When she’s not working in the NICU at Maine Med, Heather Emmons is working on the farm alongside her father, Chuck Hall, at Mineral Spring Farm in Windham, Maine. The farm was originally her grandfather’s, purchased in the 1950’s, and the entire herd of cows living on the farm today are direct descendants of those few original cows her grandfather began milking back in 1952.
But the cows aren’t the only ones keeping it in the family.
“My whole life my dream has been to work alongside my dad and farm in some aspect. I love the hard work, I love the animals, but mostly I love that I get to spend so much time with my dad. When my grandfather passed away 3 years ago, that was the sign that I needed to come back.”
In addition to working alongside her dad, Heather also works with her grandmother, 84-year-old Carol Hall, and spends time on the farm with her two children Abbi and Jake. “Even if you weren’t born on a farm—I think if you end up working in agriculture it was already inside of you in some way. It’s more than a passion, it’s a calling.”
Heather’s family has been shipping milk exclusively to Oakhurst for almost 70 years. “We pride ourselves on shipping real Maine milk to Oakhurst. It’s milk from Maine farms, Maine cows—and hardworking Maine people.”