with providing easy access to his business for increasing
numbers of visitors.
“The quality of the
products and the experiences we offer are something visitors
want to share with their families and friends,” Dennis
continues. “We recently welcomed a customer who drove
150 miles to purchase three fifty-pound bags of white hullless
popcorn. His neighbor had shared some of the popcorn he bought
here while he was vacationing at a nearby Lake Ontario camp.”
Beyond the delicious products
grown and marketed along the Seaway Trail, farm markets along
the route offer visitors unique agricultural experiences.
“Our farm market
visitors can watch us grade tomatoes, press cider, trim lettuce,
bag potatoes or pack apples right in the store,” says
Dennis. “We plan to expand the all-day Fall Jamboree
at the farm for 2002. This year families enjoyed hayrides,
petting animals, u-pick apples and pumpkins, and games in
a beautiful autumn setting.”
The first-year Jamboree drew people from 100 miles and three
counties away.
Barbara Oleyourryk, a long-time Ontario Orchards shopper,
took her daughter and grandchildren (three boys and two girls,
ages 1 to 11) to both days of the festival.
“My children had a great time at the farm. They rode
on the wagon, we picked apples from trees the kids could reach,
and we selected pumpkins. The children enjoyed a pony ride
and the weather was perfect to visit what I would call a family-oriented
gathering place,” Barbara says.
Countless motorcoach tours
visit the market each year. Dennis loves to get on the bus
to share interesting information about agriculture, Ontario
Orchards, and upstate New York. He tells visitors that he
and June raised their two daughters, Kathy and Laurie, on
the farm, watched them go off to college, and welcomed them
home when the girls decided working on the farm was more desirable
than corporate life.
Daily training keeps Ontario
Orchards’ staff knowledgeable about the many products
available at the market and on the web, and about nearby attractions.
On summer weekends, they are quick to tell visitors about
the Sterling Renaissance Festival, which began on the north
end of the Ouellette farm and has become a well-respected
reincarnation of Elizabethan England. The 1977 opening of
the 35-acre festival site that depicts the village of Warwick
circa 1585 with a Queen and her court, jesters, jousters,
and all manner of crafts, foods and entertainment was the
realization of a dream for Dennis’ father, the late
Dennis T. Ouellette.
Ontario Orchards is among
the Seaway Trail’s many farm markets offering a special
experience of local agriculture, delicious products, and farm-based
history.
Vinewood Acres makes all-natural fruit and maple syrups. The
Wool Works specializes in all-natural fibers. Broadway Market
recreates an Olde World market atmosphere in Buffalo’s
urban setting. The fascinating tour available at Murphy Orchards
connects a barn to the Underground Railroad.
A Pumpkin Fiesta lends
a Spanish flavor to events at historic Becker Farms. Brown’s
Berry Patch dates to 1804 and grows quince. The Rochester
Public Market has sold fresh fruits and vegetables since 1827.
Heluva Good Cheese Country Store sells its famous naturally-aged
and specialty cheeses, other foods and gifts. ALASA Farms
offers a look at an historic Shaker farmstead on a 700-acre
working farm.
At Maplegrove B&B in
Sterling, guests stay in an 1850s farmhouse on 68 acres with
llamas, sheep, goats and a Wool Boutique. Everyone enjoys
a visit to Old McDonald’s Farm Children’s Village
for a musical hayride and fresh berries, sweet corn or pumpkins.
The old-fashioned Burrville Cider Mill dates to 1801 and is
set near a 30-foot waterfall. Organically-grown produce is
a hallmark at Iroquois Farm, next to a former stagecoach stop
(now a Bed & Breakfast) on the St. Lawrence River.
In between farm markets,
travelers find farm wineries making grape and fruit wines,
a meadery producing honey wines and beeswax candles, a fudgery
tempting your tastebuds, B&Bs on working dairy and sheep
farms, county fairs, agricultural museums, and restaurants
at farm markets and wineries, and in a former coal silo and
an Amish barn.
If you are longing for
the fresh air and free winds of the countryside, jump in your
car for a tour of the Seaway Trail and its farm markets. Bring
your shopping list for friends and family—you’ll
find a gift perfect for everyone, but you’ll have to
promise not to devour all them on the way home!
Kara Lynn Dunn—a
frequent contributor to Journey—is a freelance writer/editor
covering New York State agriculture and tourism.
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