Shadow Cross Farm in Colchester is shutting down its egg business

COLCHESTER ― In 1949, Leonel and Helen Paquette left their chicken farm in Williston, established in 1940, to build a bigger, better operation in Colchester they named Shadow Cross Farm. Over the next nearly eight decades, Shadow Cross eggs became a staple in Vermont refrigerators − provided by a quintessential family business that employed many uncles, aunts and cousins over the years.

Now, Leonel and Helen's grandson, Rich Paquette, 64, and his wife, Linda, 62, have decided to close the family business. They will leave the egg deliveries to other distributors in South Barre and Stowe who took on the two farms in Vermont and New York that have been supplying Shadow Cross eggs since 2000, when Rich Paquette sold the family flocks because of the pressures of urbanization in Colchester.

As of April 1, Shadow Cross Farm distributed its last egg. Rich and Linda Paquette still have their storage business where people park their campers, boats and other "big toys," Rich Paquette said, but the couple is officially in semi-retirement.

"A less stressful way of life, that's our goal," Rich Paquette said.

Shadow Cross Farm got its evocative name from Paquette's grandmother, who in the mornings would notice the many shadow crisscrosses on the floor from the sun streaming through the multi-pane windows of the 160-year-old farmhouse where she lived on the farm.

At its peak before 2000, Shadow Cross Farm had 75,000 laying hens, producing 68,000 to 70,000 eggs daily, according to Paquette. Laying hens have a productive life span of about a year before it's off to the rendering plant to become fertilizer and dog food, so Shadow Cross was constantly raising the next flock of chickens. For years, the thousands of fluffy yellow chicks were a staple of elementary school field trips for first and second graders in the area.

"You're moving birds all the time," Paquette said. "We had four flocks here, so we always had one flock coming and one flock going. We always had fresh eggs."

The beginning of the end for the Shadow Cross flock started around 1994, Paquette said, when houses started going up in droves surrounding the farm. While his urban neighbors weren't yet complaining about the farming operation on their doorsteps, the handwriting was on the wall.

On top of that, the few dairy farms and vegetable farms in the vicinity, where Paquette had been able to offload his chicken manure, shut down, leaving him to ship the manure to farms in upstate New York, a costly proposition.

"The idea is the future is changing," Paquette said. "So before you get involved in a situation where your neighbors are upset with you, it's time to do the right thing. That's how we looked at it."

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Paquette could have moved Shadow Cross Farm to Franklin County or Addison County, where agriculture is still king, but he didn't want to leave the home turf where both he and his children had grown up.

Paquette grew up working in the business for his father, Dick, and mother, Pauline. Dick Paquette died in 2016.

"My mom is still going, she's in good shape, she's 86," Paquette said. "She thought it was time (to close the business). She was OK with it."

Paquette said he and his wife started discussing the possibility of closing down last summer. They came up with a list of items that would have to be accomplished to continue in business. One of those items was to replace their aging fleet of seven delivery trucks, which at a cost of about $165,000 each, would take more than $1 million.

The idea of that kind of financial commitment was daunting to Paquette and his wife at a time when they were ready to begin slowing down. Paquette had also grown weary of the constant questioning of Shadow Cross Farm's handling of its chickens, on social media and through regular phone calls.

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"Everybody is always asking questions about how you're doing business all the time," he said. "And it's unique to Vermont, because farms in New York, nobody ever calls. In New Hampshire, they don't get these calls. Once a week I get a call, wanting to know what's going on with our business. Most of the time people are happy after explaining what you do."

The final straw for Paquette came three months ago, when he suffered two tears in his retina and needed emergency surgery. He was forbidden from lifting anything for two weeks, and still doesn't know whether the surgery was entirely successful.

"I'll know soon how things turned out," Paquette said. "Hopefully they'll say everything looks good."

Despite the challenges in both his personal and business affairs, Paquette is grateful for the life Shadow Cross Farm gave him and his extended family over the decades.

"The area changed," Paquette said. "You can't whine about that, you just move on. I'm very lucky, very fortunate."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.