Claire, Monte, and Kaliis visit with Sue Kosinski at Kosinski Farms and Farmstand in Westfield. A classic New England farm stand, the harvest season is on full display with pumpkins, hay bales, mums, apples, and a bakery full of donuts, pies, and cider.

The farm encompasses over 100 acres of apple orchard, blueberries, and fields of mixed produce and flowers. The farm stand houses a bakery and the family’s winery, Raven Hollow Winery, is adjacent to the farm stand parking lot.

Sue and her husband, Gene, were both science teachers, in addition to inheriting the farming heritage from their respective families. Sustainability is important to the family, and so they till only when necessary, and their greenhouse is heated by corn.

Their children found inspiration in music and family history for the taglines to accompany their lines of business. For instance, “North Country Blues” is a song by Bob Dylan, and their son adapted that song as a reference to their 75 acres of blueberry fields. Raven Hollow Winery is the farm’s winery that puts their excess fruit to good use. The name stemmed from research on the family name by Sue and Gene’s son, Ed. The name Kosinski means “lives with blackbirds” and the family decided on the Raven.

Photos courtesy of NEPM & CISA files.