When my daughter Heidi was grown, she was the first one out of our four children to give us a grandchild. When she was five months along, one day by chance we both happened to be at the Kingston Mall at the same time. Heidi had been concerned about her baby being deaf as both she and the baby’s father are deaf. In the center aisle of the mall that day was a display of very big wind chimes suspended from a metal rack. Heidi and I spotted each other at the same time and walked towards one another. When she was under the rack of chimes, a little boy ran through them hitting the clappers, which caused both melodious and clashing sounds simultaneously. Heidi turned her hearing aid off and put her hands on her stomach to protect the baby and was staring at me wide-eyed. She grabbed my arm as we stepped out from under the wind chimes. I asked if she was okay and she told me the baby was kicking and moving and didn’t stop until the chimes stopped. I was as thrilled as she was because she realized it meant the baby could hear.
In April of 1994, Heidi presented my husband Dave and I with our first grandchild whose name is Alisha. I felt honored to be in the delivery room with Heidi and her husband Chris when Alisha was born. She was beautiful and perfect and has extra sensitive hearing. The day after her birth when I went to the Hospital to visit, Alisha was laying down on her tummy beside Heidi on the hospital bed. When Heidi went to move her, her little fist went up in the air and her bottom lip jutted out, as if to say, NO! Heidi let her stay in that position and down went her little fist and her little mouth relaxed as well. Heidi and I looked at each other smiling as that told us she was already her own person, which has held true.
The first day she was home from the hospital, our kids (her aunts and uncles) came to visit. Grandparents on both sides of the family and great-grandparents took turns coming a few days later. Alisha’s grandfather Frank, on her dad’s side and Dave, my husband, were in competition when it came to buying pajamas, bibs and other articles of clothing for the baby. Frank had graduated from Holy Cross College and Dave from Boston College. They both got her clothing from their Alma Maters and were hoping she’d attend the colleges they did; which she didn’t. Dave and I loved taking care of her and she often stayed overnight at our house.

My husband Dave and my stepdaughter, Donna (Dave’s daughter), are Alisha’s God parents. Dave felt a need to be more involved with his church which was The Lady of the Lake Church in Halifax where we live. Because he was one of Alisha’s God parents, he felt it was important and he went to talk with the Priest, Father Murphy, several times and was asked if he would be interested in working with the teenagers who attended Saturday classes. He decided to give it a try. Starting in the Fall of 1997, Dave was also a therapist and dealt with all kinds of personalities in his work. This also helped him deal with the young people in the Saturday classes at the church, keeping them focused and interested. All through the winter he led his class at church and became friends with some of the other adults who were also educating, leading and guiding the classes. Throughout the Holiday Season, all went well, and he felt he was making progress when the students asked questions about some of the teachings of the Bible, the Catholic Faith, sacraments, prayer and beliefs and faith in Jesus the Christ. The more questions the young people asked and the deeper the discussions the happier Dave was as he felt he was truly reaching and helping them.

In April of 1997, Alisha had her third birthday. With the coming of Spring, the students were restless. Dave and some of the other teachers met privately to discuss what they could do to be more effective with the teenagers to hold their interest. They came up with some good plans and even some games centering around personal choices, helping others and being a power of example. That was successful for a while. Every few weeks they met again to change things to keep the classes going. By June Dave had decided he was not going to stay teaching the classes. He was glad he did it as he would have regretted not doing it. He had an opportunity to teach college classes and wanted to take the job. He also looked forward to having his Saturday mornings to himself once again.

On his last day at the church Dave forgot a book Father Murphy had loaned him and called me to ask if I would bring it to him as he didn’t want to leave without giving it back. Alisha was spending the weekend with us, and we got in the car and drove to the church. No one was in the rectory except Dave and the priest. I brought the book in and gave it to Dave. He and the priest were talking, and he introduced us. Alisha was walking around looking at the several blackboards on wheels that were in the room. I was wearing a full skirt and a summer top. Alisha was very shy around strangers at that age. Dave was very proud of her and picked her up to introduce her to the Father. She buried her head in Dave’s neck and looked away. Dave put her down and she ran behind me for a minute before looking around again. When Dave and Father Murphy finished their conversation, they shook hands and wished each other well. Father Murphy called out to Alisha, blowing her a kiss and calling her sweetheart. Alisha ran to me, grabbed my skirt, hiding in the folds of it, sticking her head out and yelling out to the Priest in a voice I didn’t know she had, “I NOT YOUR SWEETHEART!!” She grabbed my hand, pulling me outside, the three of us adults unable to keep a straight face.

