It’s much the same story for Helen McCubbin and Joanne Cleator who made the trip from Scarborough. “We try to make it twice a year,” McCubbin said. They have been coming to the farm for around 20 years and are sad to see it go. “They’ve always made good pie,” Cleator said.

Laura Naumann came as a kid from Scarborough. “It’s going to be really missed,” she said. Having come to the farm as a kid, Naumann was happy for the chance for life to come full circle before it closed. Toting a stroller with her baby, the family was about to set out for a journey in Pumpkinland. “It’s really nice that I get to bring her,” she said.

Decked-out in blue jeans, a Whittamore’s T-shirt and sunglasses, Frank Whittamore was busy fixing up a driveway on the farm as customers poured in. In 10 days, Frank, wife Suzanne and his brother Mike Whittamore will encounter a new reality. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Frank said. “But it will be nice to make some changes and pursue new things.”

When the family made the announcement that 2017 would be their last season in the spring the outpouring from the public was overwhelming Frank said. The Whittamore brothers are the ones who built up the farm as many know it now.

March 2, 1972 is a day many farmers won’t forget in the area. Gilbert Whittamore rhymed the date off like it was yesterday. That’s when it was announced his farm would be expropriated along with many in Pickering and Markham for the proposed Pickering Airport. After that decision, Gilbert ramped down his farming operation as he no longer owned the land. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that Whittamore’s ramped up operations when Mike and Frank told him they wanted to grow strawberries. “They wanted to grow 25 acres,” he said. “Holy smokes. That’s an awful lot of strawberries.” Gilbert said what you see of Whittamore’s now is a credit to his sons. They are the ones who had a vision to grow the business.

People visiting the farm are all Frank or Mike ever remember. “I was parking boy at eight-years-old,” Mike said. “I remember July 1 thousands of people coming to the farm.” Over the years customers’ interactions with the farm has changed. With the food supply system greatly improving since the 1970s, Mike said there is much less preserving done. “There’s a lot less people doing 30 jars of jam for the winter,” he said. Now more people come to show their children where their food comes from, Frank said.

Frank started the shop on Steeles in the late 1980s after previously having a roadside stand. As Whittamore’s business grew, they employed thousands of people over the years. Maybe none longer than Lillian Igel, who started working at the farm as university student in 1992 and has been there ever since. “It’s been a true privilege to work for this family. They are very special people,” she said. When she first started working there were six girls, now there is up to 65 employees depending on the time of year. She says the farm helps fill the void people have for getting back to the basics. That environment that so many people have come to enjoy is a testament to the owners, she said. “They are unsung heroes of the community,” she said.

Across the road from Whittamore’s, Dale Reesor was out combining soybeans in his John Deere. He grew up with the Whittamore boys on Steeles back when it was a gravel road. “I remember the strawberries,” he said. “They were pioneers for doing pick-your-own.”

Frank Whittamore is surrounded by a sea of pumpkins at the family farm in this Toronto Star file photo from 1999.

Reesor, who has his own sweet corn stand on Steeles and various locations Scarborough, can attest that the buy local movement has taken off in recent years. But Whittamore’s was the original buy local in the area. Reesor can remember the cars parked down the road on Steeles on Canada Day to pick strawberries. “It got crazy busy,” he said. “It will certainly be different without them.”

There will be one farmer with a Whittamore’s connection selling vegetables to the public next year. Judy’s Tropical Garden on Reesor Road specializes in warm-climate crops such as bitter melons and callaloo. Judy, originally from the Philippines, worked as nanny for the Whittamores. She started growing exotic vegetables in her garden and Frank eventually started selling them in his store. Now Judy and her husband Noelle live in the farmhouse that Evelyn grew up in and run a pick-your-own concept that was honed at the Whittamores. “It’s stuff you can’t get anywhere else,” Frank said. “They figured out how to grow high-heat crops. They do a good job.”

Mike Whittamore sits among pumpkin crop at his farm in Markham.

As Oct. 31 approaches, Frank said the moment is bittersweet for the family. “We had amazing customers,” he said. At the same time the business was a grind. It’s basically 24/7 during the season, he said. With no next generation waiting in the wings to take over, Frank said the family had to make a decision and it is one they are comfortable with.

Mike said he will continue to farm the land but will change some of the crops. Encased in the Rouge Park, the farm looks to be spared from imminent development. As for new opportunities, Mike said he’s looking forward to go somewhere other than the farm on Canada Day. “I don’t think I’ll go to the Strawberry Festival,” he said.