Smyth Breakfast Feeds 600, Raises $14,000

James Bailey Brislin
The Carpet City Chronicle

The Enfield Press, December 4, 2008

“Charity begins at home and justice begins next door.“
—Charles Dickens

“But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.“
—I Timothy 5:8

“For of the soul the body form doth take: For soul is form, and doth the body make.“
—Edmund Spenser

Last Saturday’s pancake breakfast to benefit Sam Smyth was a success by all measures.

When I arrived at St. Bernard’s, shortly after 9:00, only a handful of open spots were left in the parking lot. Rows of tables spanning the length of Fitzmaurice Hall were filled with people feasting on pancakes and sausages. When the totals were tallied, nearly 600 people had been fed and over $14,000 had been raised.

The breakfast was a grand reunion of sorts- with many people commenting that they had run into folks that they had not seen in months or years.

In a broader sense, the pancake breakfast was a window into the soul of our community.

In Enfield, when something needs to be accomplished, a corps of eager volunteers will step up to get the job done.

“Remember the Plan of Conservation and Development meeting, two weeks ago?”, quipped Charlie Ladd.

At that meeting, discussions about the town’s character had focused on the extensive civic participation and strong community spirit of Enfield residents.

I did not appreciate these qualities until I left for college in Washington, DC. The contrast between that city and ours could not be starker. (That’s a column topic of its own, “What’s Right About Enfield and Wrong About Washington”.) For the moment, I would remark that Enfield is a place where people selflessly look out for their neighbors.

I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Michael Smyth, Sam’s father. Along with his wife Dale, Michael Smyth owns and operates Smyth’s Trinity Farm, located at the intersection of King Street and Oliver Road. According to Mr. Smyth, dairy farming was a family tradition, passed on to him by his father and grandfather.

Sam, the youngest of their five children always intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. He recently graduated of Suffield High School’s Vocational-Agricultural (Vo-Ag) Program and is a freshman in UConn’s Animal Science program. At Suffield High School, he was involved in the FFA and other programs for aspiring farmers. In the afternoons and evenings, he would work on his parents’ farm.

The past year has been a very difficult period for the Smyths. Last year, a DOT contractor recommended their farm as the site of a future rest stop. Poor communication by DOT, the contractor, and the Planning Department further aggravated the situation. Can you imagine what it is like to suddenly discover a website indicating that the state wants to seize your business by eminent domain and turn it into a parking lot? Fortunately, an intervention by Sen. John A. Kissel put a halt to the rest-stop plans.

However, Sam’s accident has been the worst tragedy to befall the Smyth family. Back in October, a nine-hundred pound bale of hay fell on Sam Smyth, severing his spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. The Smyth family faces mounting medical bills and must retrofit their home to accommodate Sam’s disability.

The pancake breakfast at St. Bernard’s is the second held to benefit the Smyth family. Earlier in the month, there was a pancake breakfast at St. Martha’s to benefit the Smyth family.

According to Michael Smyth, “The community has been absolutely wonderful… there are many very faithful people who have been praying for Sam, and sent letters and cards.”

Something that you can do to help the Smyth family is to make a habit of buying their milk, which is produced using an organic process. “All we would need is for people to support our business… The best thing anyone can do is to walk in and buy our milk,” said Mr. Smyth.

I can personally recommend the milk from Trinity Farm for being a cut above the rest. They have all kinds of milk, including chocolate milk and coffee milk. Additionally, they offer several kinds of milk products including butter and six different kinds of yoghurt. During the Christmas Season, they will make egg nog in stock. Something that you might find interesting is that Trinity Farms is one of the few places left where you can buy milk in a glass bottle. Their hours are M-F 2:30-5:30 PM, and from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday.

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Mark your calendars. On Sunday, Enfield’s traditional Torchlight Procession will depart Enfield Street School at 6 PM and wind its way down to the town green. The procession is being routed through Thompsonville Village and will culminate with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Carol Sing.