By Cathy Miller

Traveling along Route 94 in western Warren County on a nice day is a road trip unto itself. Then jump onto Frog Pond Road, and about a quarter mile later notice a somewhat ordinary drive, and take that turn! Drive and drive and pay attention to the signs along the drive, and all of a sudden it opens up onto a country-quaint, big red market, and wide open vistas. Welcome to Brook Hollow Farm.

Dave Flitcroft, the affable, well-spoken owner and farmer, has operated the 175-acre Brook Hollow Farm for 37 years. He’s always worked in the field of agriculture (the proverbial “farmer outstanding in his field”?), majoring in agriculture in college, as well. His wife Mary tends to the spacious farm market, welcoming visitors from near and far to their orchard.

The orchard is 30 years old. Quite some time ago, Dave grew Christmas trees and blueberries, along with other produce, but after a while, he decided apples and peaches were the way to go. The orchards yield several varieties of peaches beginning in early August, and twelve varieties of apples start ripening sometime after Labor Day.

Regarding the new kinds of apples being introduced to the general marketplace in recent times, Dave doesn’t cultivate a lot those modern types. He doesn’t want to take good trees, well-producing trees, and pull them out to make space for new varieties, which would require several years to establish themselves.

He’s always offered pick-your-own apples, along with the “quicker-picker-upper” – snag a bag of fresh fruit from their onsite Farm Market. When asked about the growing season this year, Dave said it was somewhat challenging due to heavy rains early on, although the apples and peaches ultimately produced outstanding yields. As for “Pick Your Own,” he explained that as harvesting season began, there were back-to-back weekends where the temperature soared over 90°. People went south to the shore, rather than heading to the farm for what is traditionally acknowledged an “autumn outing.”

The Farm will close for the season in early November, at which point Farmer Dave transforms into Hunter Dave – much to the delight of five-year-old Griffin, his handsome Irish setter.

Pay a visit to Dave and Mary soon. Pick up a jug of fresh cold cider, a bag of crisp apples, and check out the array of country crafts for sale. Of course, Griffin would be thrilled to meet you, too.

Being out in the orchard, on a breathtakingly beautiful day in mid-October, was in fact “applesauce for the soul.” Compound that with the presence of a sweet hunting’ dog, a gracious farmer, some happy kids, and apple trees spotted with red, yellow and green orbs, and oh what an afternoon it was!

You can find Brook Hollow Farm at 52 Frog Pond Road in Columbia.  Telephone: 908-496-4577

Do you have someone you think should be Person of the Week, reach out to Cathy at info@insidewarren.com

Updated 10/26: Added address