A Little History
If you're a local Dutchman, you may know the name "Andrew Seyfert"; if you're not, let us aquaint you. He grew up milking cows in that good ol' red barn converted into our fruit stand. The eldest of three boys, determined, and possessing a bit of a risk taking streak, he traveled to Iowa with some local fellows to find his future wife. Indeed, he did at a masquerade party, and he and Clara began their first business of opening a little grocery store in North Dakota in the early 1920's. They shut its doors to return to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, due to his father's failing health and someone needing to care for the farm. After his father's passing, Andrew decided to dabble in a new business venture...potatoes and fruit. Thus began Seyfert Orchards in the 1930's. Eventually, potatoes went to the wayside when fruit proved more profitable, with a heavy focus on peaches and cherries. The second generation of fruit farmers began in 1925 with the birth of Urban Jacob who would raise three sons, Kenneth, Dennis, and Glenn. "The three boys" practically lived on the orchard from the time they could walk. Picking buckets of cherries, riding on peach trucks, taking fruit to markets, the three boys were a staple on the orchard. In 1975, God saw fit to take Urban at the young age 49 after a bout of cancer. Andrew would outlive his son and pass on the farm to his grandsons. In the early 1980's, Dennis and Glenn became owners of Seyfert Orchards, Inc., while their older brother pursued a career in banking and investing. A fourth generation of Seyfert's started with the birth of Dennis' three girls who worked in the fruit stand as soon as they could tally bills and calculate change. Now the girls have children of their own who love to visit Pop Pop and Uncle Glenn at the farm and eat fruit to their hearts' contentment. Nine decades later, Dennis and Glenn continue to carry on their grandfather's dream. Most days, you'll see the barn lights flicker around 6 a.m. with Dennis and Glenn reading the morning paper and enjoying a cup of coffee before tending the land their feet have traversed for more than 50 years.