SHOLAN FARM SUBDIVISION PLAN FILED

March 23, 1999 - The apple orchard atop Pleasant Street - with a view of the Monoosnoc Hills to the west and the rolling hills of North Leominster to the east - is one of the most treasured vistas in the city. >> More

OPEN SPACE AT RISK - CHAPTER 61A NOT IRONCLAD

March 28, 1999 - When the owners of Sholan Farm filed a preliminary plan to build 178 homes on their apple orchard, Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said he was confident the land would remain undeveloped. >> More

ORCHARD OWNERS PLAN FOR HOUSING

April 21, 1999 - The owners of the last apple orchard in Johnny Appleseed's home town will develop or sell their land once they receive approval to build houses there, a lawyer for the owners said last night. >> More

MAYOR AGAINST HOUSING PLAN FOR SHOLAN FARM LAND

April 21, 1999 - On paper, Sholan Farm is an excellent place to build homes, said the engineer developing a plan to build 178 houses over what is now the city's largest apple orchard. >> More

178 HOMES GET 1ST OK

May 19, 1999 -The ghost of the Samoset Middle School expansion - turned down last week by the City Council - hung like a pall over the Planning Board meeting last night. >> More

BOARD OKs SHOLAN PLAN - DEVELOPERS ENVISION 178 HOMES; MAZZARELLA PUSHES OPEN SPACE

May 19, 1999 - A preliminary plan to develop Sholan Farm got a unanimous nod from the Planning Board Tuesday night, giving the owners about seven months to develop their final plan. >> More

MAYOR URGES RESIDENTS TO HELP BUY LAND

May 20, 1999 - Property owners may be able to pay a bit more on next year's tax bill to help the city buy land for conservation. >> More

ORCHARD RESCUE EFFORT GERMINATES IN LEOMINSTER - TRUSTEES AID CITY PRESERVATIONISTS

May 26, 1999 - A statewide conservation group and a local land trust will help the city in its effort to preserve Sholan Farm, the last working apple orchard in Johnny Appleseed's hometown. >> More

CITY CONSIDERING OPEN SPACE FUND

June 29, 1999 - The city is considering seeking special legislation to allow taxpayers to donate to an open space fund that would be used to purchase land for conservation or recreation. >> More

COUNCIL TABLES LAND CONSERVATION PETITION

July 13, 1999 - In one of the swiftest meetings in recent memory, the City Council sailed through its agenda Monday night, mainly by postponing action on a number of key petitions. >> More

STATE OFFICIAL TO VISIT ORCHARD

July 26, 1999 - If there was any doubt Sholan Farm is important to the city and area environmentalists, consider this: They have invited the state secretary of environmental affairs to visit the 167-acre apple orchard, and he has accepted. >> More

COUNCIL OKs CONSERVATION BOX ON TAX BILLS

August 10, 1999 - The City Council voted Monday in favor of Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella's petition to allow residents to check a box on property tax bills to contribute a special fund for city purchases of land for conservation or recreation. >> More

MEETING TO FOCUS ON SAVING ORCHARD

August 31, 1999 - Residents interested in protecting one of the city's historic areas from development are invited to a special meeting Thursday. >> More

TAXPAYERS MAY GET CHANCE TO DONATE TO OPEN SPACE FUND

September 02, 1999 - If legislation filed by state Rep. Mary Jane Simmons and state Sen. Robert A. Antonioni passes through the House of Representatives and Senate, Leominster taxpayers will have a chance to speak with their dollars on the issue of open space. >> More

TRUSTEES WANT TO SAVE SHOLAN FARM

September 03, 1999 - If Richard K. O'Brien has his way, Leominster's last remaining apple orchard will not only remain a vast open space for succeeding generations, it will become a hub for education and recreation in the tradition of Johnny Appleseed. >> More

BARN'S DAYS AT LEOMINSTER HIGH ARE NUMBERED

September 10, 1999 - As barns vanish from the landscape across the nation, so too will their presence at Leominster High School. The school barn will be closed, and its animals will be relocated as soon as suitable places for them can be found, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph B. Rappa. >> More

LOTTERY WINDFALL TO HELP BUY LAND

September 19, 1999 -The city will receive an unexpected windfall from state lottery funds. The $639,000 will be used to purchase open space, a high priority for Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella's administration. >> More

SHOLAN FARM RETAINS CHAPTER 61A STATUS

September 29, 1999 - Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella announced Tuesday that one of the city's most coveted areas of open space will remain under state protection for the next two years. >> More

CITY GETS MORE TIME FOR ORCHARD DECISION

September 30, 1999 - The city has a little extra breathing room now that the owners of Sholan Farm, the city's only remaining apple orchard, have renewed the agricultural protection on their land through June 2001. >> More

"LIGHT A CANDLE FOR SHOLAN FARM" - PROCEEDS BENEFITING PURCHASE OF PROPERTY TO PRESERVE OPEN SPACE

November 05, 1999 - Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella is encouraging residents "to light a candle for Sholan Farm.'' The mayor announced Thursday that proceeds from the sale of scented candles will benefit a fund to purchase Sholan Farm, one of Leominster's most coveted areas of open space. >> More

ORCHARD-SAVING TALK 'PRODUCTIVE'

November 9, 1999 - A Trustees of Reservations official said yesterday he was optimistic about the latest effort to prevent the development of the city's last apple orchard. >> More

SHOLAN DRIVE GETS NATIONAL ATTENTION

November 15, 1999 - "Baked apples" were selling like hotcakes at the mayor's office Friday. "Sholan Farm Baked Apple" scented candles are being sold to raise money to buy Sholan Farm, the last apple orchard in Johnny Appleseed's hometown. >> More

PLANNING BOARD DELAYS DISCUSSION ON ORCHARD

November 17, 1999 - The Planning Board last night tabled discussion on the proposed development of Sholan Farm and reviewed revised plans for a Wal-Mart superstore on Route 117. >> More

"SAVE SHOLAN FARM" BECOMES NATIONAL CRY

November 22, 1999 - Letters and newspaper clippings are coming in from all over the United States, many from schoolchildren who say Sholan Farm on Pleasant Street, Leominster's last working apple orchard, should not fall to a developer's bulldozers. >> More

OFFICIALS DISCUSS SHOLAN PURCHASE

November 30, 1999 - The City Council Legal Affairs Committee will discuss the proposed purchase of Sholan Farm when it meets with the Trustees of Reservations at 7:30 tonight at City Hall. >> More

MAYOR SAYS TEAMWORK WILL SAVE APPLE ORCHARD

December 1, 1999 - It will take teamwork to preserve the city's last remaining apple orchard. And a lot of money. The City Council Legal Affairs Committee met last night with local and state officials to discuss the proposed purchase of Sholan Farm, the last operating orchard in Johnny Appleseed's hometown. >> More

OFFICIALS AGREE TO PRESERVE APPLES

December 1, 1999 - Efforts to preserve Sholan Farm will focus on maintaining a working apple orchard on the 167-acre parcel, and price negotiations with the owners will continue. >> More

SHOLAN FARM: WE GET LETTERS

December 15, 1999 - Almost everyone has played "telephone" in school. It's a little exercise that demonstrates the dangers of gossip, among other things. >> More