How Diverse PRODUCE came to be

My Father, the Visionary

This journey began over sixty-seven years ago when, as my father began courting my mother, he described the life he could provide for them as a farmer. I suspect that this declaration stemmed from using the knowledge gained from his parents and probably theirs when farming was more out of necessity than a hobby. He had visions of attending college for agriculture at WVU; however, my father grew up in an era when earning a college degree was uncommon for Blacks. As a result, he served in the Army as a medic, married my mom, and settled in NE Ohio to raise our family. He bought the farm on a land contract and used neighboring farmland to raise livestock and grow produce; he sold fresh eggs from his chickens and homemade pork sausage out of the trunk of his car at his day job at Ford Motor Company.

His love of agriculture and nature was endemic; he worked the land for over forty years, taking the blessings along with heartaches, by successfully raising his five children and several additional nieces and nephews amidst multiple bank loan denials and corporate layoffs. Over the years, the farm also served as a summer vacation for many cousins from Detroit and Morgantown, and Daddy was happy to share his knowledge.

In 2001 he signed over the deed to me on the condition that I would keep the land in the family and find a way for his grandchildren and their children to enjoy it as he had. He passed six weeks later. The time has come for me to fulfill my promise and our family dream.