Ben

I am a father of three, husband of one, brother of six, born on a potato farm in central Pennsylvania and descendant of a long line of farmers on both sides of the family.  Sunshine, warm soil, green plants, fresh air, and hard work all come with my genes.  As a little blond haired over worked farm kid, I was sure there was a better way to make a living.  As a young man, I tried that better way only to find how much I missed the freedom of the farm.  At this point, I decided to follow what I loved.  There have been many bumps and thousands of mistakes, but from these mistakes I have learned many lessons and found opportunities to grow.  Without any formal education, I have earned my own PhD. in the school of picking myself up, dusting off my back side and trying something else.

I want to tell you a little bit about this life I enjoy.  Everyday I choose exactly what I want to do.  If it's cold or wet outside there are always nice warm jobs inside.  If it's beautiful out, there are all kinds of things to do outdoors.  You would be amazed at all the outdoor jobs I can find on a nice day.  Sometimes these jobs include finding a nice warm spot to take an afternoon nap.  One of my favorites is to find a quiet place beside the creek (that runs along our property) pop open a Diet Dew, light up a cheap cigar and try to find solutions to all the questions running around my head.  Although this sounds like I'm a little bit lazy, it's really an art form developed over forty years to let nothing keep me from dreaming.

When I'm not dreaming, you will find me working hard to lead our company.  This is what really makes me tick.  To find a better way to: farm, run this business, treat the people you work with, grow unique gourd varieties and then make them into something really neat.  To take a gourd seed, plant it in the ground, tend to it for a year and then craft it into something that people just have to have.  That there is some good fun!

Sitting on our porch looking out over the farm, I'm amazed at how far we have come in a few short years.  I'm most proud of building this one of a kind business together.  We have our own reality show going on here everyday.  A cast of characters that you would have to meet to believe, each one of them doing their own strange things, each one a hard worker with a wonderful heart.  Okay, some of them keep showing up for work late, and some don't always work hard, but that thing about the heart, yea they all have it and that's what counts for me.  In between ping-pong games, they are the very best group of gourd crafters in the world and each year they get better.