Family Farmers

Walter Yazwinski

Born in Deerfield in 1918 to Polish immigrant parents and raised on a dairy farm on main street in Old Deerfield. He was one of five brothers all growing up on the farm. All of the brothers attended Deerfield Academy. After he spent four years in the Army during WWII he then returned home and married the daughter of a local Whately vegetable farmer, Tessie Helstolski. Shortly after they were married they purchased the farm on North Main Street in  South Deerfield and began to raise a family. They had four children; one boy (Pudge) Walter Jr., and three girls, (Poppi) Janet, (Kootch) Annette, and (Babe) Elaine. Annette (Kootch) lives with her two children and two grand children in Aspen CO. and Elaine (Babe) lives with her son in Seattle.

Poppi Kelley

She grew up on the dairy farm attended Frontier High School, Marrymount College of Tarrytown, NY and Hallmark Institute of Photography. She spent time in California and returned to the area with her husband and two children in 1986. She opened her Photography studio in 1988, Studio in the Valley in Northfield. She and her husband and two children maintained a small farm in Northfield with a roadside stand from 1990 to 2007. Their daughter, Sara, is a doctor practicing at Bay State Franklin Medical Center. Their son, Justin, is studing Budism in India. She baked for, managed, and owned Big Kitchen Café in Northfield and now is about to enter the next phase, a large organic farm with her brother and her husband.

 

Pudge (Walter Jr.) Yazwinski

Pudge stayed on the farm and worked first, as a dairy farmer and then for the past twenty years as a vegetable farmer. When he was younger he was a member of the local Ski Patrol and a certified breeder for dairy cows. He plays the Harmonica and jams with many local musicians.

 

(Kelly) Steven Kelley

Having grown up outside New York City, Kelly is a new member of the local farming community. He worked on the dairy farm when Poppi and he were first married, over thirty seven years ago and fell in love with the land. Getting ready to retire from teaching high school math and science and walking away from the commercial kitchen, he is ready to take on a new adventure.

Justin Kelley

Justin is the son of Poppi & Kelley. He is a graduate of Deerfield Academy and Tufts  University and spends his time between India, practicing Buddhism, and of the farm helping out. He brings a new and young perspective to us. He is very much into sustainable as well as organic practices. He also brings a young athletic body to us more mature people.

Jamie Rourke

Jamie is the son-in-law of Poppi & Kelley. He graduated from Assumption College and also a degree from University of Massachusetts as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. He is a sculptor as well as a carpenter. He assists us will all our building including welding some of the old machinery. He is also in charge of our fruit trees and bushes.

Sara Rourke

Sara is the daughter of Poppi and Kelley, the wife of Jamie and the mother of the most beautiful children in the world, Chloe and Sydney. She is a graduate of Smith College and UMass Medical School. She is a Hospitalist at Franklin Medical Center. Her duties as mom and doctor does not leave her much time for the farm but she does help as much as possible.

Chloe and Sydney

Great Grandchildren of Walter, grandchildren of Poppi and Kelley, and daughters of Jamie and Sara, these two little girl are our best workers. They love to visit the animals on the farm, pick our lovely flowers, throw rocks in the pond and just be the best and prettiest two little girls in the world.