Situated at the peak of Ferin Road in Ashburnham, Odd Pine Farm has offered locals the opportunity to pick their own blueberries since the 1970s. The Helenius Family named their five-acre farm for a strangely shaped pine tree on the property.

Odd Pine Farm started out as Bluefield River Cranberries in 1931. Owner Peter Eskelin built a bog by hand and added the red “cranberry shed” which still exists on the property today. The farm was briefly owned by Heimor Rahnasto in the mid-1950s and sold to Oiva and Bertha Helenius in October of 1959.

The Helenius family purchased 40 abutting acres and began raising eggs and vegetables. The first blueberries on the farm came to fruition in 1972. They were sold in ten-pound boxes until the bushes became large enough to support a pick-your-own operation.

In 1944, Oiva and Bertha’s son Doug and his wife Jo Ann Helenius assumed operation of the farm. Today, they work closely with David and Dawn Helenius, who are in line to become the third generation of blueberry farmers.

The farm is open Thursday-Sunday seasonally for as long as the berry season lasts — usually through the month of August. Guests are encouraged to bring their own pales or baskets to pick four varieties of high-bush blueberries. They can also visit the farm’s chickens, cows, and Nigerian goats, or enjoy the views of Mount Watatic from the shaded picnic tables overlooking the fields.

Sources: oddpinefarmblueberries.com, thegardnernews.com
Photo: facebook.com/oddpinefarm