Better late than never. I was looking at some old photos and decided to do some research. Turn left at the old oak tree with the yellow ribbon , onto Bulltown road. The Voss house was down a way on the right. It was once a Christian Half-way house called Hope House Farm. My mother lived there in the summer of 1978 and my sister and I would visit for weekends. "The Farm" is what we call it. Hope House Farm housed around 20 people during that time. The property consisted of a main house in which the women and children stayed, a low sandstone wall that led to the back of the house. There were old out-houses and chicken coops behind the main house and the men's house just beyond the coops. The Men's house had a spiral staircase, a large area for meetings, a library upstairs, a dining area and the kitchen. A house was attached to the men's house that had a built in swimming pool that was never filled. It was kind of chilly in there so fruits and veggies were stored there. There was also an older section of house that was in shambles and was not used. "The Farm" was a working farm with U Pick blueberries, a veggie garden for the residence, pigs, chickens, a gold dog named Jeremiah and a pony named Babe. The pony was kept in a field to the right of the main house. To the left front of the main house was the old tree that had a zip-line that went from the front of the property to the middle of the property. There was also and old tree with a tree house that was not so safe. (But fun!). We would venture through the woods and find bee keeper hives and blueberry bushes. A lady named Mrs. Fisher lived across the street and had and had a white horse named Whitey. Whitey loved the pony Babe and would break out every chance he got and come over to the farm.
It was a strange time, but I am glad we had an opportunity to experience a communal way of life. ( definitely not for me) A few people had outside jobs but mostly everyone worked on the farm. We were always sent out into the blueberry fields to stay out of the adults way. Everyone would gather in the men's house for dinner. I remember there being 19 people at the dinner table. Everyone pitched in to make the food as well as clean up. After dinner was bible study. No television was allowed so everyone found ways to occupy themselves. We as children would explore the property and find fun things to do.
I went back to the property years later sometime in the 1990's. Hope House Farm was long gone, but someone was living there. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I decided to explore the property and take some photos. I found a bone in a pit behind the house ( I still have it), probably a deer bone, but who knows. I will always have fond memories of "The Farm".
igfly:
