The Quilted Crow Thriving in Bolton

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I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Sue Loring, owner of The Quilted Crow and Bolton resident. Ever since The Quilted Crow opened in then newly renovated 626 Main Street, Bolton has become a destination location for quilters from all over the region.

The Quilted Crow began as an internet business in 2000 and then a store front in Boxborough, MA owned by MaryAnn Kennedy.

Sue worked as an employee of The Quilted Crow and eventually purchased the store from MaryAnn when she retired. Sue knew they were outgrowing their space at the Boxborough location and saw an opportunity for growth at 626 Main Street, especially with its close proximity to Interstate 495.

The Quilted Crow opened their Bolton store front in 2015. Since opening in Bolton, business has grown. There has been a resurgence in quilting since the last recession, and there are more male quilters than ever before. Quilt stores are a destination and customers come from as far as Rhode Island,CT,and NY.

The Quilted Crow offers over 200 classes and monthly clubs including embroidery,wool applique,quilting,punch needle, & rug hooking. Their mission is to build friendships and relationships through quilting. Sue has found that people have a need to connect and these workshops and clubs help to fill that need and foster relationships.

Not only is The Quilted Crow thriving due to Sue’s growing quilting business, but her shop brings more customers to local eateries and other shops in town.

The Quilted Crow is open Tuesday-Friday 10AM-5PM, Saturday 10AM-4PM, & Sunday 12Pm-4PM. To sign up for a workshop visit their website at www.thequiltedcrow.com

 

Bolton Equine Center Buys Camp Virginia Property

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Bolton resident’s, Dr. Amy Clark and Dr. Brett Gaby, and their newly formed business, Bolton Equine Center, are the excited new owners of the former Girl Scout Camp, known as Camp Virginia.  The property located on Rt 85 in Bolton, MA went on the market about two years ago when the Girl Scouts decided to no longer make use of the camp.  Essex Equine Inc., an equine ambulatory veterinary practice specializing in sport horse medicine located on Sampson Road in Bolton, also owned by Dr. Clark and Dr. Gaby, will continue to run under its current name and rent space from Bolton Equine Center.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Amy and her husband, Brett, to learn more about their business and their plans for the property.

Dr. Brett Gaby graduated from Cornell University in 1992. In 1994 he moved to Dublin Ireland to study veterinary sciences at the University College Dublin. After returning to the United States, Dr. Gaby attended the Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 1999.  He completed an internship at the Rochester Equine Clinic and was then employed by Boston Equine Associates in Rehoboth, MA for nearly four years before starting his own practice in Littleton, MA before eventually settling in Bolton, in 2003.

Dr Amy Clark graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2005 from Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island Canada. Amy is a native of New Brunswick Canada and began her career with Essex Equine after graduating. It was there she met Dr Brett Gaby, the two are now married with two children.

Over the years, the Essex Equine business has grown from two to five veterinarians, in addition to hiring veterinarian assistants, support staff, and caretakers, and therefore the need to expand. When the Camp Virginia property became available, Brett and Amy knew purchasing it would be the perfect opportunity to both expand their business and give them and their children plenty of acreage to ride their own horses and build their own personal residence.

Amy and Brett have hired King Barns out of Pennsylvania, who design and build fine custom horse barns, to build their barn, arenas, and outbuildings. They also hope to restore and reuse the buildings that once housed the Girl Scout Camp.

Bolton Equine Center made use of Bolton’s Agricultural/Business Use Special Permit to be able to utilize this amazing property, for their large animal veterinary services, breeding, raising and training of horses, and the construction of their new barn with attached office. This bylaw allows Agricultural Businesses the ability to utilize property in the residential zone, since Bolton is a right to farm community, and has no specific agricultural zone.

The Bolton Economic Development Committee wants to thank Dr Brett Gaby and
Dr Amy Clark for capitalizing on their vision for this special property and for creating a valuable asset to the residents of Bolton and beyond!

Phineas Wright House; A Treasure to be Shared!

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Phineas Wright House

“Too much goodness not to share” is how Wendy Harrop, owner of The Phineas Wright House in Bolton, would describe her property.

The Phineas Wright House was built in 1785 by the third reverend of the First Parish Church in Bolton. In the last 230 years only five other families have lived in this great antique house.
After living in California her whole life, Wendy decided to follow her dream of living in the New England countryside and she and her husband Keith purchased the Phineas Wright House 6 years ago. She hasn’t looked back since!

