Q & A with Arlene Fiano
Jul. 24—Q: How did you get involved with Heritage Farm?
A: The town purchased the farm in 2000 and then they created an advisory commission in 2006. In 2007 they seated us. I knew the Rose family. I've always loved the farm and I thought that it would be a great way to give back to the community, get involved, and work to have the farm reach its full potential. It's an amazing place. It's right in the center of town. It's had 300 years of farming. It's the site of Camp Number Five for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. Prior to the Rose family, the Sumner family owned it, which was a prominent family. They donated a substantial sum to the Wadsworth Atheneum. It's an iconic, beautiful site that was worthy of putting your time and effort into it.
Q: Is there any farming that still happens here?
A: Yes. We rent the wheat field out to Giglio Farm. The total farm is 102 acres.
Q: What else is the farm being allocated for?
A: It's got walking trails. There are a lot of passive use activities that happen on it. We have yoga classes, summer running series, dog walkers, photographers, a little mountain biking, kite flying, in the winter, cross-country skiing and sledding. It's owned by the people and used by the people. People come up for picnics and photography. There's the Rose Trail. There are trails that go through the woods and link up to the Railroad Trail, the East Coast Greenway Trail. I walk my dog. I'll come up every time it rains or the sun comes out and there's a rainbow or a double rainbow that comes through the valley. I don't live very far away and I come on over to see if I can catch a rainbow. In the winter, we cross-country ski. It's a beautiful place to catch a sunset. Amazing sunsets.
Q: What are some of the commission's current goals for the farm?
A: We have a survey and planning grant that we're working on. That will enable us to have the legal documents we need to pursue grants. It will also give us the professional guidance as to what steps you take and prioritize what we're going to do. They're also going to help us site further amenities, like new driveways parking, porta-potties, and outhouses.
Q: What is the condition of the house?
A: It's uninhabitable. We have worked very hard to paint it, seal it, and try and keep it standing until the survey and planning grant is done. We have a plan specifically for the house. There are two historic buildings on the site, the barn and the house. The barn has the most community interest and it also has the most potential for revenue making. The barn has come first for those reasons. It's got a new roof, it's got new siding, it's got paint. It's ready now to deal with the safety issues in order to get people in, to be handicap compliant, different things we need to do so that we can then open that up to the public. The greatest demand for this property is as a gathering space. We already have weddings, different reasons to get a group of people together and we don't have a space yet for them to use that is indoors. The yoga classes are outside weather permitting. We could schedule the yoga classes and if it rains, go in the barn. We've had several re-enactments. The Revolutionary War groups have come in several times. Boy Scouts come in and do all kinds of Eagle Scout projects.
Q: What is the committee's long-term vision?
A: This is a municipally owned property. The care and responsibility for this falls on the town. A lot of the grants that you see for places like this are all for 501(c)3 nonprofits. We are not a nonprofit. We are owned by the town, run by the town, so the responsibility, maintenance ... everything falls on the shoulders of the town. Our goal is to be able to create a space where it can be (more) self-sufficient and at least lessen the burden of the town expense and at the same time, keep intact the historic aspects, the center of town, the farming aspects. We want to proceed very carefully. We don't have any goals to put up additional buildings or change the field in any way. But we do want to fix the driveway, add facilities for people, open the barn. We want to be able to open it to the public where it can generate some money so that it can take care of itself.
Q: Is there a vision for the house yet? Like a museum?
A: No museums. We've had several professional studies done and museums are very difficult to maintain and keep sustainable. They also require climate controlled places for displays. They also require weight capacities of buildings that allow for greater numbers of people in and out, all of which the house cannot support without taking it down and rebuilding. The beauty of this place is to be able to walk on the land, know that Washington and the French troops were here and see the evolution of a typical New England farmhouse from a small box to what they add on to an original barn with all the outbuildings. The stonewalls match the French cartographers' maps from the 1700s. The walls haven't been moved. The land is pristine.
Q: Are you looking to stay here and stick with the farm as long as possible, or do you have other things you want to do?
A: I'll stick with the farm as long as I feel as though I'm adding. I live across the street, so it's my backyard. I think that the potential that it has hasn't even been tapped into yet. So there's lots to do. I don't feel like we've hit a plateau.
Note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
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