Once we got home, Dave picked Alisha up and asked her what she wanted to do and she said, swim. She was in her bathing suit and beach jacket before Dave could change into his trunks so we could go to Stetson Pond. Alisha is now full-grown and happily married with a young daughter of her own – who also speaks her mind.

Driving along bustling Plymouth Street in Halifax you might take easy notice of the big box store, the food establishments, and the local businesses lining the main road in the town. But if you slow down a bit and look around you will not be able to miss spotting the picturesque Nessralla Farm stand tucked into the town scene. With a storefront flanked by two large Paperbark Maple trees, dozens of rows of long tables bursting with colorful flowers of all kinds, a sign advertising a local Lebanese festival, and hanging baskets heavy laden with curtains of cascading blooms, it is impossible to resist pulling in to further investigate such a cheery sight.
The inside of Nessralla’s Farm stand is no less charming and stocked with all the jewel-colored produce delights one would expect to find grown on a farm, as well as more preserves, jams, jellies, sauces, and handmade, local gifts than could be accounted for in one trip. Honey from their own hives, fresh local bread, baskets tipped on their sides to display an abundance of onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes and fridges packed with local meats, more produce, and fresh juices leave one inadvertently planning dinner for the evening.
All of this local bounty is the legacy of John Nessralla, who alongside his brother Mansur, are the head farmers and proprietors of Nessralla’s Farm in Halifax. If the beautiful farm store isn’t inspiring enough to visit, then learning about the family behind the operation will quickly make Nessralla’s Farm your favorite local destination. Nessralla immigrated to America in 1968 from Lebanon where his father and uncles were passionate farmers growing fruit, flowers, and vegetables. When his uncle and father came to Halifax they built their greenhouses on the site of the old Sturtevant Farms, at the intersection of Routes 58 and 106. Little by little they began to expand. They started Nessralla’s in Marshfield and took over Penniman Hill Farms in Hingham. Other members of their farm-skilled family have similar businesses in Wareham and Avon. Nessralla spent his youth following his uncle and father around their farms, observing their techniques and soaking up all the knowledge he could. “I learned from my father. Not by a book but by watching him and being out there every day.”
Nessralla certainly gleaned a wealth of knowledge enhanced by what must be a dash of inherited genetic instinct for farming because today Nessralla offers just about everything on the farm’s 55 acres on Hemlock Lane -from annuals and perennials to a wide range of produce and honey from the hives on site. “We grow about 80% of the flowers we sell here. We use greenhouses as that environment is easier to control.” The crops are further enhanced by the farm’s ten beehives kept on the growing fields. “We need the bees to grow this much. We make raw, natural honey, a light and dark honey, with nothing added,” Nessralla explains, “It will crystalize sometimes and that means its real.”
Nessralla is not only dedicated to farming, but dedicated to turning out top quality products with more than a price tag connected to them. It is easy to see in every voluptuous flower pot and the nearly picture-perfect produce displayed like an edible rainbow that nothing less than wonderful gets past Nessralla’s discerning evaluation. “We are not like one of the big stores. I won’t sell you something that I would not take home with me,” Nessralla says, “We offer people the best of what we have.” When asked what sets his grocery- filled store apart from others in the area, Nessralla points out that the quality of small-scale farming can’t be matched in mass-produced goods. “Our products look visibly different. You have to care about what you do and you can see that in what we sell -we care about it very much. We try to get things as picture perfect as we can. You can’t find this kind of quality in a store.”
Nessralla’s enthusiasm for offering only the best is not just a good business tactic, but downright enjoyable. When asked if there is any other profession he would have considered had farming not worked out he quickly says, “No. Farming is all I have ever known. I would not want to do anything else.” Nessralla also says he does not have a favorite crop to grow. “Everything. I like to grow everything. I also like to experiment growing new things.” One crop Nessralla is particularly proud of, “Mums. I grow 10-12 different colors of mums,” he says showing a picture on his phone of a tidy, black landscape fabric field with hundreds of healthy-looking young mum plants in pots being watered. Nessralla also explains that they used to grow pumpkins and corn, but have since stopped for crops less subject to nature’s harsh dealings.
If there is one life lesson Nessralla has learned from farming it is that farming is not a sure thing. “Farming is a gamble. One day it’s nice, the next day its 100 degrees or flooding rain. It is like rolling the dice. One year we had six inches of rain in August, and another six inches of rain in September – our pumpkins were out floating in the field. We lost them all. It is a huge investment to plant, say corn, and then lose it all. You have to adapt to what nature does.”
