{"id":18644,"date":"2020-12-12T12:34:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T17:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=18644"},"modified":"2020-12-12T12:42:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T17:42:49","slug":"andy-mack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2020\/12\/12\/andy-mack\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Mack’s Farm Stand Signs Sell Apples, Spark Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

“It is the best place in town for a display, but it just happens to be our land,” Andy Mack Sr. told the Eagle Tribune<\/a> newspaper in 2007.<\/p>\n

Mack runs Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples\u2014with his son, Andy Jr. They offer \u201cApples \u2018n stuff\u201d\u2014namely pumpkins, ice cream, etc.\u2014as attested the many roadside signs Mack has painted over the decades to advertise the businesses.<\/p>\n

The Londonderry Arts Council has organized a \u201csocially-distanced\u201d exhibition of Mack\u2019s broadsides called \u201cSign Language,\u201d<\/a> premiering on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Mack\u2019s Apples, 230 Mammoth Road in Londonderry. (“Can’t make it on Saturday? Don’t worry, the signs will remain up until further notice,” they write.) The paintings were selected from hundreds Mack has stored in the barn across from the farm stand. He\u2019s been known to paint over old signs to create new ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy\u2019s signs have been a fixture of daily life in Londonderry focusing on farming, current events, social issues, and wide range of other topics,\u201d the council writes<\/a>. In an article about the art show, Greg Descoteaux of the arts council describes the signs as \u201cfun, informative and sometimes controversial work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
Andy Mack Sr. of Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mack family has been \u201cfarming in Londonderry since 1732,\u201d according to one of Mack\u2019s signs. That\u2019s eight generations ago, when John and Isabella Mack arrived and \u201cgrew potatoes and other crops, raised cattle, and later, grew apples,\u201d according to the farm\u2019s website. It\u2019s said to be the oldest single-family-run farm in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n

Now in his 80s, Mack began painting signs for the 400-acre farm when he was in high school and they began offering pick-your-own apples and a farm stand along Mammoth Road. \u201cWe were a wholesale farm at the time, the quality of the crop was always good, the soil and conditions made for a superior apple. Some folks would come by to purchase a bushel of apples if they had a basement to store them, but by and large our business was wholesale,\u201d Mack told Descoteaux.<\/p>\n

The stand is now located about a mile south down Route 128 from Londonderry’s town hall, high school and police and fire departments. Along the road and on farm buildings over the years, Mack has put up signs advertising \u201cApple Picking Time\u201d and \u201cSpecial By The Wagon.\u201d He\u2019s also painted signs reading, \u201cWhen it rains, we shine\u201d and \u201cLet Freedom Ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack paints 4-by-8 sheets of plywood\u2014and half sheets of plywood\u2014with foam brushes in the family’s 250-year-old barn. Mack told the Eagle Tribune in 2007, “The foam brush was the best thing that ever happened to barnyard painters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moose Hill Orchards has also become a prominent, picturesque stop for political candidates\u2014most notably those running in New Hampshire\u2019s first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, John Edwards, Barack and Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have all campaigned there. Mack paints signs advertising the visits: \u201cJoe Biden\/Sat. 2 Here.\u201d The farm even hosted a Black Lives Matter<\/a> rally<\/a> attended by nearly 300 people last June.<\/p>\n

The Eagle Tribune reported<\/a> in 2007 that Mack \u201cdipped his brush in national and international politics beginning in 2003 after a visit to the Holy Land in Israel. With a contingent including Episcopal leadership, he met groups of Palestinians and Jews who desire peace. He came back convinced that separate states\u2014Palestinian and Israel\u2014are the best hope for peace in the Middle East.\u201d A 2010 sign he painted reading \u201cIsrael Disgusting\u201d brought accusations of anti-Semitism and socialism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mack has also sparked controversy over the past couple decades with signs that said a Republican state representative had \u201cit wrong on civil unions\u201d (2007) and \u201cBush + Co. why believe them now?\u201d (2007) and \u201curged readers to call Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu to tell them to bring the troops home from Iraq,\u201d the Eagle Tribune newspaper reported in July 2007.<\/p>\n

At times, critics have turned to vandalizing Mack\u2019s messages\u2014spray-painting over his signs, accusing Mack of being a communist.<\/p>\n

But perhaps, Mack\u2019s most prominent theme these days is: \u201cGlobal Warming a Horrendous Threat.\u201d As one of his signs read, \u201cIt is time to care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, (hopefully) weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2020 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sign<\/a>
Sign pained by Andy Mack Sr. for Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Andy<\/a>
Andy Mack Sr. of Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples. (Courtesy Londonderry Arts Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, (hopefully) weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2020 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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“It is the best place in town for a display, but it just happens to be our land,” Andy Mack Sr. told the Eagle Tribune newspaper in 2007. Mack runs Moose Hill Orchards in Londonderry, New Hampshire\u2014home of Mack\u2019s Apples\u2014with his son, Andy Jr. They offer \u201cApples \u2018n stuff\u201d\u2014namely pumpkins, ice cream, etc.\u2014as attested the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,105,112],"tags":[822,823,824,821],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18644"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18644"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18670,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18644\/revisions\/18670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}