Two Farm Kids on St. John

Carrie and I both had interesting farming childhoods, with unusual family working situations. Her west-Tennessee childhood was influenced heavily by her grandfather’s frozen vegetable business, now PictSweet Farms, that he started after leaving Oak Ridge Labs. Over the years, most of her extended family and Carrie herself did some sort of work at Pictsweet. Her uncle, aunt, three brothers, and many cousins still work there, decades later.

My mother & father both grew up on farms; their fathers and grandfathers were farmers. My elementary school years were spent learning how to drive tractors, wagons and stick-shift trucks before I was 10. My dad starting teaching me at a very young age to recognize problems, consider solutions, and get the tools needed to make it happen. Neighbors used to joke that he could fix anything with a hammer and a crescent wrench.

Hometown Made

Farming under 500 acres in central Michigan in the 80s did not generate enough to support a family; so in his early twenties, my dad took on a full-time welding job at a local furniture company. This company, Woodard, had started out just after the American Civil War as a wood furniture and casket company, and had grown in the early 20th century to the largest casket maker in the world. The company evolved over the decades into a nationally-known metal furniture company. The White House even had Woodard patio furniture!

I grew up working on the farm, while my father advanced, over 15 years, from welder to Vice-President of Manufacturing. Dad was a big golf fan, which naturally meant I became a fan. I have a childhood memory from the late 70s when Woodard’s new Arnold Palmer Collection of furniture came out. My dad told me one day how Mr. Palmer flew into our little Owosso airport in his corporate jet to meet with the executive team. When the meetings were completed, the pilot wouldn’t taxi the jet to take off - the runway was too short for his comfort. So they flew another pilot in to fly Arnold and his pilot out. It was big news in little Owosso, Michigan.

When I was in 6th or 7th grade, Woodard made plans to move the executive offices to California. Our move never happened; instead, my parents started a new company making futuristic-looking, high-efficiency autocycles - but that’s another story.

From Farms to Villa

So here we are - two farm kids who met in Boston and married on St. John - now owning and managing a large rental villa on St. John, a villa in need of new patio furniture. Months and months of looking, and it seems we came full circle. In September, we ordered 18 Woodard sling chairs, chaises, and rockers as well as a dozen end tables. They finally shipped to St. John Hardware’s freight forwarder in Florida, and, last week the massive boxes arrived. And, yes, they are still manufactured in little Owosso, Michigan.

No Coincidence

While packing up our Vermont house for seasonal renters last month (we are now residents of St. John), Carrie found a box of old photos. At the bottom of the box were my dad’s last business cards from Woodard.

I don’t believe in coincidences, so I guess we’ll just stick with a “glitch in the Matrix.”

Villa Ownership Year 3

Our guests this Christmas week got a special treat in the form of an LED-decorated Christmas palm (that survived the hurricanes) and 30 pieces of new patio furniture.

Next week we start Year 3 of owning and operating Great Expectations. With 10-16+ guests checking in 30+ weeks a year, Carrie and I have met more people on St. John than we knew in Vermont after 17 years. We have invested more time and money than I thought possible. We have learned more than I could ever have imagined. Our guests are sunning themselves on Woodard Furniture. I’m sure my mom and siblings will grin at some vivid memories from our childhood when they read this.

Included in the Woodard furniture shipment were several extra chair slings we purchased for replacements down the road. This week we had a shower cartridge break, so I headed to Home Depot on St. Thomas and bought 3 of them; one for the repair and two for inventory. Oh, I’ve got more than one hammer and crescent wrench stored in multiple locations in the villa. Ed would be proud.

What’s next?

Steve
Dec 28, 2019