BACK MOUNTAIN, Pa. — Some calves are the newest additions to the family at The Lands at Hillside Farms in Luzerne County.
But just like the last few years, these cuties aren't the only new things on the farm. A pavilion, complete with outdoor seating, will soon be upstaging them.
"If you ever go to the Forty Fort park, they have a beautiful pavilion. It's from Mooretown Mills, right here on (Route) 118," explained Executive Director Chet Mozloom. "It's that kind of pavilion, a timber frame which fits in with what we do, you know, gray steel roof, something that's going to last a really long time. And so it's very similar to that, a little bigger."
Early last year, the Mercantile Building was brand new.
Adding new things is a trend on the farm.
"Yeah, it does seem that way, and realistically there has been. I think we're slowing down now there's a plan, and we're coming to, the plan's coming to fruition," said Mozloom. "We'll probably shift gears towards sort of repairing older buildings that need repair as opposed to putting new ones up. The newest one is a pavilion,"
Things like the outdoor ice cream parlor and the new pavilion were all inspired to help maintain social distancing, but now they're going to be permanent structures at Hillside.
"COVID made it so that we couldn't have our people inside to sit down, and it changed the whole dynamic of the store, even the products that we had. And we realized that people that were coming here to buy milk were fighting the ice cream line," said Mozloom.
Mozloom says this addition will be part of a bigger and better "new normal" on the farm, one that's getting closer to what was seen here before the pandemic every day.
"We're operating pretty much normally. Our camps sold out. So, still, we're following CDC guidelines for everything. Whatever it says is what we're doing, no more, no less, because you know there's people on both sides of this issue. So we just follow up precisely right now. You still have to mask and camp. But yeah, everything's happening," added Mozloom.
If you want to learn more about the Lands at Hillside Farms, you can visit its website by clicking here.