COLRAIN — Taking over the family business may be a common practice from one generation to the next. What’s less common, though, is to take on such a responsibility at 12 years old.
The pumpkin stand on Main Road (Route 112) near the Colrain Community Church has opened for the season, now operating as “Wyatt’s Pumpkins,” the latest change to an operation stemming back three generations.
The stand started when Jennifer Bryant’s father was looking for a way to spend quality time with his daughter. He taught her how to tend to a garden and they worked together to grow pumpkins in the backyard. They opened the stand as “Jenny’s Pumpkins,” selling the fruits of their labor outside their house.
That was 30 years ago in east Colrain. A generation later, Bryant used the same lessons with her son, Wyatt. They have worked together since Wyatt was 6 years old.
“I want to be a farmer when I grow up,” Wyatt explained.
“We go out in the garden making memories and teaching him life,” Jennifer said.
Wyatt, who graduated from Colrain Central School in the spring and will attend Mohawk Trail Regional School starting this fall, has taken the farm stand to the next level over the years. Using a rototiller that was on loan from a neighbor, the Bryants expanded their garden to be twice as large as when they started. They plan to expand the garden two-fold again for the next season.
There are more than 100 pumpkins sitting in the basement of their house, ready for neighbors to buy them. Prices range from 50 cents to $10 depending on a pumpkin’s size.
Unfortunately, due to the drought, many of the varieties of pumpkins did not survive. Many colors and types were planted, but mostly only the classic orange pumpkins grew successfully amid the summer’s harsh conditions.
“We had to do a lot of watering to keep up with the heat,” Jennifer noted.
Wyatt said he has loved the experience of gardening with his mother and running the business, taking on all of the responsibilities that running the stand entails. He plants, weeds and harvests the pumpkins all himself.
“I enjoy gardening,” he said. “It makes things look nice.”
Their garden has expanded far beyond pumpkins, however, growing corn, squash, zucchini and more. They briefly opened a free farm stand this summer to share and trade overproduction from their garden.
Wyatt also feeds a local pig in town with all the uneaten vegetables, practicing even more farming responsibility.
Jennifer said Wyatt has met many people in the community through his farm stand, talking to customers and loading pumpkins into their vehicles.
“Last year we had an overwhelming amount of people,” she said, advising customers to honk to get their attention if she and Wyatt aren’t outside. “They love it because Wyatt is the kid that waves to everyone when they drive by.”
Contact Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.