Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
AMESBURY, Mass.(WBZ NewsRadio) — An iconic apple picking spot in Amesbury has chosen its successor.
Cider Hill Farm was opened in 1978 by Eleanor and Ed Cook, with their son Glenn and daughter-in-law Karen taking up ownership and expanding the farm into what it is today.
This led to decades of successful apple picking, cider making and more, but Glenn and Karen decided to start looking for the right folks to pass on the torch to.
The people who they chose were Chris and Jenny Durocher, a couple who have been working at Cider Hill for years.
Chris has deep roots at the farm, working and playing there since he was seven years old.
“He grew up with the Cook family, so he grew up with the owners and their sons,” Jenny Durocher said. “Karen Cook calls him her third son.”
She fell in love and began working at the farm soon after Chris showed her around. Jenny quickly rose through the ranks to general manager and now to co-owner. Chris also continues to work the farm he spent so much time at as a youth, running the cider operation while also working as a paramedic.
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The most unusual portion of the plan is that it includes people who are not part of the Cook family tree.
“If you ask them, they'll tell you they've been working on this plan since probably 10 years ago and I don't think they thought I was a part of it initially,” Jenny said. “We aren't family members and that's very rare, I think a lot of farms, they feel like they have to keep it in their family, I think that creates struggles."
She explained that farms are usually passed down to blood relatives, and only a tiny portion ever leave the family, but she lauded the idea as forward-thinking.
Jenny says she hopes to keep the spirit of the farm alive while keeping it in production, a difficult but necessary task as land prices rise in Massachusetts and more farmland is swallowed up by development.
“Keeping some land…land, you know, and keeping this place a place that grandparents can say they were here as kids,” Jenny said. “My mom taught me very young how to grow food and I think it's something that this generation needs. As things get more developed, everyone is craving just a little bit of space.”