il it
o it page 78.) Deanna Smith, who’ s spearheading that project, wants it to be part of a larger regional revival.“ We really see this project as an economic development initiative,” she says. The trails will be free and open, designed to draw people into the area and into nearby businesses.“ We’ re hoping that some of the traffic coming for Shaker Ridge will stop along the way.”
il it
o it page 78.) Deanna Smith, who’ s spearheading that project, wants it to be part of a larger regional revival.“ We really see this project as an economic development initiative,” she says. The trails will be free and open, designed to draw people into the area and into nearby businesses.“ We’ re hoping that some of the traffic coming for Shaker Ridge will stop along the way.”
The company in Texas continues to plan new communities. All told, they’ ll have developed roughly 9,000 homes across Republic Grand Ranch, Texas Grand Ranch, and the soon-toopen Legacy Grand Ranch, plus the established Pecan Plantation in Granbury.“ We’ re doing tremendously well,” Patten says.“ And that’ s afforded me more time to do the things I really love.”
What he really loves, it turns out, is walking these Berkshire hills with his dog, tapping trees in March, and building something that will outlast him.
COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION
RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION
SEASON 2026
Free Event
COMMUNITY DAY
SATURDAY, MAY 23
FIREFLIES by Matthew Barber JUNE 19 – JULY 19 Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare JULY 4 – 26 Outdoors at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre
CIRCUS & THE BARD: THE NEXT CHAPTER
Co-created by Allyn Burrows, Robin Eldridge & Pedro Reis JULY 16 – 26 Tina Packer Playhouse
SHAKE IT UP: THE REMIX
Co-created by Allyn Burrows & Jacob Ming-Trent JULY 29 – AUGUST 2 Tina Packer Playhouse
FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE by Terrence McNally JULY 30 – AUGUST 23 Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
Keiter is a family-owned construction services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes.
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SITE WORK AND EXCAVATION
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
HAMLET by William Shakespeare AUGUST 13 – 30 Tina Packer Playhouse
MIDSUMMER DREAMERS
Created & Performed by
Nick Nudler & Kirsten Peacock SEPTEMBER 1 – 3 Tina Packer Playhouse
PLAYS IN PROCESS
AN INTRODUCTION TO NEW WORKS
SEPTEMBER 1 – 3
THE NORWEGIANS by C. Denby Swanson SEPTEMBER 4 – OCTOBER 4
Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
CELEBRATING JEWISH PLAYS
OCTOBER 9 – 11
Get Tickets 413.637.3353
SHAKESPEARE. ORG LENOX, MASS.
Justin Durham, Circus & The Bard, 2025. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
A Market and a New Kind of Community
To grow the Woodlife brand, Patten needed a place where people could come not just to buy things, but to gather. He found that opportunity in New Lebanon at the former Windswept Farm, once owned by John Senger, who had passed away. Patten purchased it in 2020 and began restoring it patiently, methodically, and with respect for what had been there before.
That same year, the pandemic arrived. Standing masked in line for 45 minutes at Guido’ s one summer day, Patten did what he has always done: reframed the problem as an opportunity.
“ If this is how it’ s going to be,” he thought,“ I’ ll build a kitchen. A meat and fish market. Takeout windows. Picnic tables outside. A place where people can be safe. A place people can be together.”
Today, Woodlife Farm Market is exactly that: a retail space, a community anchor, and an evolving local institution. Much of that transformation rests with Emily Gamble, who runs the market’ s day-to-day operations and its expanding partnerships. Woodlife sells syrup, meat, fish, produce, and carefully curated goods. Its restaurant sells hearty Sunday breakfasts, creative sandwiches daily, and a variety of mouth-watering specials from pulled pork quesadillas to fried chicken. But what it is really offering— quietly, steadily— is community.
Emily is Patten’ s stepdaughter— he married her mother when Emily was four and raised her at Woodlife Ranch until the marriage ended when Emily was 17. The relationship never ended, though.“ When my mom and Mike split, that was never a question with him,” she says.“ He’ s been rock solid my whole life.”
She left for college and spent time in Colorado and California, but the pandemic brought her home sooner than expected. She started handling social media and sales for Woodlife; now, at 32, she oversees the entire New Lebanon operation. Emily describes growing up on the ranch as idyllic; friends were always around, animals everywhere, the freedom of hundreds of acres to explore. When she came back during the pandemic, that childhood playground became her workplace.
The market, she recalls, took“ lots of work getting it to where it is now. Christmas trees had gotten covered in vines. I was out there pruning Christmas trees with a machete.” She is hands-on and has taken on every single random job you could think of— from bottling maple syrup to managing social media to getting to know the regulars who now define the place.
68 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2026