‘It Fills My Heart': The Story Behind Wareham’s Sweetest Roadside Stand

Elizabeth Arone is one of the lucky ones.

The Wareham native was able to step away from her full-time job to pursue her full-time passion, pouring her heart into her love of artisan craft-making.

"It fills my heart with gratitude that people are deciding to look at my work and say, hey, I want to put that in a brown paper bag and leave with it," she said. "Or they thought that it's something that they would like to give somebody."

From Extra Goat Milk to Gridlock Traffic on Pumpkintown Road

It all began back in 2017. "I had an opportunity to buy dairy goats and I was milking gallons a day and I didn't know what to do with all the milk," Arone said.

So she took a soap making class and began giving them to friends and family. The popularity grew as did the demand. "So I just kept making it," she said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to close, Arone saw an unprecedented boom in local sales. "I sold like a thousand bars of soap in four hours," she said. "There was actually like a police detail, like directing traffic because it was like gridlock traffic, people coming down the street and waiting in line."

READ MORE: Tiverton Mom Turns Pandemic Hobby Into Roadside Sourdough Bakery

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Honeybees, Dahlias, and Thousands of Dutch Tulips

Not only did COVID bring more customers, it also gave Arone time to take on another hobby: bee keeping. Now, her roadside stand houses soap, honey, beeswax candles and some of the most vibrant dahlias you'll ever see.

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While dahlia season is winding down, she is already preparing to triple her crop for next year. "We have thousands and thousands of tulip bulbs coming from overseas from Holland," Arone said.

Plus, you can still find the luxurious coconut milk soaps (she no longer uses goat milk) and candles at her roadside stand.

READ MORE: SouthCoast Craftsman's Nautical Creations Availableat Roadside Stand 

A Labor of Love Built on the Honor System

While her products are available at Fieldstone Farm Market in Marion, nothing beats visiting the charming roadside stand Arone built with her boyfriend, another labor of love that holds her creations.

"This farm stand, it represents finally having a home to put all of the things that I make and grow," Arone said.

The stand, like many others on the SouthCoast, is run on an honor system. A menu is posted with prices and a box is placed on the counter for payment, along with a QR code for those who don't have cash in the moment. "I wanted them to be able to walk into something and like take their time and not feel pressured to buy something," she said.

You can follow the charming Pumpkintown Farm roadside stand on Facebook or check it out in person at 1 Pumpkintown Road in Wareham. It's open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.