The shelves at GiGi’s Country Store in Wilton are filled with jams, jellies, handicrafts and local produce – most of which come from farms run by local veterans.
Janet Dewitz, who opened the doors to her downtown store on Aug. 1, said her son inspired her to create a platform for veteran farmers. Her son, Donn Mann of Deering, is an Army veteran, and said when he was looking to get out of the service, he wasn’t sure what his next step was. But he had a keen interest in the concept of homesteading and producing some of his own food, so he joined a class put on by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, known as “Arms to Farms” aimed at veterans who were interested in agriculture.
Mann, who now owns and runs DNR Farms in Deering, said he recognized the benefits for himself and other veterans right away.
“It’s going to depend on the person, obviously, but most veterans, when they’re coming out of the service, have some form of an adjustment disorder. Their life will always be different,” Mann said. “Being with animals, growing vegetables, connecting with the earth, it does have a therapeutic aspect. It’s relaxing, and it helps take your mind off certain stressors.”
Dewitz said she wanted to be a place where those veteran farmers could sell their wares.
“I’ve always had a dream of owning a country store,” said Dewitz.
For the most part, she said, it was just a daydream. But then COVID-19 hit.
At the start of the year, Dewitz was working as a bartender at the Rivermill Tavern in Milford. She was initially furloughed when the pandemic hit and the tavern shut down, like many restaurants were forced to do. But the tavern wasn’t able to weather the loss of income, and announced in mid-June that it would not be reopening.
“I went from furloughed to jobless,” Dewitz said. “But I thought, maybe with one door closing, I’ll open a new door. It’s a leap of faith.”
Dewitz began to look around, and found an available space on Wilton’s Main Street. Not far from her own home in Milford, Dewitz said it had all the aspects she was looking for to host a country store.
“I liked that hometown feel. It’s on the Main Street, but it still has that small-town, community feeling, and that’s what I was looking for,” Dewitz said.
From the beginning, Dewitz said she wanted to have room in the store for her son’s produce, and the rest of the inventory of veterans’ products grew organically from that. Originally, Dewitz said, she wanted the store to be named something that reflected that concept, but she was soundly outvoted by her family members, including her seven grandchildren, who all call her “GiGi.”
Dewitz said she’s starting slow, selling fruits and vegetables, eggs, preserves, and a few hand crafts produced by veteran farmers, but she hopes to grow, and get the needed inspections to be able to sell farm-fresh meat. Not every item she sells is produced by veterans, she said, but about 80 percent is, and that number is growing.
Mann said after connecting with several other veterans striking out on their own homesteads in his initial class, he’s organized them and other veteran farmers through Facebook, and they support each other through advice, but also in buying in bulk to give the whole group greater buying power. So, when his mother started GiGi’s Country Store, and wanted to fill the shelves with items produced by veterans, Mann said he knew where to go to put out the call.
In addition to Mann’s connections, though, Dewitz also has made her own connections locally.
Al and Heather Gibson, owners of Sunridge Farm in Lyndeborough, sell their honey and beeswax products and goat’s milk soap at the store. Al spent a few years in the Army in the 1980s before making a career in law enforcement; he and his wife moved back to the east coast from Nevada seven years ago, and have been steadily adding to their homesteading ventures ever since.
“Neither of us have a lot of experience, we’re just learning as we go,” Al said.
A look around the Cemetery Road farm reveals pens for goats and chickens, an orchard with a slew of apple-laden trees, and a collection of nine beehives that yield Sunridge’s beeswax and honey.
Al, who has lived mainly in cities, said he understands the need to connect with the earth and the people around you.
“When you’ve seen and done a lot of things, your mind can wander. To have something to occupy your mind, to find an outlet like that, I think that’s great,” he said. “It’s hard to be distracted when you’re working with thousands of bees buzzing around you.”
Eddie Anzalone of Long Range Ranch in Lyndeborough said he and his wife are just getting their farm off the ground. Anzalone, an Army and Marine veteran, said he retired a little over a year ago, and is striking out into totally new territory when it comes to farming.
“We bought the property with the intent to transform it into a farm. It’s definitely a work in progress,” Anzalone said.
So, an opportunity like GiGi’s is great for him, Anzalone said, because it gives him his first consistent market for products like his farm-fresh eggs. Anzalone said he is currently preparing to purchase a herd of cattle in the spring, and hopes to be able to bring his beef to GiGi’s for sale, once the store is prepared for that.
That’s what she wants to be, Dewitz said: An opportunity. Her idea of a country store, she said, is one filled with local products by small farmers, most of whom don’t have the ability to sell at large retailers. Giving that opportunity to veterans first is just a bonus, she said.
GiGi’s Country Store is located on 10 Main Street in Wilton. For more information, contact Dewitz at the store at 654-1356 or visit the GiGi’s Country Store Facebook page.