Weaver View Farms is the sort of country general store our grandparents told us about with nostalgic wishing for the good old days.
Pauline Weaver and her husband, Ken, felt the same and decided to bring that long missed institution of America back to life. Located on Earl’s Hill Road, just a short drive up the hill from Rt. 14 on the west side of Seneca Lake between Geneva and Dresden, Weaver View began in 1994 with one small room in the crumbling Earl family farmhouse selling quilts.
Since that time, the restoration of the house and expansion of the store have been remarkable to anyone who can recall the sad state it was in. Not only is the house returned to its former handsomeness, the store has become a fully-fledged attraction of its own.
Now expanded to a two-story addition to the house, the store has broadened its offerings to appeal to everyone. While the very impressive selection of quilts, material and sewing supplies are still an important part of what they sell, the Weavers have added jams and jellies, cheeses, baked goods, bulk foods, candles, baskets, books, and solid country furniture and decorations.
I was especially impressed by the selection of carefully chosen children’s toys; the sort any generation would recognize and which stimulate the mind rather than merely occupy it.
This is hardly surprising since Pauline began in Yates County as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse on the Briggs & Spicer Road in 1988.
Ken arrived with his parents in the first group of Mennonites to settle here in the early 1970s and his well-kept farm of Holstein dairy cows is a testament to their success.
The farm, the store, and raising seven children has kept the Weaver’s attention very close to home, and focused on how good that life can be. That notion of close family, at home, interacting with each other rather than computers or cell phones, is what we have seen diminish in recent generations, but which remains the general rule among our Mennonite and Amish neighbors.
Perhaps that is why there is such an appealing warmth at Weaver View. It feels like visiting our grandparents again.
Even if we cannot adopt that life, we can visit it and take a bit of it home. The ready or custom-made quilts are as much for artistic admiration as for practical warmth.
Made exclusively by Mennonite or Amish quilters in our area or in Pennsylvania, they can be ordered to suit your interior design, color scheme, personality, or whim.
While such items are often purchased by visitors to the area, the Weavers wish to acknowledge and thank all the local, loyal customers whose regular shopping has made their store a success.
In celebration of that success, and as a practical way of saying thank you, Weaver View will be holding an open house on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27 and 28) with a 10 percent discount on all purchases over $100 and 20 percent over $200 including quilts.
Every day during the winter months, a fireplace, rocking chairs, and free coffee warm and welcome all visitors like family.
