My first hired man, Adam, with my beloved Beulah Petunia.
I want to thank the reader who spotted Adam at the Wal-Mart in Spencer recently. He stopped by my farm, unexpectedly, and told me that he’d been at Wal-Mart and a woman came up to him and said, Why haven’t you been to the chicken farm? You’ve been replaced by two other guys. You need to go see Suzanne! And he finally figured out what was going on. That two years later, he’d been recognized by a reader! Still!
Adam was my favorite hired man, hands down, ever. And I adore my current hired men. But Adam was my first hired man out here, and he taught me so much.
Adam, teaching me how to clip chicken wings.
Adam, teaching me how to make maple syrup.
Adam, teaching me how to dig and steep sassafras roots.
Oh, yeah, he taught me a lot.
I saw him at the door of my back porch, opened the door, and threw my arms around him. I was so glad to see him! He’s working away on pipeline in Kentucky right now, 90 hours a week. He doesn’t have time to be my hired man anymore. We sat and talked for a couple hours, catching up.
He promised to come see me again….because, you know, you guys are watching him! Keep it up!
Joell says:
How nice of Adam to stop and visit with you, he did teach you so much. It is amazig the things folks can teach us showing us “hands on” and you will never forget those lessons, chances are you will pass them on to your children as well.
On January 15, 2015 at 10:49 am
cinderbama says:
Y’all must have had a great time catching up. He must have been amazed by the changes in you and on the farm. You’ve accomplished so much in two years!
On January 17, 2015 at 9:56 am
emmachisett says:
What a powerful last photo…the knowing and capable hands of a man not afraid to get dirty to secure an end result. Adam is/was a treasure and his wealth of West Virginia lore and how-to must not be lost…pipelines bedamned. Surely he or you should set down his wisdom for the future…a new book perhaps?
On January 20, 2015 at 10:29 am