Jerry and Nancy Kohlberg

JERRY AND NANCY KOHLBERG—FROM WALL STREET TO CABBAGE HILL

Jerry Kohlberg—of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts fame--and his wife Nancy not only made an impression on everyone who met them, they also made a lasting—and still going strong—impression on Bedford and the surrounding area.

They came to me looking for a house with property, and I thought I had just the spot for them, a beautiful place on Crow Hill Road just outside of the village of Mount Kisco.

Jerry and Nancy showed an interest in the property on the first visit, talking between themselves. I could tell they wanted to start negotiating. And they did.

They ended up with the house and all the property, ultimately 170 acres, and as wonderful as it was when they first saw it, that was only a hint of what they would do with it.

It’s called Cabbage Hill Farm and it really is absolutely beautiful today. Nancy is a weaver, and raised her own sheep for the wool, which she would weave with.

They added other animals, carefully developed their fields and meadows in traditional, natural ways, and eventually installed a state-of-the-art aquaponic greenhouse for vegetables. All of the crops, herds and flocks at Cabbage Hill Farm are raised and tended naturally and sustainably, without chemicals or hormones. They sell their wonderful organic beef, pork, poultry and vegetables at their own farmer’s market, as well as at various stores and outlets throughout the area.

And Jerry and Nancy even opened their own restaurant, called The Flying Pig, and brought the same attention to quality, excellence and healthy foods to this that they did to the farm itself. I don’t have to tell you that food was delicious!

So here was Mr. KKR, one of the giants of the modern financial industry, living the life of a farmer right here in Westchester—and being just as successful at farming as he was at everything else in his long and happy life. He passed a few years ago, not long after his 90th birthday.

Nancy Kohlberg still owns Cabbage Hill Farm, overseeing the details that have made it such a treasured and lovely part of our area.