The friends and family of Deanne Chamberlain of Alton – and her family farm where high-quality NH2o spring water is bottled – are scratching and scraping, scheming and praying to find a way to keep the property in the family’s hands and the local business alive.
And it’s no wonder. The flavorful beverage is a lifesaver to some Lakes Region people.
“I depend on that water for my health, which is unstable,” a Northfield customer wrote in an email to Deanna recently. “A change of fluids at this point may do me in entirely.”
It was just a few days ago that Deanna, a long-time town resident who has worked for almost 10 years to start and keep the water company going, asked supporters for help forestall a foreclosure on the family farm scheduled for the end of the month. The bank, which Deanna says has been extraordinarily supportive of the unique business, has scheduled the sale for Tuesday, May 30 and if someone else purchases the property, the farm – which has been in Deanna’s family for generations – will be gone, as will the state permit that allows water found on the land to be bottled and sold.
“The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has said (it) may be the last (large groundwater extraction permit) given for Spring Water in the state,” according to Deanna.
Pain and confusion are apparent in her recent emails.
“To lose such valuable and beautiful land, and such a valuable commodity, all for the sake of what would be a fairly average house mortgage, is insane, and I must find a way to keep that from happening,” she writes. “If I do not, this family has nothing to build on. We will have lost both our past and our future, as well as all the fortune we ever had or ever will have. We must not let that happen.”
A flurry of sympathetic and supportive followed, along with as some ideas for saving the business known as Sunny Slope Farm. (The property houses several old buildings including the large home where Deanna spent her childhood Summers, and which is rented out to seasonal guests and for about a dozen weddings this year.)
“Offer shares of stock,” the Northfield man suggested.
“You might have better luck if you could sell the securities in just New Hampshire,” another friend offered. “It would limit your shareholders since I don’t think it is as costly. In a perfect world you could bring in 25 backers/partners at $10,000 each. Or 50 at $5,000.”
But Deanna and her partners tried that route long ago – when they discovered that the original state permit for taking out the groundwater would cost about $1 million. “It is no small undertaking,” she writes of the process of “going public” with a small company
And now the biggest challenge now is the days slipping by on the calendar.
“We discussed it yesterday,” Deanna wrote this week. “There are so many ideas coming at us, some very good ideas if we had the time to pursue and achieve them, so many possible goals – Should we find someone to buy the bank note? Try harder to sell the company? Sell the land ourselves to at least maintain control of the terms? – And so little time to pull off any of them.
“So we’ve decided that the goal we should focus on is the goal of buying us some more time to allow us to be able to pursue those other options in the future: i.e., raise the $53,000-plus (for the payment due on May 30) and pray the bank will re-write the business (loan) note as a mortgage.”
The family knows it’s by no means a sure thing but Deanna is the kind of plucky entrepreneur you’d want if you owned Sunny Slope Farm and NH2o.
“Where there’s life, there’s hope,” she writes.
“I’ve thought about asking everyone we know if they would be willing to contribute what they can, anything they can afford, $50, $100, $1000, anything – and if we could raise even $5,000, that gets us closer. The question is, even if folks were willing to do that, would it get us close enough quick enough? A miss is as good as a mile in this situation.
“Our neighbor thinks we should do a fundraiser, perhaps a pig roast, asking for donations. I’m not sure how much that would glean but I’m willing to try it if we can figure out how, when, where… I picture ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ with a roomful of people stuffing scrunched-up dollar bills into the basket and singing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’
“We must try though,” she adds. “We have no place else to turn.”
To Clarence Oddbody, Angel Second Class from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’: You’re needed back on earth.
