The Chase farm market building (right) on the northwest corner of the intersection of Hwy 42 and Juddville Rd.(Courtesy of Rick Nelson)

Francis and Jeanne Chase bought a house with 63 acres of land in Juddville at the end of WWII, and moved into the house Christmas week of 1945. The house was located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Hwy 42 and Juddville Rd and the Chase acreage stretched westward from the house. More recently, Theo’s restaurant, and then Villagios restaurant were located in what was a remodeled version of the Chase’s original house.

In 1946 and 1948, the Chases had banner crop years from their cherry orchards. The money generated from those two years allowed them to remodel their house and put in a bathroom for the first time.

Later, around 1952, when the price of cherries had dropped to “practically nothing”, Francis had an idea to put a farm stand by the road to make extra income. The stand started as a single table, but it did well almost immediately.

Initially, the stand offered blackberries and tomatoes provided by neighbor Olaf Olsen’s children along with vegetables and fruits that Francis grew including strawberries and raspberries. Jeanne, who was responsible for selling at the stand, started making jams and pickles, but ultimately she could not keep up with the demand for the food items being sold at the market, so she recruited many of her good friends to help her. Eventually, the Chases added cheese and gourmet items to their line of offerings which was somewhat unique at that time.

A year or two after the farm stand was started, the Chases added an initial building structure to it because of its success, and they then added on to it 3 more times. They ultimately added a walk-in freezer for the cheese being sold which was a big investment at the time. The stand eventually evolved from a single table selling vegetables and fruits to a full-blown farm market.

A north pointing view of the front of the Chase farm market building with HWY 42 in the background. (Courtesy of Rick Nelson)

The Chases sold 2,500 jars of jam one year and were eventually selling cheese by the ton. According to Jeanne, the farm market also allowed her children to learn about finances as their college years approached.

The Chases sold part of their acreage in 1967-68 and built the house that Jeanne Chase lived in during her later years.

After the Chase family sold and no longer operated the farm market, it briefly became the location for a business selling kites. Today, it houses Todd Stapleman’s handyman business.

(Source: Smith, Linda Neeck. Interview of Jeanne Chase captured on cassette. February, 1988.)