USA: Business 101 – Barten Pumpkins

September 24, 2011
Adventure, MidWest
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If you ever wanted to see a family run enterprise in full decision-making mode, come hang out at the Barten kitchen table on a late Sept/early Oct evening. Fran, my lovely mother-in-law, is the ever magnanimous CEO, CFO, COO, and president of Barten Pumpkins, with her 11 children and associated spouses filling in any other job requirement needed. Everyone has opinions, and somehow, they all get played out, listened to, and acted on in this cacophony of beautifully managed chaos. Pumpkin season at the Barten farm is one of the best run enterprises I have encountered to date.

Every Dozinky weekend the Barten family comes together at the family farm in Minnesota to begin the   pumpkin harvest festivities. Delegation and leadership abound. Ever hour is taken advantage of, because when it comes to pumpkins, there is always an opportunity cost for your time. If you take an extra long lunch and leave a load of pumpkins in the field at dark, a frost could take them out that evening.

Since my first Barten pumpkin season in 2008, the operation has grown in dynamism. There is an ever-expanding family fun day, regular games, hay rides, bonfires, and new this year a Pumpkin Palooza. If you need a break from the city, volunteers are always welcome, just come ready to work and with a good sense of humor.

Harvard Business School take note – I found your next case study.

USA: Dozinky Days

September 23, 2011
Adventure, Food, MidWest
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Being married to a farmer has all kinds of benefits. One of those benefits being a brand new appreciation for harvest festivals (until 4 years ago, Thanksgiving was the only harvest festival I knew).

Main St in New Prague packed with onlookers for the 2011 Dozinky parade.

In my husband’s hometown of New Prague, MN, there is an annual tradition of celebrating Dozinky Days, a Czech harvest festival, at the end of every September. I have only been partaking in the tradition now for three years, but let me tell you, it is a sight to see. Main Street gets closed off and the whole town comes out for a party that seems to last non-stop for 2 full days.  Beer gardens, dumplings, sauerkraut, and klotckys (Czech pastries filled with poppy seeds or fruit) seem to be on every corner, while yodeling concerts take place by the chamber of commerce.

Barten Wee-Bee-Littles

To this Virginia girl, it is a true cultural experience made even richer by the fact that I am not just a bystander but a willing participant. Friday night at the festival consists of selling pork burgers at the Barten family stand, a tradition begun by my late father-in-law almost 20 years ago. Then Saturday morning we all venture back out to Main Street to take part in the parade. Orange Barten Pumpkin t-shirts go on (on me they go on over wool long johns, a fleece, and a scarf!) and off we go, handing out thousands of Wee-Bee-Little pumpkins along the way.

USA: Chesapeake Bay Watershed

September 11, 2011
Adventure, East Coast
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Did you know that while the Chesapeake Bay is cleaner now than it was a few decades ago, it still suffers from dead zones, sea grass depletion, and low oxygen levels that harm fish and other wildlife? Oysters are perhaps the most obvious example — oyster levels in the Bay are only 2% of what they were 200 years ago.

For more information on research being done in the Bay, check out the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory on Solomons Island.

USA: Calvert Cliffs State Park, MD

September 11, 2011
Adventure, East Coast
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Calvert Cliffs State Park

Being a place that the state of Maryland describes as “one of the most unusual natural curiosities in the state”, and first mapped by John Smith, of Jamestown fame, in 1612, the Calvert Cliffs were a necessary stop on my way down from Canada to Richmond.

It was a 2 mile walk through woods and swamp to get to the sandy beach at the bottom of the cliffs. Before I embarked, unprepared in my Mexican, handmade leather sandals (note to self: keep a pair of Chocos in the back of the car from now on!), I of course had to put the hike into NY terms for me: about as far as a walk from our old apartment in Astoria to the Brazilian grocery on Northern Boulevard. Totally doable!

Arriving on the crowded beach, we learned that the cliffs are famous not so much for their beauty, as for the prolific abundance of fossils held in their white clay.  I only found a herd of domesticated and soaking wet black labs, but there were quite a few serious fossil searchers on the beach and most appeared to be making interesting discoveries. The 7-year-old crammed onto the 5 foot wide beach next to us, informed us that sharks’ teeth are the most common find.

Canada: Observations from Maritime

September 9, 2011
Adventure, Canada
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The three eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) are collectively called the Maritimes; a little factoid I learned during my first night in St. John, NB. Here are a few of the other surprises I found along the way:

Nova Scotia:

– Expecting a seaside town full of grays and neutrals? Forget that! I have never seen so many beautifully colored buildings. It seems as if every town has a signature turquoise house.

– According to a roadside sign on the way to Lunenburg, the 3 largest contributors to the Nova Scotia economy are fishing, tourism, and agriculture.

– So many pieces of land for sale! If you were looking to move to beautiful sea-side piece of property, this is the place.

Prince Edward Island:

– The ‘potato capitol” of Canada.

– Looking for an ice cream shop? Keep an eye out for a Dairy Freeze instead.

– P.E.I. is the smallest of Canada’s provinces but has over 50 lighthouses.