Community, Music and Food at Crossmolina Farm
June 19, 2025

Margaret Loftus zigzags across her front yard along a dead-end dirt road. Two farm tractors are parked in the driveway, and a sap bucket hangs from a tree behind a row of mailboxes.

With her labradoodle, Bjornsen, trotting alongside, Loftus ducks past the tractors into a giant field. The sun warms a greenhouse with cucumbers and peppers, and garden beds sprout lettuces, herbs, and broccoli.

“Farming requires more skills than anything I’ve ever done in my entire life,” says Loftus, a former public defender. She and her husband, Jonathan, an engineer-turned-farmer, left Brooklyn for West Corinth 19 years ago. They were searching for a better place to raise their children and grow their own food.

-Crossmolina Farm sits on 40 acres in West Corinth.

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The couple was drawn to the area partly because Loftus’s brother, a retired cheese farmer, lives nearby. When they arrived in 2006, their sons, Keelan and Tobin, were 4 and 2. A third son, Wendell, was later born at the farm.

“Corinth is an incredibly welcoming town,” says Loftus, eyeing a stunning view of Pike Hill to the east. “We have a good, solid mix of people here.”

Crossmolina Farm, named after a town in Ireland, is set on 40 acres off Gristmill Road. Cell service is non-existent, and Google Maps often gives customers wrong directions.

Nearly a decade ago, the farm became a full-time enterprise. After years of learning about growing organic vegetables and raising animals for beef, pork and lamb, Loftus eventually called herself a farmer—out loud.

“It was out of respect,” says Loftus as she shifts a baseball cap over her braided hair. “Being a farmer means having big shoes to fill. And becoming a farmer was an honor I needed to work toward over time. But I’m definitely a farmer now.”

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-Cookeville Market is “part farm stand, part general store, part CSA.”

A Community Hub

Fourteen years after moving to West Corinth, Loftus and her husband opened Cookeville Market, three miles from the farm.

The market is the beating heart of Cookeville, one of many hamlets in the town of Corinth. The nearest grocery store is in Bradford, about 10 miles away.

“Cookeville Market is part farm stand, part general store, part CSA,” Loftus explains.

In May, locals celebrated the market’s fifth birthday party.  Under a green and white tent on the Cookeville green, Loftus flipped burgers while employees prepared bratwurst and garden salads. A birthday cake was perched on a table and musicians serenaded the crowd. Kids played tag, friends hugged and everyone ate.

Loftus beams when she describes the market as not just a store but a place to socialize.

“Something we don’t have in America as much anymore are places to gather and build community,” she says.

On a typical Saturday morning, the day locals take their garbage to the dump, customers stop by the market, drink coffee and talk about the weather or rising dump fees—a hot topic in town.

“We also serve this purpose as a place to see a neighbor,” she says.

-Wendell Durham, Margaret Loftus’ son, cooks pizzas for customers.

Creating Pizza Night

Back at the farm, Loftus’ mid-19th century house was a church and then a barn before becoming a residence.

An old milk house used to be out front, but all that’s left is a concrete pad. Her son, Keelan, built a cob oven on the pad when he was 12. On a whim, the family started making and selling pizza during a weekly CSA pick-up.

Friends and neighbors began congregating in the family’s front yard for pizza on Friday nights and would roam inside the house to use their bathroom. Loftus would occasionally encounter someone’s dog strolling through her kitchen.

“It was very organic, but pizza night started getting a little bit too big for our front yard,” she says. “I think it rained every time that first year, but people showed up anyway. Not just because there’s nothing to do here, but because people need a place to gather around food and connect.”

Pizza Night, now on Saturdays between late May and August, eventually moved to a spacious field across the road. A friend constructed an open post-and-beam structure for pizza making, an outhouse was assembled, and the family built a new pizza oven using mostly raw materials from the farm fields and a nearby stream.

Listen to the podcast episode

-David Thaxton serves pizza at Crossmolina Farm.

‘A Hearty Mix of Locals’

Today, more than 150 people gather at Crossmolina Farm on Saturday nights for pizza and live music.

“Pizza night kind of found us, in a way. It showed us the power of food and community,” Loftus says. “It’s become a summer bucket list item for people. There’s no cover charge, and a hearty mix of locals show up.”

Jonathan Strong, who lives part-time in West Corinth, is a long-time pizza night regular.

“Being on this hillside and seeing this view is something I love about Pizza Night,” he says. “I’ve also loved coming here and watching (Margaret and Jonathan’s) family grow up.”

As handmade pizzas topped with peppers, spinach and sweet sausage are served to guests at cloth-covered tables, a woman leans over her plate and describes the event as “pure Americana.”

Pizza Night is also pure Vermont. Just make a reservation before you go.

Cookeville Market is located at 1776 Center Road in Cookeville. Hours are Wednesday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pizza night starts at 5 p.m. on Saturdays at Crossmolina Farm on 109 Gristmill Road in West Corinth. Reservations required. Visit www.crossmolinafarm.com.

*This story was originally published in Daybreak.

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-Margaret Loftus and her nephew, Brendan, serve up food at the Cookeville Market anniversary party.

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