Making a Stand

Joe Hall is continuing the long tradition of a family with deep roots in the Simsbury region. His grandfather was the station master of the Simsbury depot, and his relatives have worked the land in the area for centuries. Joe’s many interests in farming, writing, woodworking, hiking, and archaeology have merged as one. Beginning with trade schools to learn masonry and carpentry, and briefly studying engineering, Joe entered the University of Connecticut, where he studied agriculture and upon graduation continued farming. For the last thirty years, he has operated the J.L.Hall Farm on Terry’s Plain Road. Joe is one of the most recent members of a family which has farmed land in the Simsbury region since the 18th century. He writes about his life and surroundings every day, always keeping a notepad with him and often stopping his tractor in midfield when a thought or memory occurs to him. Joe is deeply immersed in the natural surroundings of his riverside world. He feels a kinship with the natïve Americans of the Tunxis nation, who worked the same land and whose artifacts Joe finds in abundance, creating a collection of them which is an archaeology treasure. He is the last in a long line of Halls who have worked the land in the Simsbury region since the 18th Century, a man for all seasons: a long-time farmer whose roadside stand is a trove of seasonal produce; a protector of the environment; a generous supporter of local initiatives; a naturalist; a repairman with a genius for fixing whatever is broken; and a writer often stopping his tractor in mid-furrow and pulling out his notebook.