Blue Jay Orchards: A 75-Year Tradition, And Still Growing

By Nancy K. Crevier

What keeps a business thriving for three-quarters of a century? Loyal customers, personal service, a great product, and the ability to “roll with the punches,” said Beth Dingee, market manager for Blue Jay Orchards, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Owned by Mary and Paul Patterson since 1985, now semiretired, the 140-acre orchard is situated on either side of Plumtrees Road, just over the Newtown line in Bethel. Day-to-day operation of the business falls to their daughter, Ms Dingee, and second-generation orchard foreman Chris Seifert. Paul Patterson puts in several hours each week during the busy autumn season, though, as do other family members. Ms Dingee’s husband, Newtown Police officer Todd Dingee, assists during his off hours — including directing weekend traffic. On the weekends, Mr Seifert’s wife, Brenda, “moonlights” at Blue Jay Orchards from her weekday job as the branch manager for Wachovia Bank in Newtown. And periodically, of course, the Dingee and Seifert children have taken their turns helping out at Blue Jay Orchards.

Customer loyalty has been apparent from early on, said the managers. As with any farm operation, hard work can be undermined by Mother Nature. In 1985, the first year the Pattersons took over, and again in 2004, the entire apple crop was devastated by a late May frost. “The emotional support we received from customers was wonderful,” Ms Dingee said.

“We lost all of the apples and had to buy out enough to stock the market,” recalled Mr Seifert. “What can you do but grin and bear it? Customers understood that ultimately, Mother Nature has the final say.”

Blue Jay Orchards began as a small orchard planted by Robert Josephy on a 50-acre dairy and vegetable farm he purchased in 1934. Over the next half a century, Mr Josephy gradually added acreage and more apple trees. At that time, said Beth Dingee, most of the apples and cider were sold wholesale or from Mr Josephy’s roadside stand. It was not until the Pattersons bought Blue Jay Orchards that the “Pick Your Own” aspect of the business originated.

“It was the first pick-your-own orchard in Fairfield County, and is still the largest here,” said Ms Dingee, attracting up to 10,000 weekend customers at the peak of the season, including some of note. Orchard lore tells of Marilyn Monroe taking a dip in the orchard pond, and both Ms Dingee and Mr Seifert recall the late tennis pro Arthur Ashe as a regular autumn customer.

“Dad wanted to give people the memories of growing up on a small farm, like he did in Ohio,” said Ms Dingee, of her parents’ decision to purchase the orchard. In 1985, as well, said Ms Dingee, her parents opened the bakery that now turns out the “hands down favorite” cider doughnuts (and new this year, the Apple Bite doughnut ball) and up to 1,100 pies during Thanksgiving week.

Mr Patterson’s dream that Blue Jay Orchards would become a trove of memories for his customers seems to have come true. “Working the register,” said Ms Dingee, “what you hear is people saying, ‘I used to come here as a child and now I’m bringing my grandchildren.’”

From late August to late October, customers choose from 36 apple varieties grown on 9,000 dwarf apple trees. The original, tall apple trees planted by Mr Josephy were replaced in stages over the years, as production declined. “Dwarf trees are easier for everybody,” Mr Seifert said.

While McIntosh, Ida Red, Cortland, Empire, and Red Delicious apples remain all-time favorites, Blue Jay Orchards continually tries new varieties. Gold Blush, Melrose, Spurgold-Blush, and Gala apples have joined the lineup, as have Braeburn, Greenings, Jonagold, and Stayman apples. Like so many commercial products, said Ms Dingee, apples have trends, as well. “Right now, it is the Macoun and the Mutsu/Crispin apples that people look for,” she said. Next year Blue Jay Orchards will offer the September Wonder Fuji, which ripens early, and a late season McIntosh. The addition of these two varieties, as well as the early season Mollies Delicious, will extend the picking season, Mr Seifert explained. Because it takes three to four years for a new apple tree to reach maturity and peak production, the managers must think ahead a few years to what customers will be wanting at that time.

If Blue Jay Orchards offered only apples, cider, and baked goods, it would be reason enough to seek it out. But throughout the years, the Patterson family has provided much more for its customers. The trademark red barn houses a market filled with jars of apple sauce and apple butter made on premises, honey from the 72 hives rented each spring to pollinate the trees, fresh-pressed cider, and Blue Jay Orchard’s private label salad dressings, mustards, jams, and bread and cake mixes. Giant bins of apples mark the center aisle, including some not available as pick-you-own apples in the orchard.

