HOOK

T he paths we take o#en wind but the ones that pave the way back to where it all began complete the journey. In addi3on to holding historic significance that dates back to 1776 when George Washington came through this stretch of Route 17A between Goshen and Florida, New York, it has long been a place of bucolic farms and homes of architectural marvel. During the days of dairy farming in the 1770s, the Howell Creamery occupied the agricultural acres of 2220 Route 17A in Goshen. In 1850 the prominent Goshen family, the Houston's, came onto the scene. A young Ira Harold Houston had graduated Cornell Univer- sity where he studied agriculture and then returned to Goshen to help his father in 1920. He ul3mately took over the dairy farm property. His exper3se gained him the dis3nc3on as one of the top Holstein dairymen in Orange County. In 1942 he semi-re3red, shi#ed from dairy farming to flowers and became a leading cul3vator of gladiolas for the wholesale florist market. During the 1950s and 1960s Douglas Bloomfield, a local teenager, worked on the farm under the direc3on of Houston. An avid gardener from the age of five, Bloomfield was a hard worker that Houston took under his wing. Bloomfield's days were o#en spent sor3ng bulbs in the root cellar, which s3ll remains on the prop- erty, in the fields weeding, and on Saturdays washing the Houston's car in prepara3on for Sunday drives. He was promised 65 cents an hour for his work, but his work ethic and skill proved to be more valuable, so Houston decided to pay him 75 cents an hour. Bloomfield ul3mately became a biologist, was hired by Dupont and made the move to the West Coast for his job. In 1989 Bloomfield received word of Houston's HOOK 21 House built circa 1770s with a 710 foot wall in front of the barn, house and lawn built from rocks found on the property.

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