Haven: A Colonial look, with updates

Along a country road in the Eayrestown section of Lumberton, an expanse of white fencing comes into view. A farmhouse reveals itself slowly, as do lush green fields and a stable.

According to the original land grant from the British crown, the site and part of the house date to 1704. Ellen and Robert Healey have managed to maintain the Colonial look and feel of this local landmark while transforming it into a much-loved home for seven children, now young adults.

"We knew from the start it had to be a real home for us, not a formal showplace," says Ellen Healey, who was convinced that this New Jersey horse farm was the right move from Haddonfield in 1982.

When the couple bought the 100-acre spread, they made a pledge to the sellers that they would not subdivide or sell off any part of it.

"It was a spoken agreement, not a written one, but it is just as binding for us," says Bob Healey.

Extensive renovations were done in stages, with an eye toward preserving the past while gently guiding the early 18th-century home into the present.

Says Ellen: "We knew that we wanted to respect the farm's heritage and history, and we were willing to go to some lengths to do that."

This is a family that knows what going the distance means. Born to a first-generation Irish American family in Atlantic City, Bob grew up so poor that he remembers lining his worn-out shoes with cardboard.

He would go on to graduate from University of Pennsylvania Law School and practice in a Camden firm. In 1964, with his brother, Bill, as his partner, Bob Healey went into boat building, ultimately developing Viking Yacht Co. into one of the largest builders of production tournament fishing yachts in the world.

Today, Bob's interests include commercial and residential real estate development and management. He also is deeply involved with philanthropy, with a focus on Catholic education and on international relief centered in Sierra Leone.

For Ellen, a primary crusade is the Gleneayre Equestrian Program, located on their farm. As founder and executive director, she oversees an extensive riding program for at-risk young people. The 31 horses in the Healey stables are used almost daily by these riders.

Given their demanding lives, this couple welcome and cherish their hours at home, and have made family life with their seven children and 11 grandchildren a high priority. Family pictures everywhere are testimony to that.

"We celebrate all milestones and holidays together," says Bob, who hopes that the next generations will learn by example to do the same.

The farmhouse is the family anchor. The design itself, with a largely open floor plan, is meant to bring people together.

Major elements include such materials as solid brick pavers derived from old Philadelphia sidewalks and beams remilled from old barns.

Tender preservation has been given to the original 1704 part of the house, which is now Ellen's homey office near the front door. "And this space was the entire house," she says. "I love being in it almost every day."

In a kitchen with the charm and warmth that befits a farmhouse, pine is abundant. This is command central for the cooking that goes on for everyday life as well as parties and holidays. The Healeys are legendary hosts.

Bob Healey Jr., a recent groom who proposed to his bride on the sprawling outdoor patio of the farmhouse, is the only male in this six-daughter family. As it happens, he is also his mother's faithful partner for pumpkin pie-making, an annual pre-Thanksgiving ritual for mother and son.

This year, the dining room - with its handsome table, high-back chairs, elegant portraits, and raised-beamed ceiling - will not be the site of Thanksgiving dinner because a daughter got her bid in early for that hosting honor.

A well-used great room and casual library also are gathering places, with expansive views of the landscape.

Even the living room, so often ignored in many homes, is definitely not off-limits. Bob Healey Sr. proudly points to its special treasures: an ancient oil vessel from Jerusalem on one wall; on another, venerable crosses from County Cork, Ireland, especially meaningful for a man born on St. Patrick's Day.

Upstairs, four-poster beds, peaked-ceiling rooms adjoining other rooms, and wonderful touches of Americana art and accessories abound.

Then there's a third-floor space that Bob Jr. claimed as his in his teen years, reached by a brick-walled, angled wooden staircase that makes access quite an adventure for the older set. A chair of throne proportions and style dominates the perfect teen hideaway.

With all the house's charms, all its touchstones to the past, and its spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, Ellen and Bob Healey will tell you that in this season of Thanksgiving, gratitude is never in short supply.

"When a house is loved, you can feel it in the walls," says Ellen. "We are blessed with that, and we never forget it."