L ate one summer evening ,
the week before Fourth of July , a tornado whipped wings of destruction through Butterfly Farm in Lincoln . Several trees succumbed to the churning wind but no animals were hurt and the farm ’ s outbuildings remained intact .
“ It could ’ ve been a lot worse ,” says owner Dan Flynn , adding that one farm vehicle took the brunt of the storm — not a tractor or a pickup , but a dog show van Flynn uses to transport his prize-winning trainees across the region . The dog show circuit , and his farmbased canine obedience school , are just two ways in which Flynn is diversifying the farm ’ s offerings to ensure it survives another 120 years , no matter how quickly the winds of change whip around it .
Because , to Flynn — a thirty-eight-year-old , first-generation farmer — Butterfly Farm is so much more than a business . It ’ s part of the fabric of his hometown , it ’ s where he played as a child , and it ’ s where he has grown into his life ’ s most challenging work . And it ’ s only just begun .
FLYNN AND HIS FARM ’ S SILOS , WHICH GREET PASSERSBY as they enter Lincoln ’ s historic gateway to Great Road , are among the last visible examples of the town ’ s agricultural past .
64 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2024