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tended Old Cape May High School, but first became acquainted when they were in their 20s. The occasion was a blind date when Jonathan, with Helen’s brother, went to her home to borrow a pair of ice skates. In the course of things — marriage,'six children, and countless loaves of bread, jars of beans and preserves followed. Camping and sailing (more about that later) provide relaxation for Helen, and she is a volunteer secretary for the United Methodist Church in

Cape May.

FOUR OF THE children are still at home. Jennifer, a physical education-teacher, also helps with a roadside market. Donna, a recent graduate of Cumberland Community College as an ornamental horticulturist, works in a tomato greenhouse. Beverly is an 8th grade student at Tditelman School. Son David is a surveyor. Another son, Edward, lives in California. Daughter Elaine (Mrs. Carl Roth), is a biology teacher, and with’ her son, 18-month-old Louis, a frequent visitor. Most of them, except Louis, pitch in when it’s time to

pick crops.

A SECTION OF BARN sheathing from the ancient structure Is part of the farm memorabilia'in the Sayre home.

Jonathan, as a supplementary lob, transports boats. That means

poved from the traffic of garden in which Helen’s sister raises vegetables and berries. The roadside stand which sells much of the Sayres’ produce is operated byHelen’s aunt. This is a family farm, remember. At Landseair, hedgerows can be beautiful. One recently planted row is made of ornamentals such as forsythia, abelia, bridal wreath, holly, and fire thorn — calculated to lend a colorful accent to every'season. PUTTING IN HEDGEROWS and most of the other muscle work is done by Jonathan. In charge of getting all the goodies into jars and ready for the freezer is Mrs. Sayre, born Helen Harris, whose family roots, through the Reeves and McPhersons, also go back deep into Cape May history. Jonathan and Helen both at-

e sails 'them wherever their owners want them to be taken. It might be called a fun occupation. His hobby is racing sailboats, and he’s the only aetive charter member of the Corinthian Yacht Club in Cape May, which began with fifteen members and is now up in the hundreds. Sayre also has a small dock and rents eight boat slips in Cape May Harbor east of

Devil’s Reach.

NONE OF WHICH takes Sayre too far from his beginnings. The original farmhouse in which he was born now stands half a mile south on Seashore Road, and is Used as a summer residence by the present owners. The narrow-two-story structure, with its single chimney serving fireplaces on each floor, and even the lath and plaster are still intact, Jonathan reports. A growth of shrubs outlines the foundation of the bam, built in 1863, which was used for hay storage and sheltering the farm horses. It was tom down in

1970.

Still preserved, on a wall of farm memorabilia, in Sayre’s homd, is a section of the barn’s white cedar sheathing plus a mafiger board worn smooth by years of horses’ nibbling. Other treasures as an old boat lantern, scissors handmade by Jonathan’s ? ;randfather, hammered iron dopr ittings, and oak grain measures. A slightly faded 1918 photo montage shows mustachioed and derbied “Bay and River Delaware Pilots,” including an uncle and a cousin. SAYRE HAS PUT ingenuity as well as hard work into the cozy home built about a two-room cottage Which was used for years to house farm workers. Heat is provided by a wood stove venting into the closed-off fireplace in the living room and a small coal stove in the dining room. The wood comes from the farm, of course. The only concession of OPEC is an oil stove used to heat a bedroom off the garage which might otherwise be used for cold storage. Most remarkable, though, is the solariaum, consisting of two layers of plastic, which Jonathan erects over a pipe framework to cover his front porch in winter. On sunny days with the temperature in the 20s, the living room can be

kept at 70 degress Simply by leaving the door open. It can also foster a year-round tan, he reports. Al #f ; which bolsters Sayre’s conviction that there isp place for the family farm in a world of spreading concrete condominiums and commercialism. "WE NEED OPEN SPACE for water retention, hunting, tourism, and room,to breathe,” Sayre says. He’s a staunch backer of measures such as the Farm Retention Act, designed to make it easier for the farmer to keep his land, and others to ease the ; tax burden on farmers. He'd also iike something to be done to give the farmer, a larger share of the money made from his crops. There are young people who would farm if they could make a profit at it, he believes. Despite dwindling farmland, - creeping suburbia, and the lure of easier and more glamorous occupations, he may be right. If only there are enough , Jonathan Sayres outlhere.

Ed Harnett of North Cape May is contributing editor of the Cafe May County Herald and Lower Township Lantern.

ayre ponds, fed by salt water from nearby Spicer

ONE OF THE SAYRE children picks berries for the nearby roadside stand which her aunt operates. Behind her a hedgerow of ornamentals which change colors with the seasons.- CAPEMArcouNryMAOA1 m( ii