In our opinion, Hal and his wife, Carol, are pretty much the Eighth Wonders of the World(!) Twenty years ago, they started a little retirement business: growing apples (his part) and baking with them (her part). Now, they have a prosperous business with thousands of trees and a seasonal commercial bakery.
It is amazing that they have accomplished all of this in their retirement, but it is even more amazing because of two major challenges they faced in 2010, just eight years after they broke ground.
The first challenge was that the orchard froze during bloom and only 15% of the crop survived.
The second challenge was that during an already incredibly difficult time, Carol contracted leukemia and almost died. She was in the hospital for nearly 70 days and relied upon family and friends to keep the bakery business going.
With a lot of prayers they made it through that year and now, incredibly, Carol is 100% cancer-free. And, they are still running and continually growing the business!
Hal’s Story
Growing up, I was always fascinated by science and math at a time when computers were just beginning to make their mark in the world (late 50’s – early 60’s).
After graduating from UW-Madison with a degree in math and after military service and a few other occupations, I started my own computer programming business. I continued this into my 50’s. At that point, I knew I was ready for a change. I wanted to move on from my computer career.
I had always enjoyed growing things and believed running an apple orchard would give me something active to do in my traditional “retirement years.”
That was twenty plus years ago when we purchased twenty acres of farm field in Northeast Wisconsin on the border with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We began by planting 180 trees, and now have a thriving apple business with about 2,500 trees across twenty plus cultivars (varieties).
We also have 1/4 acre of blueberries and a few plum trees.
In addition to the orchard and bakery, for thirty-plus years we made maple syrup …
… and for roughly ten years we collected honey from our own bee hives.
My wife, Carol runs the bakery side of the business.
We raised three children, and also have 17 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Throughout it all, God has graciously given us these opportunities and blessed us immensely.
In 2007, our son who was a medical doctor became disabled by encephalitis and moved in with us. To help with his recovery, we decided to raise some animals.
Over the next few years, we acquired chickens, sheep, pigs and dairy goats.
We started with two Oberhasli does and are now milking six.
We love the Oberhasli, which originated in the Swiss Alps, with their sweet, friendly disposition. Their milk is fantastic, too.
Soon, we had excess milk, and that’s when the idea of cheese making was born. It was only a couple of years ago.
I had been researching cheese making on the internet, and discovered a store in Madison, Wisconsin, that sold cheese making supplies.
We stopped there on one of our trips and it opened my eyes as to the possibilities of cheese making with our milk. We bought some cheese making equipment and a few cultures.
Our first cheese was chèvre. In my internet searches, I discovered New England Cheesemaking Supply (cheesemaking.com) and their wide selection of cheese recipes. I continue to try different recipes to the enjoyment of my family.
Thus far, I have made Brie, Camembert, Cam-Bleu, Swiss, Havarti, Saint Marcellin, brick and cheddar. I make cheese dependent on my workload.
Up until a couple weeks ago, I had time on my hands, so I made maybe one batch a week. Now, I’m very busy tending to the orchard as apple season progresses, and therefore do not have as much free time to make cheese.
We have been getting about seven gallons per day for about 9 months in the year.
The goats dry off after breeding season in Autumn, and start up again after giving birth in Spring. The fat content of their milk increases as the year progresses, so I like to make butter mostly in the fall.
My son recently has been diagnosed with Lyme disease and co-infections, so he has to reduce his workload and thus we are downsizing our goat herd.
But, we won’t be cutting the herd down to the point where I won’t be able to make cheese.
My goal is to continue experimenting by making all the different cheeses which appeal to me. Long-term, I’d like to then narrow down that list of cheeses I’ve made and only invest time in making the cheeses I really love.
Pleasant View Orchard and Bakery
W6050 Chapman Road
Niagara, Wisconsin 54151
Call only: (715) 927-2450
Text or call: (320) 361-0112
Website – pleasantvieworchard.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PleasantViewOrchardAndBakery/
Iron Mountain Outdoor Farmers Market (June – October)
Maureen A Blais-Gestrich says
Wow, Holy Cow! Ahem, I mean Goats! What a busy “retirement”. Good for you. Your products look so delicious. And what a lovely family you have. I’m sure your grandkids will have fond memories of the orchard and farm when they grow up (looks like some have already grown up). It’s wonderful to know there are people like you and your family who are caring for the land and animals as well as making a living.
Kenneth Peterson says
really hardworking and very productive family. Congrats are in order.Great work.
What an inspiring story of being knocked down whether it be from health issues or weather issues, but the family kept going. We had your Brie for Christmas one year and it was great! Thank you for your inspiration to all of us!
WOW!!!
Inspiring 👏👏👏👏
Note about your cheese cave frig and 60% humidity. I use similar humidity control with paper towel draped over bowl and get 90% humidity. If your cave is a refrigerator with a freezer section it maybe “frost free” = dehumidifier.
Thanks for the tip.
Hal
Wow, I agree that you and your family are the eighth wonder of the world! You are such a multi-talented and loving family! I love everything you do, thank you so much for sharing your lives with us.P
Wow, what a story, and what cool pictures from your life as a “retiree”! I especially like the yoga/massage goat, I could use one of those 🙂
And very inspiring to read about someone who just changed course completely – at not at age 28, proves that it’s never too late, I love it!
Dear Hal and Carol and all the rest of the family, WOW, WOW, WOW!!!…and now I’m going to take a nap. Really though, what a gift you are bringing to the world, to your family, your friends and your community. The richness of your efforts is truly the work of an inner calling. It looks and sounds like there is nothing you can’t do when you do it together. You teach by example and you are tremendous teachers. Thank you so much for taking time out to be interviewed and to share these parts of your story with our readers. You have and will continue to inspire many through the love of what you do, your generosity, your abundance and your gratitude.
In Peace, Love and Cheese, Ricki
Thanks for your comments. We are following our passions and enjoy sharing it with others.
Hal
Forgot to mark notify me of comments!
Wow I wish I could communicate with you via email. I’m poised to retire and have been thinking about offering baked goods and jams from the orchard to make ends meet once I no longer have a paycheck. I’d love to pick your brain. May I suggest you write a book about your adventures.
Hi, Margaret!
I agree that you should do something active when you retire and baking is a great way to supplement your income as most people don’t have the time to bake.
You just need to know the laws if your state before opening. I’m call my bakery my “happy space” as I absolutely love baking!