Still, Nessralla says that farming is not to be shied away from. Considering that Nessralla’s foundation for farming was built on the example of his family before him, he realizes that farming is something that must be passed on to the next generations. Nessralla’s also aims to show what a local farm can offer in a community. “It is where our food comes from. We need it. Everybody should learn about farming.”
Nessralla sees modern day habits coming between the required hands-on experience that farming requires. “Society is too into gadgets. You can’t watch a video or read something online and learn to farm. You have to be out there -weeding, watering, picking produce -if you aren’t out there in it you won’t learn it.”
Nessralla is certainly one to learn from as during the interview I am given several tips and recommendations for various gardening woes and profitable crop ideas with visible joy in the exchange of his freely shared knowledge. It is apparent that Nessralla truly loves what he does. “I don’t ‘go to work’. I enjoy it. Sometimes I am up at 1 a.m. to go to Boston to pick up produce and then at 5:30 a.m I am out in the field watering the mums. It is hard work but I enjoy it. If people come into the store and they see what we have and they like what they see, that makes me proud. That is what I love.”
As summer winds down, Nessralla says to be on the lookout for his beautiful mums for fall but also says he has plans to eventually bring back a tradition that Nessralla’s used to offer to the community. “I am hoping to do the corn maze again. It is a lot of fun and it’s located in an isolated, beautiful area that is quiet. I just need to be able to find help in running it. But I would like to do this again.”
Whatever the endeavor Nessralla and his family undertake, one thing is sure -it will be done remarkably well, with passion and purpose, and with a true love for the community. What can the community do for Nessralla’s? “Participate in our farm and business. We are not like the big stores. It is all done by us and we can offer quality that they can’t.”
As I leave with an extraordinarily large and vibrant pink Mandevilla plant in a hanging basket and a mental shopping list for next week’s dinners based on clocking several tantalizing jars of sauce, Lebanese bread, and stunning produce grown minutes away, I can’t help but feel that I am also bringing home a bit of Nessralla’s joy because his love for his life’s work in embedded in every product found at Nessralla’s Farm -and that is something that mass production and money can’t buy.

If you still think of libraries as places of books and mandatory silence, all you need to do is stop by the Holmes Public Library in Halifax and speak with Cataloging Librarian and Assistant Director, Maria Bumpus, to learn that this idea could not be further from the truth. As you enter the Holmes Library you are greeted by a glass case exhibiting impressive Lego creations and an elegant display of folded paper cranes above the circulation desk dangling like crystals on a chandelier -evidence that a great deal more than reading and book circulation takes place here. Seated at a cozy table in a bright corner surrounded by colorful tomes and meticulously organized shelves, Bumpus speaks with tenderness and pride about the library she has been expertly and lovingly curating and maintaining for the last ten years.
The love of libraries was instilled in Bumpus from a young age. She recalls frequenting the Taunton Library in her youth that was located upstairs from an old fire station. Though finding a vast collection of books hasn’t changed from when she was visiting the library as a child, many other aspects have. “Back then, quiet was demanded. You went to the library to read and that’s it. Now, on any given day, we have children laughing with puppet shows going on and adults meeting and chatting for book club. The library is a place of community more than quiet.”
Bumpus’ fondness for libraries was enhanced as a mother of four. She found the library a vital resource for her children not only in exposing them to books but in helping them socialize. Bumpus, a geography major from Salem State University, became so enamored with the library that she sought employment there and in 1993 she began working at the Bridgewater Public Library. Twenty years later she moved to the Ames Free Library in Easton and worked as the part-time circulation assistant. Following this, Bumpus decided to try something very different from a public library and she joined the library staff of Massasoit Community College. The academic library of the college proved quite a different experience from public libraries -largely due to a quick turn around of patrons who were usually at the school for only two years. Public libraries, she points out, often have the same patrons for many years and the librarians get to know them well. Following her time at Massasoit Community College, Bumpus found a position at the Holmes Public Library working at the circulation desk. Ten years later and she now runs the cataloging department full time and is the assistant director of the library.
Bumpus explains that her role as the cataloger is essentially being the curator and collector for the library. She must also be a scrupulous perfectionist when it comes to the details of numbers, authors, book titles, and the systematic organization of materials. “I like the evolution of my career,” says Bumpus, “I started with children and patrons, now I purchase books and keep the collection organized, flowing, and relevant. Cataloging is unique in that it is just me and the books.”
