Ralph R. Adams 'was always there for you'

In the next few days, thousands will flock to their local Adams Fairacre Farms store as they prepare to host family and friends for a Thanksgiving feast.

The four stores evolved from a roadside farm stand on a plot of land purchased in 1919 into a linchpin of the economy that focuses on local first, providing local food from area farms, and giving local residents access to gourmet and specialty foods. Before there was a Whole Foods, there was Adams. The attention to high-quality, locally-grown foods made Adams more than a place to shop. It became a part of the culture of the mid-Hudson Valley.

Playing a pivotal role in the growth of Adams Fairacre Farms was Ralph R. Adams. And his death on Friday has brought into sharper focus this family's achievements, in which many Dutchess County residents feel they have a stake.

Adams died Friday of a stroke. He was 91.

The Arlington High School and Cornell University graduate joined his brother Don in 1960 to expand their family's produce farm stand business in Poughkeepsie by opening a store. An expanded version of that original location remains on Route 44 today and Adams Fairacre Farms now employs about 1,000, operates four sites in three counties and helps shape the regional economy by offering products from more than 100 local vendors.

"He was fun loving, he was generous, he was very kind and he loved his employees so much," said Annie Adams, his daughter. "He loved to travel. He loved the store more than anything. He loved to be at the store and he loved to interact with the customers and employees."

In an era of national, high-end supermarkets like Whole Foods Market, Adams Fairacre Farms has evolved into an anchor of the regional economy.

"I think that the larger organizations, like Whole Foods, got their ideas from businesses like Adams," said Charles S. North, president and chief executive officer of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Nearly a century after Adams' father, Ralph A. Adams, bought a farm on Dutchess Turnpike in Poughkeepsie, Adams Fairacre Farms offers a range of services, including cheese and coffee departments, a gourmet grocery department and three side businesses – Adams Landscaping, Adams Fences and Adams Power Equipment.

But Harvey Flad, professor emeritus of geography at Vassar College and co-author of "Main Street to Mainframes: Landscape and Social Change in Poughkeepsie," said Adams Fairacre Farms is much more than just a place to shop. Adams Fairacre Farms, Flad said, has become part of the social fabric of the community, a link between local vendors and area residents who prefer to spend their money in the neighborhood.

"It's part of our regional culture," Flad said. "The way they've done it, I think, is remarkable. It's a wonderful example of how a small business can understand its market, understand its niche in the market."

As Adams Fairacre Farms evolved, its reach extended beyond farming and retail.

"Ralph was a member of a family that continues to be very generous to Vassar Brothers Medical Center," said Ann Armater, senior vice president for development at Health Quest and executive director of the Foundation for Vassar Brothers Medical Center. "We are very grateful to the family and certainly have a warm spot in our heart for Ralph."

In 1919, according to www.adamsfarms.com, Ralph A. Adams and his wife, Mary Rogers Adams, bought a farm on Dutchess Turnpike in Poughkeepsie. By 1933, they had four children — Diana, Dorothy, Ralph and Donald— along with a successful farm stand. Ralph A. Adams died in 1957 and three years later his two sons launched the store.

In 1981, Adams Fairacre Farms opened a second store on Route 9W in Lake Katrine, Ulster County. Additional stores opened in 1998 in Newburgh and in 2011 in the Town of Wappinger.

"Ralph Adams epitomized the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this county great," Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said in a statement. "His commitment to our community, his business and family, and the land, was unwavering, and an example for us all. Our gratitude and heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to his family."

Mark Adams of Poughkeepsie said his father "just wanted to have an honest product at a fair price. He never was one to worry about the details, about the economy or what happened to it."

Mark Adams said his father's philosophy was simply, "let's try to get some good stuff in here and sell it to people at a reasonable price and everybody wins."

The Adams family grew many of the items they sold at the store up until about 1999. And Ralph R. Adams indulged his passion for farming until his late 60s. He loved driving a tractor. He loved working the land, his family said.

"He was just a guy that loved to be on the farm," Mark Adams said. "That's where his heart always was."

Ralph R. Adams was born March 8, 1923, and was a track star at Arlington High School. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, serving as a navigator, flying missions over Italy. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in pomology, the study of fruit cultivation. Cornell is also where he met his future wife, Doris King.

But Dutchess County is where he lived and worked — and where he leaves his legacy.

Steve Clarke, owner of Sunshine Orchards in Milton, has sold apples to Adams Fairacre Farms for 35 years.

"Every time, Ralph would say, 'So-and-so has them for such-and-such a price,'" Clarke recalled fondly with a laugh. "You always had to keep your price in line. He was a businessman and he wasn't going to let you get away with anything. But he was always fair. If you treated him fairly, he was always there for you."

John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo

ONLINE

Share your thoughts and memories of Ralph R. Adams at www.facebook.com/PoughkeepsieJournal

SERVICES

Calling hours will be held from 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home, 371 Hooker Ave., Poughkeepsie. Burial will be private.

THROUGH THE YEARS

1919

Ralph A. Adams purchases 50 acres of farmland in Poughkeepsie.

The Adams family begins growing and selling produce.

1920s-'50s

The Adams family farm stand opens and thrives.

Eventually the small roadside stand is replaced by a barn.

1960

A small retail store is established and garden center added.

Late 1960s-early '70s

Adams Landscaping and Adams Fences are founded.

1977

Adams Country Foods Department opens, including a deli, imported and domestic cheeses, gourmet foods and groceries.

1981

Adams Fairacre Farms opens a second store on Route 9W in Lake Katrine, Ulster County

1986

Adams Power Equipment opens just behind the Poughkeepsie store.

1991-'92

Renovation and expansion of the Lake Katrine store, adding meat, seafood and bakery departments.

1998

Adams Fairacre Farms opens third store in Newburgh featuring a salad bar, prepared foods department, sweet shop, gift shop and expanded gourmet foods area.

2001-'02

Poughkeepsie location expands again, adding prepared foods department and sweet shop.

2003-'05

Lake Katrine store undergoes major renovation and expansion, adding sweet shop, salad bar and prepared foods department.

2009

Newburgh store undergoes renovations, expanding cheese and grocery departments.

2011

Adams' fourth store opens on Route 9 in the Town of Wappinger. It is a 70,000-square-foot store.