My daughter is a fan of “Gilmore Girls”. She tells me that Suffield reminds her of Stars Hollow, the town where the television show takes place. She also tells me that Suffield feels like a Hallmark movie and apparently, Hallmark agreed.
Word got around that Hallmark was filming in Suffield. The film was about a writer who visited a horse farm with the working title Love at the Steeplechase. Just a few scenes were filmed at a house in town.
I believe Hallmark got it wrong. They should have filmed the entire movie here, as Suffield provides immeasurable content. If I were the producer I would name the movie Love at the Tobacco Shed. It would be based on a city reporter begrudgingly sent to cover the unique tobacco farming industry in town. The love interest would be the daughter of a farm family who came home from college to help out with the harvest. The two would initially clash but continuously run into each other at Suffield Village Market.
Once they softened up and began to realize they liked each other, the movie would branch out. Perhaps hilarity would ensue as the city slicker mistakenly calls the fire department because he thought a shed was on fire, seeing smoke coming out of the rafters. The farmer’s daughter would patiently explain the drying process.
In another scene, the daughter brings her reporter to pick up a vegetable share at Oxen Hill Farm. Romance blooms and he surprises her with a handpicked bouquet from Julie the Garden Fairy and fudge from Cupola Hollow Farm. They would hold hands for the first time as they spend the day at Suffield on the Green, where he is overwhelmed at the dedication of the residents volunteering at the food and organization booths. He would write about the famous Rotary Chicken, Baked Potatoes and Pierogi in his future article. The reporter eventually gains the family’s trust when he helps build the float the farm had entered in the parade to celebrate the town’s 350th anniversary.
After a wonderful evening at the Halloween Spooktacular at the Phelps-Hatheway House, they sadly have to say goodbye. Both need to go back to their lives in Boston and New York. Yet they would meet again at Christmas where the film would end with the couple deciding to marry and move to town after a magical stroll down the holiday light filled Main Street. [Fade Out.]
Living here for so long, it is sometimes easy to take this town for granted. That is until you see it from a different perspective. My daughter constantly reminds me how special this town is and inspires me to slow down and look at our hometown with her Hallmark movie lens. It is my hope that Suffield remains the town it is and we all slow down a little to appreciate living life in a movie landscape.
Note: Space limited me to highlight only a few of the places and businesses that make this town special. There are so many amazing places I had to leave out. Perhaps a sequel?