Bumpus also realizes that what she collects for the library plays a crucial role in maintaining its relevance in the community. Bumpus purchases the materials for the Holmes Library from Ingram Content Group with an annual budget of $46,000. These purchases include books, eBooks, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and all offered forms of media. Bumpus is always on the lookout for works to acquire by studying best seller lists, receiving emails from companies like BookBub, and being made aware of books that are making a public splash through social media. She also loves to glean ideas from patron requests and book club discussions. “I want to make sure I am adding things that are relevant to the community.” Bumpus also realizes that keeping up with the latest trends is essential in encouraging the community to be engaged in the library. “Right now, for instance, graphic novels are very popular with the kids. They have rather replaced comic books so I make sure to have lots of graphic novels to offer our younger guests.”
In addition to offering materials through various medias, the Holmes Library offers free community access to computers, free internet, printers, and fax machines. “Some of the patrons do not have access to computers at home or they are not quite computer literate. We offer that access and assistance to the community.” Bumpus explains that the libraries computers are also used in job searching and collecting unemployment while seeking work. “To apply for jobs now everything has to be done online. Bumpus also points out that the public computers are used for things like genealogy which is a growing interest in the community. “We have a genealogy program that meets once a month. This digital dive into ancestry has become one of our most popular programs.”
In addition to materials and machines available at the Holmes Library, experiences and community engagement are equally important and focused on. “We offer many programs for all ages and interests. We just had a ukulele player come perform for the children and they brought in a ukulele for each child so that they could experience the instrument for themselves. Today we are having a Zentangle class which shows children that drawing can be meditative as well as entertaining.
We have story times, music, and crafts for kids and then we have things like the COA Book Club for seniors.” Bumpus says she also hosts two Historical Fiction Book Clubs at the library because when she started the club, she had four people and now she has 21, so she had to split the group. “We are welcoming to all in the community. The library is a place for books but also a place to socialize and learn. We often become emotionally invested in and connected to our patrons, knowing many on a first name basis after years of seeing them.
Bumpus is not exaggerating when she says the Holmes Library is invested in meeting the needs of the community. One of the most important and meaningful services the library provides is the Bookmobile. This is a free service for the town of Halifax where library employees drive around to visit the homes of those who are housebound and unable to attend the library. They deliver new books, collect the books from the last visit, and check in on the patrons who, oftentimes, don’t get many visitors. “Books give people something to do -to look forward to,” says Bumpus.
Keeping the elderly, adults and children in the community active in the library is not, however, the libraries greatest challenge. When asked what age group she would like to see more of at the Holmes Library she answered immediately, “Tweens. It is quite difficult to appeal to that particular age group. They are gaining their independence and their social life is increasingly important,” Bumpus is always looking for ways to make reading and the library exciting. She wishes tweens would start to view books rather like they do movies -thinking about them and talking about them amongst their peers.
The library is seeing an increase in reading enthusiasts due to the new phenomena of “BookTok” and “Bookstagram” which are beginning to make reading “cool” again in this digital age with entertaining bibliophile influencers touting the latest reads with accompanying reviews, skits, art work related to the books, and discussions (some quite heated) among followers. For Bumpus, the most enjoyable of these modern-day offerings in the book world are the author interviews. “It is wonderful to be able to learn about the thought process behind any given book -especially from the author. Many new authors are rising from obscurity through social media such as thriller author, Freida McFadden and Colleen Hoover. All were unheard of until the social media frenzy and now their books are constantly sought out by library guests.”
Whether increased admiration of books comes through social media or book club discussions the Holmes Library is always available and ready to offer in person connections as well as materials and resources to satiate everyone’s literary appetite and interests. “From ages 3 to 103, we offer something to everyone in the community,” Bumpus assures. One thing she will take away rather than leave behind when she reaches the end of her library career someday: An extensive reading list for herself that she has built up for years. “I also collect book recommendations for myself through my work and the patrons and now I have a retirement reading list that will take me the rest of my life to read.”
For now, Bumpus is busy in her constant efforts to make the Holmes Public Library a place or order, resources, learning, and community. “Libraries are one of our most important learning centers and gathering places in our communities. I am happy to share the Holmes Library with our community.” As I leave with my eye on a few new releases and as the sentimental sight of the children’s area instantly evokes memories of weekly storytime with my children when they were little. I can easily agree with Albert Einstein when he said, “The only thing that you absolutely need to know is the location of the library.” I invite anyone reading this to venture to 470 Plymouth St. in Halifax and you will undoubtedly discover what makes the library relevant to you.