Wayne, Kam and Haley Gillespie
We purchased the
Haley Farm Bed and Breakfast from Mr. Harley in 1993. We moved up from Northern Virginia (Springfield VA was our last address) to get away from the rat race, traffic and noise and to see if we enjoyed rural tranquility. It was definitely the right move. We really
love the area and the people, and Haley enjoys being able to ride a lot, although
since she started college in 2001 she is only home on vacation.
In 1997 we changed the name from Harley to Haley Farm. Haley is our
daughter's name and since the place will eventually belong to her we decided
to go ahead and name it in her honor. It was the easiest way to make it more
personal (we only had to drop the "r" to make it Haley and now the name has
far more meaning for us).
We
have made a number of changes to the B&B, from redecorating with our purchases
from around the world, to adding suites and landscaping. We now have
nine suites as they have proven to be so popular (3 Luxury suites, and
6 Master and Mini-suites), and even a 3 bedroom lakefront cottage . The result is a B&B that is elegant with Chinese carpets,
tapestries, antiques etc., but not so elegant that you can't relax. The
sauna and spa were built in 2003 and our guests love the
massages, herbal wraps, facials and reflexology treatments that
we offer.
Wayne: Wayne is a WestPoint graduate. He had served for over 26 years in the U.S. military before retiring in 1987. He had two tours of Vietnam as Advisor and became an expert on NATO. He was stationed in Germany for twelve years prior to returning to the Pentagon in 1979 as a Lt. Colonel. Wayne is fluent in German and has taught German at WestPoint, and at the University of Maryland.
We
hired full time innkeepers in 2000 allowing us more time to pursue our
passions. Wayne's loves were fishing, golf and gardening. He planted over a 100 fruit trees and numerous berry bushes over the years on the farm, and we have been rewarded with the best tasting, organic fruits (such as plums, nectarines,
strawberries, apples, and Asian pears). We enjoy sharing the bounty of the farm with our guests and encourage them to pick fresh corn and fruit when in season and take it home to enjoy (at no charge of course). Wayne has also stocked the pond with a lot of bass and trout and if you enjoy fishing you will love fishing at Haley Farm (we even provide fishing tackle for our guests at no
charge).
Wayne and Kam both used to teach at the local community college when they first moved to this area in
1993. They also hosted a weekly TV show called "Garrett County Forum" which dealt with local and national political issues for over two years.
The TV show was a great excuse to invite Congressmen, Senators, Governor, Mayors etc. over to chat and discuss
local and national issues. Kam wants to revive the TV shows one
day and call them "Food for Thought" incorporating her
passion for cooking and politics.
Wayne
died unexpectedly in January 2003, and we miss him desperately, but we
know that he is watching over us. Wayne was passionate about education
and believed it was invaluable. In view of this Kam
established the Wayne G. Gillespie Memorial Fund and every year
we send one student from Southern High School to Garrett College (he
had taught at both places).
Kam: (full name Kamlesh) was born in India and moved to England when she was seven. Most of her education was in the UK (London University and St. Andrews in Scotland) where she was trained as an economist. She moved to the Washington area in 1979 where she met Wayne and they were married in 1982. Kam started working for the World Bank in 1980 and also on her Ph.D. in Economics at George Washington University, but gave up the degree soon after Haley was born in 1983). She left the Bank in 1993 when the family moved to Garrett County. Although Kam still handles all the finances and marketing for the B&B she is hoping to devote more time to the retreat programs
( Health and Women's Retreats and Conflict Resolution).
Haley was lucky enough to move to Garrett County when she was
ten years old. She grew up surrounded by nature (we have mild
summers and the mountains and lake are just incredibly gorgeous) and
animals (cats, dogs, horses, rabbits) and even though today she
might prefer a mall to the woods, I think she was lucky to have
grown up in Garrett County. She graduated with honors from the
University of Maryland at College Park in 2005 and is taking a year
off to travel and decide on her next career move.
Bobbi
and Pete Briggs joined Haley Farm as innkeepers in October
2007. They have both been in the service industry for over twenty
years. Bobbi has degrees in Forestry and Wildlife and loves the
peace and tranquility offered by Haley Farm. Pete has a degree in
Public Relations and Marketing and has worked in many local
businesses before moving to the B&B. Having lived in Garrett County
for a long time both Bobbi and Pete are very knowledgeable about the
area and look forward to helping our guests Pete and Bobbi’s two
daughters Samantha (age 16) and Emilee (age 13) also call Haley Farm
their home.
