Sidney Eitel helps one of her chickens climb the ramp. With family help and generous donations, she renovated 900 square feet at the west end of the old Hilltop Farm chicken house, bought two dozen chicks, and is now about ready to market their eggs. The project is her Supervised Agricultural Experience in the Agriscience program at SHS, where Sidney is starting her senior year.
A volunteer crew installs another rail in the new Hilltop Farm fence near the south entrance. From the left: Cameron Kozak, Howie Orr (partially hidden), and Scott Wheeler. The roadside memorial in the foreground is a fond remembrance of Juliette Maxine Francis of Nova Scotia, who was killed in a motorcycle accident here in 2010.
Beekeepers from the Hampden County Beekeepers Association work among their nine hives behind the chicken house at Hilltop. From the left: Dave Drugan, Nate Sperry, and Mark Lantzakis. Drugan is using a smoker, blowing short puffs to quiet the bees’ activity during shifting the hive segments.
Jill Anderson tends to her plot in the Community Garden at Hilltop, where she is growing tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, corn, and more. There is water available, including some collected in barrels from the roof of a nearby shed, all carried a short distance in buckets.
Two carpenters from Nayelie Dry Wall Construction of Hartford, work in the east end of the Hilltop Farm chicken house, which is being restored with some volunteer work but largely with professional help supported by grants and donations. The roof, with structural repair where necessary and new shingles overall, was completed earlier this summer.
