The Pictorial History of Brookfield Orchards

Brookfield Orchards was established in 1918 by Arthur W. Lincoln, a stock broker in Boston who bought the orchard as a summer home. He planted apples trees and made applesauce, apple butter and apple jelly as a hobby and sold it from his office in Boston. The apples were processed in a canning plant in the center of North Brookfield on land now occupied by the Quaboag Corporation. When the stock market crashed in 1929 Arthur and his wife Lida moved from Newton to their summer home in North Brookfield. The growing and processing of apples continued. Hamilton Lincoln, son of Arthur, attended Yale University and was majoring in business when Arthur died suddenly. Hamilton graduated from Yale and returned to North Brookfield to help his mother, Lida, run the orchard. Hamilton married Betsy Coes and started a family. They had three children Louise, Tony and Bonnie. All three children worked at the orchard over the years after school and during the summers. Louise is the current President of Brookfield Orchards. Tony returned to the orchard after his navy career and worked beside his father, Hammy to learn the ins and outs of growing apples. After the passing of Hammy, Tony assumed all responsibilities of the Orchard until his death in 2007. The orchard business was very short-seasoned until the innovation of controlled-atmosphere storage in the 1950's. Brookfield Orchards built its own storage units in the 1960's. That allowed the farmstand to be open and have apples year round. Hammy and Tony were respected growers in the industry and worked with UMass to conduct experiments on different growing methods. They also researched ways to reduce the amount of pesticides we use, which is known as the Integrated Pest Management (I. P. M) Program, thus promoting the future of the apple growing business. We continue to use low-pesticide, I. P. M practices. David Nydam, Louise's son-in-law, joined the family operation in 1978, and is now Vice President and orchard manager. Hammy's wife, Betsy, passed away in 1959 and Hammy remarried five years later to Helen Proctor. Helen was the driving force behind the retail end of the business by adding jams, jellies and other merchandise to the store. Her innovative ideas have made our Country Store "one of a kind." Helen's daughter Martha Dwelly began making our apple pies and our widely-known apple dumplings here at the orchard. She created our bakery, a delicious and important part of our business. Whether you call, e-mail or come for a visit, we are always happy to help. Over the years Brookfield Orchards has been fortunate to have family members and friends that have been loyal and dedicated during our busy harvest season. Dorothy Civin has been working here as our bookkeeper and sales person for over 40 years. Joe Grenevich has kept all our machines and vehicles running for over 30 years. Brookfield Orchards will celebrate 100 years in business in 2018. We are now in our 5th generation of family members participating in the family business. Brookfield Orchards continues to be a destination, providing families with everlasting memories and supplying fresh quality fruit to our community.