On the Bright Side: Andes dairy farms the subject of documentary film

Dairy farming in Andes is a time-honored profession, but only eight farms remained when a group of five high school students spent a year exploring the town's diminished heritage.

The 50-minute documentary "Dairy Farms of Andes" will debut at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at Andes Central School.

Students Cheyenne Tait, Justin Weaver, Ethan Berghammer, Clint Peterson and Hope Egnaczak worked with instructors Colleen Heavey and Wendy Redden to visit the farms and record the recollections of the farmers.

Heavey said the idea originated after "Shavertown _ Reservoir of Memories," a 2007 documentary in which students collected stories from people displaced by the Pepacton Reservoir.

Tait, who was part of the class that produced the Shavertown film, was the student director on the farm documentary and wrote the narration.

"I am proud of the finished product," Tait said. "It was a way to recognize the farmers of Andes and all the work that they do. They really are amazing people with so many stories to tell of their way of life."

Tait's family lives on one of the eight dairy farms in Andes. She said she was intrigued by "who keeps every single heifer calf, who milks with the most milking machines and what type of breed everyone prefers."

Heavey said the documentary is in eight segments, each focusing on one of the farms.

She said the farmers were willing to participate and provided old photos of the farms.

Heavey said that since the documentary was completed, one of the farmers retired, leaving Andes with seven active farms.

ä Jim, Russ and Amber Darling, who farm on Fall Clove Road. Amber, Russ' daughter, is a fifth-generation farmer.

ä Martin and Peg Liddle, a husband-and-wife team, who farm on the Tremperskill, county Highway 1. The farm has been in the Liddle family since the late 1800s.

ä Walter Gladstone, whose Gladstone Hollow farm is operated by Ken Balcom and was started in 1949.

ä Roger Terry, who started farming in 1958, on the family farm on top of Cabin Hill, which dates to about 1895. He retired in November.

ä Harvey Morse, who has been farming since 1968 on the family farm near the bottom of Dingle Hill that was founded by his parents in 1942.

ä Dick and Roger Liddle, a father-and-son team, who run the family farm on state Route 28 that was established in 1868.

ä Judi Tait and her father, Viggo Skovsende, who run a farm on state Route 28 near Tunis Lake. The farm was purchased by Skovsende in 1934.

ä The Laughmandale farm, operated by William Laughman and his niece, Ruth Fuller, and purchased by the Laughman family in 1929. William has been farming there since 1957, and Ruth joined him in 1992.

Heavey said the students issued a questionnaire and then visited each farm to do interviews and film footage.

Heavey said the experience was "a real eye-opener for the kids, because most of them knew very little about farming."

She said that during filming, the students witnessed three calves being born and had numerous other experiences.

Weaver, 18, said, "I've lived in the area my entire life, so farms are commonplace to me. Both sides of my family have owned and operated farms, but I didn't know the full extent of what went on with the farms and what ever happened to them."

Photos

Pictured is Cheyenne Tait, the student director of the documentary, and a resident of one of the eight remaining farms in Andes.