by Gary Mount

I have a story to tell you about New and Old at Terhune but first I am happy to announce that a compilation into book form of all the Terhune/Mount stories that I have written for the Terhune Orchards News over the past 35 + years is going to be published soon, we hope in December. It will be available at the Terhune Orchards farm store, on Amazon.com, and hopefully some local bookstores. Coming soon — DON’T MISS IT! It’s called A Farmer’s Life.

Now about the new and old. I am not sure if our habit of labeling things with the preface “ new” or “old” is an agricultural thing, common to all farms but it’s pretty common around here. Everything is defined by whether it can be called new or old. This new and old thing probably started for us with pickup trucks. In 1990, I purchased a brand-new pickup truck and in 2002 I purchased another. We still have both and they are still named- 30 years later- the old truck and the new truck.

We apply this naming thing to tractors as well. Like many farmers, I do not get rid of tractors as the years go by and here is a lot of opportunity at Terhune for new and old naming of tractors. I have one tractor from my father’s farm, and another that my uncle gave me. No question the name “old orchard tractor” works fine. But what happens to the “new John Deere” now that two new John Deere tractors appeared on the farm in 2020? Our naming system is breaking down a bit when it comes to tractors.

We also apply names to buildings. In 2010 we built a great barn. It is used for an apple cold storage and a place to store many of our other treasures. Its name – probably forever — is the “new barn” Regardless of the 2017 construction of a new barn for wine production, the name “new” will stick to the 2010 version.

Finally there is our naming system for farms. In 2003, we purchased a 65 acre farm on Van Kirk Road. It is a significant part of our enterprise. What we grow there is really important to us but its name is “the new farm.” It even has a street number, 42 van Kirk Road, and my daughter lives on that farm, but it is still known almost 20 years later as the “new farm.” In the spring of this year, 2021, we purchased another farm on Van Kirk Road. 50 acres, right next to the new farm. It too has a street number, 30 Van Kirk Road, even though there are no buildings on the property. I asked the township to assign a number, for possible emergency services and delivery purposes.

We are thrilled to have purchased that farm. The extra acreage gives us an extra sense of permanence and gives our daughters Reuwai and Tannwen more opportunities for the future. We have owned it for 9 months, but its name is — “the new, new farm.”