Eggs by the Honor Box

Though many large farms have disappeared from the town's landscape in recent decades, eggs remain available, supplied by a number of homesteads and a few remaining local growers.

Taking advantage of the town's combined farming and residential zones, a number of people keep small flocks of chickens and sell their excess eggs in honor boxes by the roadside. Customers take the eggs, which cost from $3 to $3.50 a dozen, and leave the money in the box.

Being able to buy fresh eggs is one of the town's special amenities stemming from an interest in producing or buying farm products locally. Unlike Newtown, some towns have purely residential zones where keeping of farm animals, including chickens, is banned.

Maple Corner Farm, on Hattertown Road at Hundred Acres Road is one of several places where eggs are regularly available for sale.

"When I moved to this property in 1966, I discovered a sign here, left from years ago, which said 'Maple Corner Farm – Farm Fresh Eggs.' I later learned it used to be a good-size chicken farm, with 3,000 laying hens," Andrea Haas, the current farm owner said.

Haas said she began keeping chickens about three years ago and now has about six dozen hens, which mostly lay big, brown eggs. She recently added some Araucana chickens, which will lay blue eggs for her customers.

The farm has also been raising large pumpkins. One reached more than 800 pounds last year. But, the extended dry period in May prevented successful growing this year of the pumpkins, which in the past were displayed by the egg stand on the farm's front lawn.

Haas  also has bred standard poodles and raised Morgan horses over the years.

Around the corner on Hattertown Road at the Hi Barlow Road intersection, Marge Costa has sold eggs at her homestead for years.

Like Haas, Costa has a mixed-chicken flock. She has Rhode Island and White Rock cross hens laying brown eggs and some Araucanas producing blue eggs.

"In addition to grain, I feed the hens excess vegetables from my garden, such as Swiss chard or tomatoes, which they love," Costa said. "There is a big difference in taste and nutrition from eggs like mine and what you'll find from factory farms in the grocery store."

Jerome Mayer, who operates his family's Cherry Grove Farm, on Platt's Hill Road, maintains up to 100 chickens and offers eggs for sale daily in an honor box on the porch of the farmhouse.

"People would we surprised how many chickens there are in Newtown," Mayer said, referring to the number of people and farmers who sell eggs around town. "It is possible to make money on eggs if you don't take into account the labor involved."

Cherry Grove Farm, which also sells vegetables, lambs and goats, once had large flocks of laying hens when it was run by Mayer's grandfather, the late George Mayer.

At On the Rocks Farm, Bill Pieragostini keeps upward to 400 chickens, from about 21 different breeds at his 53-acre property on Point O' Rocks Road.

During the growing season from late spring to Thanksgiving, he sells his eggs at farmers' markets in Trumbull, Fairfield and Greenwich. But, in the off-season, they are available directly to his loyal customers.

Pieragostini said the major difference between eggs he produces and store eggs is "time on the shelf." The fresher the egg, the better it is going to taste, he said.

Fresh eggs can also be found for sale at Lee Miller's home on Platt's Hill Road and at Paul Knapik's home across the street from Miller's. Honor boxes containing eggs for sale also can be spotted from time to time on Palestine Road, Brushy Hill Road, Taunton Hill Road and sundry other locations around town.