Our Story

Jane and I are originally from Maryland but have lived in Vermont seasonally for over 40 years and retired full-time to Vermont 13 years ago.

I grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC, but was always fascinated by farm life. I still have the farm set I played with as a child. While attending the University of Maryland, I worked part-time at Oxon Hill Children’s Farm, a newly formed national park in Maryland overlooking Washington DC, Alexandria, Virginia and the Potomac River. It was a federal government-owned farm converted into a living history turn-of-the-century farm. Dressed in bib-overalls, I introduced visitors to the animals commonly found on a farm during that period.

Earlier in my teaching career, I heard there were one-room schoolhouses in Vermont and decided to head to Vermont to find one. I didn’t find a one-room schoolhouse but I did find a two-room schoolhouse in Waterville, Vermont, about an hour from Newport. I was the principal and fourth, fifth and sixth-grade teacher. Teaching and living in Waterville was my introduction to Vermont. Jane and I were married in a Waterville hayfield looking towards Mt Mansfield.

Another call to adventure resulted in Jane and I taking teaching jobs with the Department of Defense. For over three decades, we taught on overseas military bases in England, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Korea, the Philippines, Japan and the US Territory or Guam. Each summer, we returned to Vermont with our three children to enjoy the natural beauty of Vermont, especially the pristine Lake Memphremagog.

Fast forward 40 years, Stan and Jane are now retired from teaching and live full-time and welcome you to Tinkers Green Farm.