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At the time of purchase by the Ross family, the Dell-Howe Farm already sported the green chimneys and cupolas. The owner prior to Tolbert was Colonel Henry Breckenridge who hired an itinerant minister to perform odd jobs around the farm, one of which was to paint the chimneys.
Apparently, the minister found some green paint and not only painted all the chimneys, but the barn cupolas as well. This became the “talk of the town,” because painting one’s chimneys anything but red, white or black was unheard of in those days!
Almost immediately, locals began to give directions to the Dell-Howe Farm by saying, “…and you go down the road…it’s the one with the green chimneys!” Breckenridge, being a rather unique man, decided that the green chimneys made his farm easy to find, and believed his business improved because of this novelty. He decided to keep the color, and let people talk about his farm as much as they pleased.
The farm quickly became known as Green Chimneys, which was certainly more “fun” than Dell-Howe Farm. The Rosses never broke with this tradition and to this day, all chimneys and cupolas on the nearly 200-acre farm continue to be painted that same shade of green!
Minka the ferret was donated to the students at Green Chimneys’ Clearpool campus by a family that wanted her to have an outlet for her boundless energy. She gives students the opportunity to learn about animal enrichment as they construct obstacle courses out of collapsible tubes and cardboard boxes for her to play in and show off her agility. This active girl never tires of playing, and sta. and students must be on their toes when she’s exploring the Nature Room because she has a reputation for snatching dry-erase markers and stashing them away in her blankets!