Tucked away in the middle of colorful trees, falling leaves, and open land lays an intentional living community, one that is Mennonite through and through. 36 years ago, a group of best friends from Eastern Mennonite College set out to find an affordable and sustainable living community in a safe and comfortable environment. The families settled on a 63-acre farm in Keezletown, Virginia, each building their own homes around a central meadow with a path connecting the houses to one another. Each house incorporated rocks from their land to create a fireplace, natural water from the springs, and solar-powered heating and cooling.
Gretchen Maust, administrative assistant of Visual and Communication Arts at EMU, is one of the original founders of Hidden Meadow Farm. “Our hopes were to create a community of friends who would build their homes close to each other, work together on common projects, be responsible stewards of our land, and share fun family times together.”
Alcinda Brubaker, a junior at EMU, is one of the “farm kids” who has spent her life as a part of this community. “We used to have this wagon, the kind with four wheels and a handle, and we would get in it at the top of the hill and ride it all the way down. Somehow no one ever broke a limb, but I’m not sure how, given that it was the most dangerous thing in the world.” Brubaker recounted this memory with a smile, pointing out the rather large, rocky path down the shared road. When asked what her favorite part of growing up on the farm was, she answered, “Having a community around me. I always had someone to play with.” It is memories such as these that Brubaker holds fondly from her childhood at Hidden Meadow Farm, one of the reasons she is so thankful to have grown up in the way that she did.
Brubaker was adopted from Mozambique as a war orphan and raised by Caucasian Mennonites in this intentional living community. “[I] have so much to share in regards to growing into a young African-American woman in Harrisonburg during my college years.” Growing up in the Harrisonburg public school system, which lacks diversity, was a hard challenge for her to overcome, feeling as though she did not belong. However, she said she didn’t let this bother her, and instead she “went with her uniqueness to be a role model for others.” Her farm family has helped her to overcome these difficulties and feel as though she has a place.
The families have multiple themed annual events such as Apple Cider Day and Kite Flying Day, inviting neighbors and friends to join in on the fun. Brubaker has expressed interest in opening their farm to the rest of the community and creating a space for gathering. Although they already have family weddings on their land, Brubaker wants to open the space for others to use as well. When asked about whether or not Maust is interested in commercializing their land as well, she responded, “We are only interested in offering a lovely, scenic setting to friends and family. We, and I’m speaking for only [my husband] Robert and I, are not interested in making this a business.” Instead, they are interested in keeping the farm a part of their family, whether that means passing it down to children or inviting in new families, stating, “We hope that our very excellent farm community will continue with new families taking over our vision and creating beautiful communities of their own.”
Hidden Meadow Farm has created a family for these friends full of laughter, cattle, and good food. Maust ended with the statement, “It takes a great leap of faith, and a chunk of change, to start an intentional community, but I’ve never regretted bringing our dream of Hidden Meadow Farm into reality. It’s been a good life!”
