"If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going." — Wendell Berry

More About the Maloney Family
Charlie Maloney grew up on a small, diversified farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The farm supplied many crops, including tomatoes for the local cannery. As the youngest of six children, Charlie manned the two-acre tomato patch at 13, a good preparation for future work. In 1968 Charlie left home for an education at Duke University, where he stayed for 10 years, receiving 3 degrees: BA in Religion, Master of Divinity, and Master of Theology in Pastoral Psychotherapy. Charlie became an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ in 1976 and completed a two-year residency in Pastoral Psychotherapy at Duke University Medical Center in 1978. After the residency, Charlie and his wife, Miriam moved with their new baby, Heather, to Hampton, Virginia where Charlie worked as a pastoral counselor at the Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center. In 1982, the Maloney family moved to Williamsburg where Charlie became the Executive Director of the Williamsburg Pastoral Counseling Services. He became a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and obtained his license as a Professional Counselor in Virginia. Following his success in the pastoral counselling arena, Charlie and Miriam moved to King and Queen County where they began to set up their farm with Heather and their new son, Jason. Within a couple years, the Maloney family grew by two more children, Paul and Katie. As the CSA grew, the farm developed and Charlie gradually cut back on his pastoral counselling career. In 2001, he became a farmer full time. In 2005 Charlie was asked to teach a course in the Environmental Science and Policy department at the College of William and Mary. The Sustainability and Agriculture class was developed and was taught by Charlie every spring semester for 20 years until his retirement in 2025. Along with the academic role, Charlie has been active in the Virginia Association for Biological Farming and the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (Southern SAW), and has served on the Board of Directors in both organizations. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Small Farm Outreach Program at Virginia State University. In 2016 he was awarded the Virginia Small Farmer of the Year.

Miriam, Charlie's wife, grew up the oldest of two daughters of a Methodist Minister. After graduating college, Miriam and Charlie married and moved to Durham, North Carolina, where Miriam briefly taught high school English before attending Duke Divinity School and graduating with an M. Div. Prior to working full time on the farm, Miriam worked in a counseling capacity with a Domestic Violence Shelter, Head Start and Adult Education programs, and as an Early Interventionist with the Rural Infant Services Program serving disabled children birth to three and their parents. While working away from home, Miriam partnered with Charlie to homeschool the children. Over the years she also enjoyed caring for goats, horses, and chickens as well as growing herbs, berries, and flowers. With the farm animals gone and the children grown, Miriam, still enjoys working in the gardens, preserving veggies and herbs, and supporting the vitality of the farm. Nurturing a love of farming in the grandkids is a favorite pastime.

Heather is Charlie and Miriam's oldest child. From a young age she was interested in dance and studied with a variety of teachers before attending the New World School of the Arts in Miami and receiving a BFA in Dance from the University of 'Florida. Now, Heather lives in Miami, Florida with her husband Corey Silverman and their two children Ella (10) and Mylo (8). In addition to being a dancer, choreographer, and instructor, Heather homeschools the children. Heather and Cory own their own business called Inkub8, an alternative studio and performance space. Cory is a truly amazing lighting and sound guru who manages Inkub8 and sells audio equipment.

Jason is Charlie and Miriam's second child. From a young age, he was interested in working with wood. Jason attended Brevard College in North Carolina, where he received his BA in Environmental Studies. Jason now is a Class A Contractor and owns his own business, Tall Pine Builders, specializing in home renovations, barns, sheds, and additions. His first building project on returning to Virginia from Brevard was the huge beautiful barn at Dayspring! When not at work, Jason has a talent and passion for playing the drums. He sometimes plays with other musicians at local restaurants and events. Jason, his wife Amy, and their son Liam (11), live in Topping Va. Together they are restoring an old 19th century farmhouse as their homeplace. Amy graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina in 2002 with a BA in Studio Art. In October 2004 her love of travel took her to Southern France and a job as a classroom English Assistant where she discovered yoga. Once back in Middlesex VA, Amy trained as a yoga instructor and began teaching classes in July 2007. She now has a studio at the farm and a website, sharedacresyoga.com. Amy and Liam both work with her parents at Wake Forest Farm where they raise local grass feed beef, hay, and straw to sell locally.

Paul is Charlie and Miriam's third child. As a young boy Paul, loved to find out how things worked by taking them apart and learning to put them back together. This was great for helping maintain all the farm equipment while he worked at the farm growing up! Paul attended J Sargeant Reynolds Community College, where he received his Associates Degree in Automotive Technology. After spending several years doing automotive and carpentry work, he and his wife Jenny started their own flower farm, Wind Haven Farm, now located in King William County. Jenny grew up in King William County enjoying the outdoors by boat and horseback. She worked on a flower farm throughout high school. Jenny attended the University of Mary Washington for two years, then transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts, where she graduated with a BFA in Craft and Material Studies with a concentration in Ceramics. She and Paul both work full time running Wind Haven Farm and would love to share their beautiful blooms with you! Check it out! windhavenfarm.org

Katie is the Charlie and Miriam's youngest daughter. As a young child she enjoyed sculpting with clay and later designing yearly Christmas cards in watercolors. She graduated from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina with a BFA in Ceramics. Katie spent time studying abroad across China, Tibet, Nepal and Japan learning new techniques from the old masters. She is currently making pottery for art shows and galleries in North Carolina and Virginia, and is an icon in her field. Her art focuses on nature and the symbolism that she expresses captures the hearts of her collectors and admirers. She has made her home and studio space right next door to Dayspring which allows her to walk over in the evenings and harvest salads for dinner. She loves to spend her free time hiking, riding her horse Shadow and attending music events of her friends. If you would like to see more of Katie's art work check out her website! www.katherinemaloney.org

"A healthy farm culture can be based only upon familiarity and can grow only among people soundly established on the land; it nourishes and safeguards a human intelligence of the earth that no amount of technology can satisfactorily replace." - Wendell Berry

MATTAPONI FRIENDS QUAKER MEETING
We meet every Sunday at Dayspring Farm in the meeting house behind the barn, starting at
10:00 AM for Silent Worship (Unprogrammed) preceded by singing of
Quaker hymns. All are welcome!

Charlie Maloney

Miriam Maloney

Heather, Cory, Mylo, and Ella

Jason and Amy Maloney

Paul and Jenny Maloney

Katie Maloney

A Prayer in Spring - Robert Frost
​
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; 
And give us not to think so far away 
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here 
All simply in the springing of the year. 

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white, 
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night; 
And make us happy in the happy bees, 
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees. 

And make us happy in the darting bird 
That suddenly above the bees is heard, 
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, 
And off a blossom in mid air stands still. 

For this is love and nothing else is love, 
To which it is reserved for God above 
To sanctify to what far ends he will, 
But which it only needs that we fulfill.