Living in Long Beach, California, Nancy Reno was looking through a magazine and spotted a farmhouse with land for sale in Mathews County, and thought she and her husband Dan would love it. “We came east to see this farm,” Dan explains. “Carlton Brooks was the real estate agent we were working with. By the time we arrived the property had been sold.”

That did not deter the Renos’ desire to move across country. Keeping in touch with Brooks, “Two years after our first trip, he notified us that the farm was back on the market.”

That was more than 20 years ago and the Renos got involved in the community, sharing many talents, especially cooking, and “loving every minute of it,” Dan said.

“Nancy, later on,” said Dan, “wanted a house on the water so we bought our new home in the Redart area on Stutts Creek about seven years ago.” Keeping the farm in operation, they moved into their new location following some remodeling. Two fully equipped kitchens had been added, an ideal situation...