“Coming to Blue Jay Orchards is being a part of Bethel and the area,” said Mr Seifert. “If you move away, you have to come back to get the apples and baked goods that you grew up on,” he said.

Customers have even called from as far away as Florida asking if apples can be sent to them, said Ms Dingee, and while the orchard does not ship, special shipping containers for apples are available for purchase, allowing friends and relatives to send an autumn “fix” to the apple deprived.

Apple-themed gift items and an entire section devoted to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas accessories and crafts give customers still more reasons to frequent the Blue Jay Orchards market.

Caramel apple kits for the crafty are sold, or for those who go for the ready made, Blue Jay Orchards sells gourmet apples from Silvestri Sweets swathed in caramel and coated in M&Ms, or bathed in a chocolate caramel swirl.

A variety of jams, jellies, sauces, and dips from quality purveyors such as Rick’s Picks in New York, Robert Rothschild Farm in Ohio, Well Dressed Food in New York, and Brown Family Farm in Vermont are available for purchase at Blue Jay Orchards. Shoppers will also find a selection of gourmet coffees — perfect for accompanying the moist, cider doughnuts — from La Crema Coffee Company in Ohio. A refrigerated unit keeps cider, juices, and water well chilled.

At one end of the market, a wall-sized cooler is filled with fresh baked and ready-to-bake pies. Customers can choose from apple, apple crumb, apple caramel walnut, berry, cherry, strawberry rhubarb, and pumpkin pies, or apple crisp.

Outside the entrance to the barn market, an array of gourds, mini and oversized pumpkins, squashes, and corn bouquets greet Blue Jay customers, piled high on a giant mock hay wagon or heaped into bins. A tractor anchors one end of the display and provides a playground for toddlers under the watchful eye of parents.

On the south side of Plumtrees Road, toddlers find another “playground” — a fence-in area filled with fresh-picked pumpkins. It is one of two pumpkin patches at the orchard that, along with the pick your own apple trees, attract 3,000 to 5,000 school children every autumn, said Mr Seifert.

From that pumpkin patch, apple orchards stretch off to the east, and to the south, down a rustic dirt path, still more straight lines of apple trees fill the horizon. Across the street, a picnic area and another pumpkin patch are bordered by endless rows of even more apple trees. The picnic area is a popular spot for school groups and playgroups to gather, and it is not unusual to hear the sound of laughter and songs carried on the wind.

Blue Jay Orchards is mindful of its connection to the community, said Ms Dingee. Personnel are constantly working on improving the parking situation and are extremely grateful to the support and understanding of neighbors on Plumtrees Road when the narrow street is clogged with pedestrians and automobiles. “Local people are starting to realize that it is so much less crowded Monday through Friday, and they try to come picking then,” said Ms Dingee, “and that is a great help. It works out better for everybody.”

The orchards have also hosted the Jaycees Haunted House in past years, and this year during the month of September, anyone who donates a nonperishable food item is rewarded with $2 off a bag of pick-your-own apples. “We have already collected two big bins of food items,” said Ms Dingee, “and along with 20 bushels of apples that we will donate, they will be distributed by Connecticut Food Bank to area food agencies. My dad and mom felt that this was the best way for us to give back in this economy.”

Blue Jay Orchards is a place for making memories, for families to slow down the hurried pace of life, and to enjoy the harvest season, said Mr Seifert and Ms Dingee. They feel they have evolved with the times, yet managed to hang onto the hometown feeling that they hope will continue to bring happiness to still more generations of customers.

For Ms Dingee, her greatest joy is found in coming full circle with her parents and the business. “Now my children are growing up here with the orchards, too,” she said. “I look back on my life and feel blessed that I could share this with my parents, and with our customers.”

Blue Jay Orchards is at 125 Plumtrees Road in Bethel. The market is open from late August until the Sunday before Christmas each year. From opening day until Thanksgiving, the market is open seven days a week, from 10 am to 5:30 pm, with Pick-Your-Own available from 10 am to 5 pm. After Thanksgiving, the market only is open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 am to 5:30 pm. For up-to-date picking information or to order pies, call 748-0119. For more information visit bluejayorchardsct.com.