The property came complete with a fabulous barn that Wendy and her husband painstakingly renovated. Wendy had worked as a wedding and event planner in California and then at the Nashoba Winery in Bolton. She envisioned using the barn to host fabulous celebrations! A local artisan built three gorgeous farmhouse tables for use in the barn, using wood that was removed from the third floor hay loft. Wendy collected chairs from thrift & antique stores, flea markets, and yard sales, and she hung strings of tiny white lights casting a magical glow.

Wendy has big plans for the use of her barn and beautiful property as it is now available as a venue for intimate weddings, rehearsal dinners, and birthday celebrations, just to name a few.

Wendy also will be collaborating with an amazing group of artisans, entrepreneurs, collectors, chefs, bakers, artists, and authors who will be offering workshops at the barn including floral design, wine & cheese tasting, rustic sign making, and gardening to name a few. Grab a friend and a bottle of wine and learn a new skill in an intimate, interactive setting.
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Additionally, she will be holding a one week nature camp on the property for kids ages 4 to 6 years old. It will be a week of discovering the nature above, below, and around us.

I have had the honor of attending several events at the Phineas Wright property and it is a wonderful and unique experience that you won’t want to miss!
To learn more about Wendy, upcoming workshops, or book an event visit her website at http://www.phineaswrighthouse.com/

I want to thank Wendy for capitalizing on her vision for this special property and for creating a valuable asset to the residents of Bolton and beyond!

Colonial Candies. Bolton’s Candy Store for Over 40 Years!

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If you live in Bolton, I’m sure you’ve enjoyed a chocolate covered Oreo, peppermint patty, or one of the other decadent chocolates Colonial Candies offers… and if you haven’t you should!!

I had the pleasure of meeting with Richard Hebert, who along with his wife Grace, own and operate Colonial Candies located, coincidentally, on Sugar Road in Bolton.  Colonial Candies, originally named Hebert Candies, opened its first store in 1917 on Route 20 in Shrewsbury, MA. In 1978, the Bolton location opened and in 2005 the name was changed to Colonial Candies.

All of Colonial Candies’ chocolates are made from the original recipes. Their white chocolate recipe, produced in the 1940’s, was the very first white chocolate produced in the country! All of the chocolate production and packaging takes place in the basement of the store primarily by Richard, Grace, his sister Dianne, and their daughter Kelly.

Grace Hebert takes great pride in decorating the store for each holiday, both inside and out. On Halloween, the blow up creatures behind the store can be seen from interstate 495. In fact, 90% of their business comes from interstate 495 exposure!

Colonial Candies does sell their candies online from their website, but the majority of their business comes from good old fashioned word of mouth. Their chocolate covered Oreos are sold all over Massachusetts. In addition to being sold at the store, they can be found locally at Country Cupboard, Bolton Orchards, and various Paper Store locations.

I asked Richard what holidays were the most important for the business and he said #1 was Easter, #2 Christmas, and #3 Valentine’s Day.

In addition to candy, Colonial Candies also offers a make your own ice cream sundae bar. They have gift baskets, toys, and stuffed animals to purchase for additional gift giving opportunities. They also offer “Candy Camp” which is a great option for birthday parties and field trips. Children are given the opportunity to make their own candy creations!

Recently, Colonial Candies was selected to be in the opening scene of the Hallmark movie “A Snow White Christmas” and Richard and Grace had their first film debut.

The Bolton Economic Development Committee encourages everyone in town to support our small family run businesses like Colonial Candies. Thursday is February 14th, Valentine’s Day, so stop by and get your Valentine something special!

Highlighting Long Hill Farm

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I recently had the pleasure to meet with Robert McCulley & Cait Bagby of Long Hill Farm located at 96 Long Hill Road in Bolton.  I can hardly put into words the amazing job they have done on the extensive restoration of their 1810 home, farm and fruit & vegetable garden!

Robert & Cait grew up in Pepperell, MA and spent some time living abroad before getting married and moving to Carlisle, MA where they bought a run down abandoned home and spent 2 years renovating it, the majority of it themselves.  After 5 years of living there, they again decided to set their sights on another renovation project and found the perfect opportunity in Bolton.  They bought the 1810 dairy farm on Long Hill Road in 2016, and began a complete restoration of the home and grounds.

