A 70’s Love Child
Elaine married her college sweetheart, Charles Flatt, and moved to Bangor, PA in 1975 and purchased a 35-acre farm. The couple couldn’t decide what to plant, so Elaine wrote to Rutgers University and Penn State to ask their opinions. They both told her to put in apple orchards…because that was all they knew at the time. By chance, they found out that Cornell University was experimenting with French American hybrids…and the idea of a vineyard was born! They quickly found out that growing grapes is a labor of love.
Elaine recalls getting help from their friends and family. “They jumped into the holes and covered the dirt with their hands. Franklin Hill Vineyard’s first crop had 51 rows, with 125 vines per row.”
By the end of the decade, Elaine and Charles knew they could not handle the vineyard alone. They needed people who were as passionate about wine as they were. Enter Bonnie.
“I met Elaine in 1979 and helped her at the vineyard. She opened her doors during Christmas of 1982 and she said, ‘Why don’t you come back and help me?’ I said sure! I had 3-year-old twins, and thought it would be nice to get me out of the house for a couple hours a day,” said Bonnie, Franklin Hill Vineyard’s head winemaker.
In 1989, following a divorce from Charles and some very lean years, Elaine and Bonnie were about to break up the band when they were “met with an act of providence.”
They entered their wines that winter into the Penn State winemaking competition, and won 3 medals! A gold and two bronze.
“What those medals did for us was give us a pat on the back, and it said just keep doing exactly what you are doing and you will be okay,” said Bonnie.
“That’s what changed my life,” said Elaine. Elaine and Bonnie decided they could do this, and trudged ahead more determined than ever.
The Grungy 90’s
Elaine and Bonnie knew if they were going to make a go of it, they would need more workers. Family and friends helped where they could, and soon, a core of 5 women emerged at the winery.
Elaine, Bonnie, Helen Smith, Debbie Veers, and Linda Flemming…now known as the “first” or “fabulous 5”.
“They put me out in the vineyard and said ‘Pick some grapes.’ I had never done anything like that before, but it ended up being where I belonged, and Elaine and I clicked,” said Helen Smith.
After Elaine would put her daughter on the school bus, she would approach the other moms doing the same thing, introduce herself, and ask them if they would like to come work in the vineyard for a couple of hours while their kids were in school.
She would work with all the moms who lived along Franklin Hill Road. These women would refer other women, and the “sisterhood” grew to 12 women. Elaine says she was able to do it because she “put family first.”
“No child will go into daycare when their mother works here.”
If there was a sick child at school, Mom could go pick her up…but oftentimes, they would end up at Elaine’s house.
Elaine realized the power, work ethic, and passion that women have for their families and their work. The extended family grew.
Continuing Legacy
Elaine’s biggest supporter was her father, Walter. He was an older Polish gentleman who always wore a white shirt and ties to the store and would smoke a pipe with Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco.
He would work in the wine store, and people would come in just to have a chat with Walter.
“He was her number one supporter, and he sold so much wine, and was so happy about it. It really was the joy of his life,” said Elaine’s daughter Jennifer. “He sold more wine than anyone. We would search his house and storage units because we thought he was just buying them to make my Mom feel good.”
Elaine’s heart was broken when her father Walter passed in 1997. As a tribute to everything Walter did for the company, Franklin Hill renamed his favorite country red to “Sir Walter Red.”
“He had a special laugh. His belly would move more than any sound would come out,” said Elaine’s son Adam. “My grandpa was my male figure in my life, and would always preach strength and kindness.”
Adam changed the label around and put a silhouette of his grandfather on it to honor him. His favorite red, and the label showing Grandpa with his pipe in honor of his favorite tobacco…Sir Walter Raleigh.
Up until this point, “Country Red” never won any big medals. But, the year after the rebrand, Sir Walter’s Red won its first in a series of gold medals. “Because it is such a big money-maker today, I feel like Dad is still helping us make money from the other side,” says Elaine, “I always say “Thank you, Dad.”
A New Millenium
Although Elaine and Charles were divorced for decades, his name was still on the winery. It took 9 years of negotiation, but Elaine was finally able to buy him out and move forward with the winery on her terms.
Franklin Hill had hit its stride, but another heartache surfaced. Linda, a member of the “Fab 5” developed breast cancer.
“She was so tall and beautiful with her long blond ponytail, and her pink hat that she wore every day in the vineyard,” said Helen of the Fab 5.
After Linda passed, the women of Franklin wanted to support other women to survive and thrive.
So, they started a fund called “Friends Helping Friends”.
Grrrl Power
Elaine was among the first winemakers and owners in the state of Pennsylvania.
She began to get immersed in giving back to the community and started speaking in 2010 on panels, and still today, mentors today’s women leaders of tomorrow.
“The biggest challenge is getting up every day and wanting to change it for the better…because sometimes you just want to keep it the way it is. But, the minute you stop and like it the way it is…you have already told the universe you are going the other way,” says Elaine. “I am a big believer that you get back what you put in, and it is important to treat everyone with compassion.”
Elaine always says her mission is to empower women and give them purpose, and she does just that.
After starting a line of cider, Elaine and her son Adam decided to go in a different direction.
“Just when I thought I was close to retiring, my son Adam said to me, ‘Mom the law has changed.’”
In late 2013, PA passed a law allowing you to distill in the state, and after working at Franklin Hill Vineyards, Adam worked up an idea of his own…spirits.
“She and I were willing to put it all on the line and reinvent ourselves for a 2nd time since the 80s. It was scary but she trusted in me,” said Adam.
The Offspring
After starting a line of cider, Elaine and her son Adam decided to go in a different direction.
“Just when I thought I was close to retiring, my son Adam said to me, ‘Mom the law has changed.’”
In late 2013, PA passed a law allowing you to distill in the state, and after working at Franklin Hill Vineyards, Adam worked up an idea of his own…spirits.
“She and I were willing to put it all on the line and reinvent ourselves for a 2nd time since the 80s. It was scary but she trusted in me,” said Adam.
And thus, Social Still was born. Social Still, the next generation of business for Franklin Hill, resides in Bethlehem’s SouthSide and has become a popular hotspot in Bethlehem, PA. Diners can sip cocktails below the ambiance of the stainless steel glow of the distillery tanks.