7 Sky Farm
By Jessica L. Knouse | Photography by Melissa Ring
Turning off Route 30 onto Crooked Creek Road leads over a one-lane bridge to the entrance of 7 Sky Farm. In this bucolic Adams County summertime scene, cows graze leisurely in the pastures, flapping their tails to conquer clouds of pesky flies. Fuzzy brown calves nuzzle their mothers, while a gaggle of heifers deliberately trot toward a heaping pile of hay bales for a late afternoon snack. In another pasture, horses nibble on fresh grass as the sun slowly positions itself to set. Kathleen Reilly, owner and operator of 7 Sky Farm, gazes out over this landscape with quiet reverence. It is clear she has respect for the land she cultivates and the animals she tends on this 100-acre, pasture-raised cattle farm right outside of Gettysburg.
A Massachusetts native, Kathleen, with her late husband Parry Baer, originally from Michigan, spent years searching for the perfect farm to purchase. After much deliberation regarding where their retirement ambitions as farmers would fare best, they decided to research farms in the general region of south-central Pennsylvania. “My husband and I took about two years to really think about where we wanted to spend the last years of our lives,” Kathleen remembers. “We wanted to be close to Parry’s kids and my family, and we wanted to be smart with our retirement dollars … and we settled on Pennsylvania.”
On Veterans Day 2017, the couple’s aspirations became a reality with the purchase of their farm. Parry, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Army with special service experience as a Green Beret, and Kathleen, a U.S. Navy veteran of 24 years and congressional staff member for the House of Representatives and Senate for 17 years, took to this endeavor with the dedication and fervor that would impress even the seasoned, lifelong farmer.
“My husband taught me so much [about farming],” shares Kathleen. “He grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan.” While being a cattle farmer is certainly a change of scenery from advising congressional committees, Kathleen has learned a lot about tending to
35 head of cattle and five horses.
“The most surprising thing I’ve learned is that farming is an occupation that demonstrates and utilizes a wide range of applied sciences. There are physics, chemistry, mechanics and engineering involved. Farmers and all of the support trades that service farms have to be so smart, whether you’re tending to livestock or crops,” she says. “It takes smart people who are open to innovations to be successful.”
Kathleen’s intelligence, resilience and ability to adapt to a brand-new occupation has transformed this farm into a full-time operation producing pasture-raised meats. Kathleen sells her products, like ground beef and beef short ribs, at the Gettysburg Farmers Market on Saturdays and via the farm’s website.
The latest addition to her property is particularly special; Kathleen has just finished construction on a “meeting house” for her nonprofit organization, Patriots Place.
A passion project of Kathleen and Parry, the organization focuses on providing support for veterans in need of personal respite and may want to process trauma from military service in a tranquil, quiet place. Kathleen is working with another nonprofit organization called No Barriers, which will partner with Patriots Place to offer therapies in various modalities like art therapy, equine therapy or spiritual therapy. The meeting house is a striking yet understated building with tall window accordion doors, a balcony that overlooks cow pastures and carefully planned ADA-compliant construction.
“There are a lot of special touches in this meeting house [for ADA compliance],” Kathleen proudly adds, “and my husband designed the building reconstruction.” Built in the place of an original structure on the property, the meeting house will serve as a small event space for other nonprofit organizations to rent as well.
“We can do anything from yoga, painting, music, naturalist education programs and family gatherings,” Kathleen explains. As a veteran, the meeting house is another example that shows how important it is to Kathleen to embody service before self.
Although Parry passed away from cancer in 2020, his memory influences the entirety of the farm, from the names of the cows (named after his family members) to the physical buildings on the property.
According to Kathleen, one of Parry’s fondest feathers in his cap was the 2020 Adams County Barn of the Year award, presented by the Historic Gettysburg and Adams County Preservation Society (HGAC). Noted as number 185 on the HGAC’s registry, the barn at 7 Sky Farm now boasts a beautiful new red façade, new windows, along with an original barn floor and original support beams. “You can even see the original chalk writing on the beams,” Kathleen points out.
“When Parry died, a piece of me went with him. I’ve learned that I am stronger than I thought I was. As I live now—with him still but now in my heart—I’ve learned to listen to him this new way. He is still my compass and the guiding light for this farm. Love transcends all dimensions.”
Learn More
For more information about 7 Sky Farm or Patriots Place, contact Kathleen Reilly at kathleen@7skyfarm.com or visit the farm’s website and submit an inquiry at 7skyfarm.com.