After completing an extensive, sometimes frustrating, year and a half remodel of the home, they moved on to restoring and re-imagining the grounds. Their focus is on organic farming and they started first with adding chickens in 2017 to have fresh, free-range, organic eggs.  This quickly led to opening their egg stand, which has since expanded to include vegetables.  To help them with their organic approach, they rescued three goats from the MSPCA to help clear the land and provide fertilizer for the beds.  2018 has been their test year and so far so good!  They have been specializing in heirloom and historical variety vegetables all grown organically including, but not limited to, Italian zucchini, Ukrainian zucchini, summer crookneck squash, French radishes, French red lettuce, Australian Swiss chard, Genovese Basil, Italian arugula,Lemon Basil, and Cilantro.

Robert & Cait’s future plans are to renovate their barn and turn it into a full time farm stand and also expand their offerings to include plums, peas, cherries, apricots, walnuts, and almond varieties from around the world.

Robert & Cait will be selling their organic eggs and vegetables, including a 1000 year old variety of Guatemalan squash at the Backyard Bolton Farmers Market.  Stop by and purchase some of the truly unique produce they offer.

Highlighting Schartner Farm

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Continuing the Bolton Economic Development Committee’s series on highlighting local farms and promoting our “Backyard Bolton” market being held on the Town Common several Saturday’s during August & September, I recently sat down with Eric & Kristen Schartner of Schartner Farms located on West Berlin Road in Bolton.

The farm was started in the late 1800’s by Eric’s great grandfather & grandmother, Julius & Marie who settled in Bolton after moving here from Austria.  In 1902 Eric’s grandfather Henry took over the farm and changed the name to “Schartner Farm”.  Eric’s uncle Herb took over and transitioned the farm from a dairy business to a fruit & vegetable farm.  Eric’s father and mother, Robert and Sandee, ran the farm from the early 1990’s until Robert passed away.  Eric & Kristen took over the farm in 2009 and live on the property in the original farmhouse, which was built in 1773.  They have a total of 100+ acres which includes woodlands,ponds,animal pastures, apple & peach orchards, pumpkin patch, and extensive corn maze that Eric and his brother started in 2010.  It’s hard work keeping up the farm and starts with pruning the trees in January, spraying in April, and the busy fall season ending the last weekend in October. Family members help out at the farm stand, including Eric’s mom and their 2 children, Julia and Jack.

In addition to apple and pumpkin picking,hay rides, and the corn maze in the fall season, Schartner Farms hosts many other events throughout the year including the Bolton 5K on October 6th, Taste of the Maze on October 27-28th, Evening Maze for the Berlin Memorial School Fundraiser, Private Corporate Functions, and Team Building Events for Sales Groups.

In 2014, Farm & Ranch Magazine nominated Schartner Farm as “Best Farm of the Year”!

Kristen will be at the “Backyard Bolton” market selling the excess bounty from her home garden as well as hand painted signs that she makes and sells in the farm store.

Newgrange Farm: Highlighting Small Farms in Bolton

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In the weeks leading up to Backyard Bolton on the Bolton Town Common, the Economic Development Committee wants to highlight some of our local small farms who will be attending the market.

I recently sat down with Conor and Annemarie Nagle and their children who own Newgrange Farm located on Green Road. The farm is named after an ancient tomb in Ireland, from where the family is originally from.

Prior to moving to Bolton, Conor & Annemarie lived in Acton,MA. They wanted to get a dog but decided to get goats instead. Since buying the farm in Bolton the herd has grown and they now raise dairy and market goats, chickens and bees.

Newgrange Farms sell the eggs at their farm stand on Green Road for $4 a dozen.  With the goat milk, they produce all natural goat milk soap which they package and sell at Bolton Orchards, Pole Hill Provisions, & Harvard Alpaca Ranch.  They also do custom order soap for events such as weddings and baby showers.

Newgrange Farms will be selling their eggs and soaps at the Backyard Bolton market. Stop by to say hello and check out the soap and eggs they offer!  There may even be some baby goats on show!

The Bolton Economic Development Committee is excited to be hosting “Backyard Bolton”, a community Market held on the Town Common on August 25th, September 8th, and September 22nd, which will help to promote our small farms, back yard growers, and small batch products produced in town.  Crafters and makers of in home produced items such as jam’s, soaps, eggs, honey, etc… are welcome.  Our hope is that this will be a great opportunity for us to come together as a community and help small farms and in home businesses which are the backbone of Bolton and deserve our support.

