On February 17, 1921 Charles Fisher Sr. was born on Elm St. in Dighton, MA. His wife, Mary "Sally" Bothelo was born on September 21, 1917. Both of their parents originated from Portugal and came over to the United States at a young age.
It all began the mid 1930's Charlies and Sally met on a double date through mutual friends. The date was to the movies at the Durfee Theater, on dish night: buy a movie ticket, get a free dish.
Things moved quickly from there. On April 19, 1941 Charlie and Sally were married at St. John of God Church. From then on they were known as Charlie and Sally Fisher. They were married for 62 years.
Initially, Charlie worked at the Mount Hope Company in Dighton. He worked in Dighton at night and farmed during the day. This was done until farming became his full time job.
Between his jobs, Charlie and Sally found time to have three children. Elaine, their only daughter, was born in 1946. Chuckie was born in 1951 then a year later Allen was born.
The farm was founded in 1941. Originally the only farm sales were wholesale to business's in Fall River and Boston. The farm stand started with a little table set up where the stand is today. Elaine, at a young age, sold the produce at the table. All the profits that were made were put aside for a family vacation in the off season.
Elaine, Chuckie and Allen worked on the farm as children. Half a days work was all that was allowed by their parents. In winter months, kale from Bermuda was sold to Portuguese restaurants in Fall River and New Bedford. As years went on, butternut squash was peeled and packed then sold to local merchants in the winters. Sally was the manager of the stand.
Since the farm was a seasonal business, the bus company was started and established in 1960. One bus was used to school transportation in Somerset. As time went on more bus routes came with population growth. Soon enough, the opposing bus companies in the area went out of business and Fisher Bus took all the routes. As business picked up the company added a line of coach buses which are now housed at the auto body. These buses are used for trips and special events.
While Chuckie was in his second year of college at Roger Williams University, the construction company was started, the year was 1970. Town sewer came to Somerset which was the first line of work for our construction company. Charlie Sr. did the estimates for the jobs and Chuckie did the work. The company started with one Baco and one dump truck. In those days, Chuckie drove school buses in the morning, worked construction during the day and drove a bus route in the afternoon.
A few years later, in 1978, the auto body was established. Allen began running this end of the business shortly after finishing college at UMass Amherst. He also drove bus routes and took care of the buses. In between working there he drove to the Farmers Market in Boston every day to sell our produce.
Today, Chuckie and Allen run all of the businesses along with their wives, Robbie and Kathi. Also, they have a little help from their children. We hope the Fisher name and companies will stand strong for generations to come.
Charlie and Sally put their heart and souls in their family and work. They provided a happy and healthy life for their children and grandchildren to come. These establishments are based on the foundations they have laid for our family. Sadly, we lost not only a family man but a mentor. Charlie died unexpectedly in December of 2003. He's gone but will never be forgotten. Charlie will always hold a special place in our hearts. After a long and happy life Sally passed away in July of 2008. She was the leader of the family and will always watch over us.
Feel free to browse through our site at your leisure. Come on down to any of our locations for any of your needs. Please direct any inquiries and comments to the contact information listed. Thank you for your business.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Charlie and Sally Fisher.
