When Jim and Debbie Athearn started Morning Glory Farm in 1975, they had only one cow, sold milk to neighbors and grew a half-acre of sweet corn. 

“We went to the farmers’ market with it for about two weeks, and then it was all destroyed by worms,” Jim said. 

Reminiscing about the early days, Jim smiled at Debbie as they sat together earlier this summer on a porch swing outside their Edgartown farmstand. Inside, sweet corn is now stacked high, yellow onions are the size of softballs, asparagus stretches nearly a foot tall, thick bundles of fresh herbs are regularly stocked and tomatoes overflow wooden crates. 

Morning Glory Farm grew to become an Island staple and this summer is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The milestone offered the Athearns a moment of reflection — which included gratitude for the people who helped bring their dream to life, a celebration of the land they have cultivated and a look at what lies ahead for their farm.

It all started back in 1975.

Ray Ewing

It all started back in 1975.

Ray Ewing

“The people and the community have just been so supportive of us from day one,” Debbie said.

Before the farm was even an idea, the couple was living off-Island and working for a school where Jim was a social worker and Debbie was the head cook. When Debbie became pregnant with their first-born child, Prudence, they knew they wanted to raise their daughter on the Vineyard, where the Athearn family goes back generations.

After moving back, Jim was conflicted about whether farming could be a viable path for the family. His younger self grappled with the uncertainty and doubts that come with choosing a life so deeply tied to the land.

“People would ask, ‘What are you going to be when you grow up?’ and I’d sometimes say ‘I want to be a farmer, but that’s impossible. It just doesn’t work for anybody...’” Jim said. “But finally, chickens came home to roost.”

Jim remembered leaning on a fence watching a cattle show at the Agricultural Fair, not long after Prudence was born, dreaming of a potential life as a farmer. David Flanders, the founder of Flanders Up-Island Real Estate, came up to him and said he was starting a farm in Chilmark and offered him a job. 

After learning the basics of farming, the couple started their own operation on Edgartown land Debbie’s father had bought in the 1943 for $7. They soon had two sons, Simon and Dan, who are now at the helm of the operation. 

Simon, the CEO, said his earliest memory of life on the farm was trying to braid the cows’ bail strings like Prudence could, but getting frustrated because his hands were too small.

The farmstand was built in 2010.

Ray Ewing

The farmstand was built in 2010.

Ray Ewing

Dan, the COO, remembered staining his T-shirts red from using it as a basket to carry strawberries.

Both men didn’t think their futures would include leading the farm. 

Simon had moved off-Island and became a pastry chef at restaurants and bakeries in Seattle and Montana, but eventually decided to return home to Morning Glory.

“The siren song of the Vineyard just kept calling,” he said. 

Dan didn’t know what he wanted to do for a while, but loved being on the water and thought aquaculture could be a way to contribute to the family business. He studied marine biology and aquaculture in college, working at Morning Glory during the summers.

When he met Meg and the couple were married and started a home in Chilmark, he realized he had everything he wanted.

“A couple years ago, a friend’s father offered me his oyster farm....” Dan said. “I said ‘No, I’m good.’ It was just clear to me at that point that I’m totally content with what I’m doing.”

Dan never regretted giving-up on his aquaculture dream and he still maintains some lobster traps.

Jim Athearn estimates the farm has had more than 1,000 employees over the decades.

Ray Ewing

Jim Athearn estimates the farm has had more than 1,000 employees over the decades.

Ray Ewing

All of the Athearns said that what makes Morning Glory special is the young people who come to work at the farm.

“My favorite part’s got to be the people and seeing young, ambitious people wanting to figure out the food system, then getting caught by the [agriculture] bug and being like ‘Tell me more. I want to do this on my own,’” Simon said.

One of those young people was Robyn Hosey (now Robyn Hosey Athearn, Simon’s wife), who heard about “the farm on an Island” from friends. She visited for a weekend about 20 years ago and fell in love with the farm. Robyn is the only Athearn to have a degree in agriculture but she never thought she’d stay on-Island the rest of her life. 

“I feel like when you stay somewhere long enough, when you’re young like that, it just kind of becomes your place,” Robyn said. 

She now oversees Morning Glory Flowers, a 20-acre farm of about 150 varieties in West Tisbury. She said Morning Glory always grew flowers but it was more of an afterthought until she made it a separate operation. 

Meg Athearn is the Morning Glory Farm operations manager. She has known the Athearns since she was 12 years old, when she began visiting the Vineyard each summer and worked as a field hand at the farm. She studied English literature in college, but the agriculture bug bit her just as it does many others.

“When I started farming [it] made a lot more sense to be outside and work with people, with plants and connect with the land,” Meg said. 

Over the 50 years Morning Glory Farm has been in operation, Jim estimates they have had more than 1,000 employees. 

“We’ve gotten letters from a lot of them that say there was a profound life change for them [here],” Jim said.

Deb and Jim Athearn.

Ray Ewing

Deb and Jim Athearn.

Ray Ewing

The Athearns have experienced several milestones since the farm first started. Building the farmstand in 2010 was perhaps the biggest. 

“It just seemed like it was so big, ‘How are we ever going to fill this building,’” Debbie said. 

They reminisced about their first new tractor, getting an electric irrigation pump, building the kitchen in 2006 for prepared foods, the washing barn and employee housing. 

More milestones are planned.

At the flower farm, a new barn now stands where Robyn plans to create a design studio, event space and additional employee housing. She also wants to launch an apprenticeship program. 

From the start, the Athearns wanted to grow organically, but a worm infestation in their sweet corn early on proved it was easier said than done. Over the years they have refined their practices, and Dan estimates they will get their organic certification when the paperwork is completed within the next one or two years.

As they mark 50 years, the family remains grounded in their shared dream of a farm rooted in family and nourished by community.

“We’re so lucky to have this wonderful family [and] to have all of you working with us,” Debbie said looking at her children. 

“Every day is Father’s Day,” Jim added, and the whole crew laughed.