![]() Sharon, who married into the family which has been in Groton since the 1600s, recognized some of the names. The letters, some without a street name, all made it to the committee who kept in touch with the soldiers living far from home. ![]() Tucked into their original envelopes, many were sent to the “Home Town Committee, West Groton.” Some were sent directly to Mrs. It’s our hope,” Matheson said.GROTON - A trove of letters sent home by lonely servicemen during World War II, hidden for years at the bottom of a closet, surfaced when Sharon Blood took on the task of cleaning the Blood home after her former parents-in-law died. Recognizing the needs of a slaughterhouse in the area, Blood said he will likely rebuild.Īfter talking with Blood on Monday, Matheson said that’s her understanding, as well. The Bloods have two sons, both of whom are in the farming business. “I didn’t realize it until now,” Blood said, sitting by the windows that overlook the barn-red structure now with a roof that is soot-covered and caved. But keeping the farming tradition alive has been important to Barney Blood, who was born and raised on the land. “Thank God that all got out,” she said of the holiday supplies.īarney and Doris Blood said doing business has become harder over the years because of the amount of paperwork required under slaughterhouse regulations. Before Christmas, the parking lot was jammed with shipping trucks and farmers’ and shoppers’ vehicles, she said. Ott, who brings his cows to Blood Farm occasionally, said the farm has earned its reputation for clean, swift and humane processing of meat and the overall quality of service.ĭoris Blood said the farm also takes orders for its ham from across the country during the holiday season. On the other hand, she said, her other customers have begun calling to stock up on her beef out of fear that it might become more difficult to get their hands on locally grown beef for a while.įor Matheson, the shutdown of Blood Farm means she has to drive farther to get her cows processed.Īlso, “it means we don’t do business with our close friends,” Matheson said of the Blood family. But with Blood Farm, her biggest customer, gone, she many need to slow that cycle. Matheson said she needs to raise calves and sell older ones on an ongoing basis to provide a steady supply of beef. Spring Brook also has some cows processed by Blood weekly for the store. Some farms with big herds depend heavily on Blood Farm, including Spring Brook, which sells some cows to Blood Farm every week for its butcher shop. Adams Farm has also had a fire some time ago but rebuilt, Blood said. Some farmers also use Lemay Sons and Beef in Manchester, N.H., according to Fran Matheson, owner of Spring Brook Farm in Littleton. Massachusetts only has two of such facilities: Blood Farm and Adams Farm in Athol. “It’s really devastating.”Īccording to Blood, meat must to be processed in a USDA-certified slaughterhouse to be put on the market. “It’s bigger than just the local community,” Sally Smith, owner of Common View Farm in Groton, said of Blood’s clientele, which comes from all over New England. “It’s a real blow to the town,” John Ott, president of Groton Historical Society, said of the farm that started in the mid-1700s. They couldn’t fathom the idea of Blood Farm being gone forever. Then, the phone started ringing, and people began dropping in. ![]() They are without jobs at the moment, Blood said.īlood, who is recovering from recent heart surgery, wasn’t sure about what he wanted to do immediately after the fire. Without a place to butcher or store meat, however, the business could not operate.īlood Farm employs 15 to 20 people, depending on the season, and many are part-timers. The free-standing slaughterhouse, where 100 or more animals, including cows, pigs, sheep and goats, come through each week, escaped damage. The cinder-block and metal roof made it more difficult to put out the fire, Bosselait said Sunday. The structure that caught fire dates back to the early 1970s and had a smoke room, meat-processing facility and a retail shop in it. ![]() The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday, but Fire Chief Joseph Bosselait has said the fire started in a smoke room. The day after his business was reduced to ashes in a fire, Blood has begun thinking about rebuilding.įirefighters descended on Blood Farm, a 77-acre farm at 94 West Main St., in West Groton, early Sunday morning after a passer-by noticed the fire and reported it. ![]()
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