Howard and Karen McAdams’ farm has been in Howard’s family since 1884. Howard’s grandfather built the home they live in more than 100 years ago. Much of the farm’s front acreage, added in 1914, was part of the old Orange County Home for the Aged and Infirm. The McAdams met in 1983. Karen was an Agricultural Extension Agent and Howard called with “cow questions.” Karen’s favorite large group event in the county is the Central Piedmont Junior Livestock Show held each April in Orange Grove. For more than 70 years, it has helped develop “an appreciation for agriculture and agricultural heritage.” If Howard had a million dollars to give away, he would use it to provide good food to hospitalized people. In addition to beef, lamb, strawberries, flowers, and vegetables, the farm produces some great large-scale murals, including one of a butterfly outlined by daughter Elizabeth and filled in by Howard “like a giant paint by number.”