Highlighting Steward Medical Group Bolton Primary Care of Hudson Road

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Steward Medical Group Bolton Primary Care of Hudson Road

The EDC would like to spotlight the wonderful team at Bolton Primary Care (BPC) of Hudson Road, a Steward Medical Group practice that is an affiliate of Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Steward Family Hospitals. We recently sat down with them to learn more about the
practice and positive impact they are having in our community.

First and foremost, it’s abundantly clear that BPC is deeply committed to the wellness of   its patients, and they truly enjoy their work. Whether it’s spending ample time during appointments, carefully referring patients to their extensive network of specialists, or thoughtfully answering questions after hours, they always think of their work from the patient perspective.

The quaint facility located at 146 Hudson Road is supported by a close knit team of 5 led by Dr. Prativa Basnet. They have ample parking, 3 welcoming exam rooms, and an in-house lab with support from Quest Diagnostics for prompt results. In addition to the Bolton location, they are part of a network of Steward Medical Group practices located in Groton, Townsend and Lunenburg. Booking appointments, including same day, is easy through ZocDoc. Once in the office, patients can opt to check-in at the front desk, or through a modern portal via an iPad. If more specialized care is needed after your visit, they have quick access to a group of amazing specialists throughout the area, all just a phone call away.

When not in the Bolton office, the BPC team is busy fostering relationships with caregivers in the Nashoba Valley Medical Center network, engaging in the local community through the Assabet and Nashoba Valley Chambers, and participating in activities like the Hunger Run 5K to benefit Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry. It’s evident they have a passion for high quality patient care and enjoy collaborating with local communities to support and advance a range of health and wellness initiatives.

Our conversation left us with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have the BPC team in our community. Formally Bolton Family Medicine, Bolton Primary Care opened in 2016 and continues to provide small town hospitality with big city care.

For more information on Bolton Primary Care, click here, call 978-391-5054, or stop by their office on Hudson Road.

Bolton Global Capital Fits Beautifully into Bolton’s Landscape

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Have you ever driven past the 495 interchange towards Bolton’s historical center and admired the majestic white colonial residence and beautifully restored barn that is home to Bolton Global Capital? If so, you can thank founder and CEO, Ray Grenier.  This historic property is a Bolton landmark and featured attraction of New England fall foliage tours.

I recently sat down with Ray to learn about the history of this amazing property.

The residence and barn sit on 23 acres and includes several outbuildings that were originally built in 1784 by Samuel Blood, a Revolutionary War Captain in the Continental Army.   Blood was a successful hat merchant and farmer in his later years.

Ray bought the complex in 1997 with the intention of making it the home office to Bolton Global Capital, which, at the time, was housed at 563 Main Street.

Since purchasing the property, Ray has completely renovated both the main residence and barn to make them the remarkable structures we see today.

It was an extensive and costly renovation that included all new electrical, plumbing, installation of an elevator, and a state of the art gym for his employees.  Ray managed to keep the buildings true to their original character and you can see evidence of that today in the offices that still resemble horse stalls.

Bolton Global Capital provides independent wealth management services to a global clientele. Bolton Capital has grown its business from a small firm operating in the Boston area to a major institution with offices and clients across the US and around the globe. Today, the firm has more than 50 affiliated offices worldwide managing over $7 billion in client assets.

Ray Grenier and Bolton Global Capital has greatly enhanced the Character and Charm of Bolton by renovating this property, which is a gateway to the Community.

 

Still River Vintage Company, Bolton

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The Bolton EDC would like to welcome Still River Vintage Company, a new Antiques shop located at 713 Main Street, Bolton.

Mike and Diana Nelson are very excited to have opened their new antiques shop. They have been in the antique/vintage business as casual buyers for the last five years but took their hobby and turned it into a business about a month ago and settled in our town center Bolton next to the town common.

Still River Vintage Company sell antiques, retro items, vintage goods, household items, vintage clothing and just about anything else you can think of they probably have. Mike and Diana try to keep a little bit of something for everyone and will even go out of their way to pick items for people who leave requests in their guestbook. The goal is to expand and hopefully one day help the three buildings located at 713 Main Street get fully up and running and become a destination place. Current business hours are:

Wed: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Thu: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Fri: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Sat: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sun: 10:00am – 5:00pm

Please help us in Welcoming Still River Vintage Company to Bolton.
https://www.facebook.com/Still-River-Vintage-Company-1496428023710960/
Their website is www.stillrivervintagecompany.com
They also have an Instagram account at, stillrivervintageco