When you’re talking about a Townie that’s doing stuff in and for the community, maybe you could find someone equal to Dick Chase, but no one more qualified to be in this column.
Chase is the eleventh generation of the Moulton family that in 1683 bought 1,500 acres in Newburyport Newbury (which later became Newburyport) to farm.
In the spirit of community and of the times, Chase has switched operation of his part of the original spread it’s been broken up over the years and down the generations from selling his produce wholesale to community supported agriculture.
“We’re really enjoying the interaction with the public,” Chase says of himself and his wife, Paula. “We now have hundreds of families that are members of the farm they’re invested in it, from the ground up.”
To meet the needs of the new crop of “localvores” people who want to eat locally-produced food the family is putting in 1,600 peach trees. It will be the first production of peaches in the city since 1910, Chase says.
The farm is asking people to sponsor a tree at $25 a pop, something over which Chase says everyone is having a good time.
As for his upcoming and immediate plans, he has once again put together a flower market for the city’s Earth Day celebrations.
On Saturday, April 18, vendors and growers and compost experts will be at Bartlet Mall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a flower market. Expect to see (beneficial) insects, some lambs and some real pigs.
