The Brown Fruit Farm once stood three miles north of Worthington on U.S. Route 23, near present-day Highbanks Metro Park.

For many years, I was aware of its existence and recently I discovered an interview with Molly Brown Caren, the only daughter of the owners, Marie and Thane Brown. Her grandfather bought 150 acres with an apple orchard in 1911 as an investment and gave the farm to Molly's parents.

Robert W. McCormick conducted the interview with Molly in 1988.

It was done for the Worthington Historical Society and was included in "A Cultural History of Highbanks Metropolitan Park" written by McCormick.

He and the historical society knew that one of Molly's ancestors was James Kilbourne, founder of Worthington. The book is in the library at the Powell Liberty Historical Society.

Molly received her education at Trinity College and Ohio State University, receiving a master's at Catholic University. With the Great Depression, it was impossible for a female to find a position. Her parents required attention and soon died.

By 1937, Molly married and began to take charge of the day-to-day operation of the farm. She did this until 1958. The farm was sold to Planned Communities in 1980.

During the interview, she discussed the varieties of old-fashioned apples, cherries, gooseberries and currants they raised. She said migrant pickers harvested the apples and camped in the orchard. In a good year, the orchard raised 50,000 bushels of fruit.

Marge Bennett, a life-long Powell resident, remembers her aunt and uncle lost their house in Worthington during the Depression and lived in one of two tenant houses on the farm.

She said the Browns paid employees in cash, which was unusual for those times. Often, people received a meal and maybe $1. Her father was hired on occasion.

She remembers being taken there as a child to play with her cousin, Billy Snouffer, and buying apple cider and maple sugar candy.

The other tenant house was occupied by a family named Lazelle.

All drivers in northern Franklin County and southern Delaware County recognize these names as local roads today.

Molly reported they had a "bee man" who brought bees to their orchard at pollination time. They sold honey made from white clover at their roadside market.

Using the Internet, I learned a bit more about the farm. In the summers of 1931 and 1932, Donald J. Borror of the Ohio State University department of zoology and entomology used the Brown Fruit Farm to conduct studies on dragonflies.

Drainage areas were cut through the woods of oak, hickory, beech and maple between the orchard and the Olentangy River.

This served as a convenient area for the dragonflies to move and be studied.

It might not be just coincidence that now the Metro Parks system operates a day camp called "Dragonfly."

Molly Brown Caren Fisher's name may be familiar to some readers.

The agricultural center near London, Ohio, is named for her. It is the home of the Farm Science Review, which sits on another farm she inherited from her parents. The 992-acre Madison County farm was sold to OSU in 1983 for a very modest cost to the school.

Molly ended her interview with McCormick by saying, "Living in a rural area was very attractive to me, and I have always liked the out-of-doors." She certainly was a successful woman, raised in our area and conducting a successful family business here. She died in 2005 at age 91.

The year following Molly's death, the Farm Science Review was dedicated to her.

She was recognized for her "love for farming, tireless lifelong service to the agricultural community and commitment to Ohio State through service, leadership, and financial contributions."

Her husband, Fred Fisher, was inducted into the Farm Science Review's Hall of Fame this year.

Carole Wilhelm is a member of the Powell Liberty Historical Society.

Carole

Wilhelm