First I have to say that I agree totally with "open your mouth". My exboss thought I talked to long to my contacts, but I found that a causual, friendly, conversation always opened them up, and I got info that would not have been available to a "brief, efficient, attorney-like" approach. Since one of the things he paid me for was to gather info & leads, I had to grin when he commented on my cell phone minutes, especially when he had just said: "How did you find that out? I just talked to them & they didn't even mention their plans for expansion." (or whatever)

This may be a little off-topic, but I'll let you decide if there are any lessons for marketers.

And now to the rest of the story: "The Kids from Black Bear", one of the oldest, original communes in Far Northern California.

When I had my organic produce farm in the mountains about 50 mi South of the Oregon border, my major crop was several acres of potatoes. Harvest was very labor intensive and there was no workforce of migrant labor available. One year some kids (young adults) from the commune at Black Bear came to get organic spuds and found out I could use help. (again: open your mouth) They would work in trade for a winter supply of spuds for the commune!! Do you think I might have been interested in "almost free" labor at a time when cash was short because the crop was not sold yet?

OK so what kind of help could these "no-good, lazy, welfare, hippies" be anyway? Surely they don't know what real, hard work is!

That was not my opinion, but it was a common attitude with lots of the locals, rednecks and others too.

It is because of that attitude that I must tell this story.

Harvest was late in the Fall and it was already quite cold & miserable. They were working on the potato digger picking grass clumps, dirt clods, rotten spuds, etc.. out of the good potatoes as they go by on the belt. In decent weather it is a less than pleasent job, dust, noise, don't get your finger pinched off etc.. In Nov with temps just above freezing, horizontal snow squalls blowing through, and still the dust; it was absolutely the worst!! These kids did not need to work for the spuds, they could have easily bought them. They turned out to be the best, fastest, hardest working crew I ever had!!! And having a good time as well. (no it wasn't from drugs, no drugs around this dangerous machine)
The most amazing part, (besides the fact that no one but a crazy farmer would have been out there at all), was how fast they were. If the trash got too thick, I told them to holler at me on the tractor, and I would stop for a minute or two. I would rather stop than have junk go in with the spuds. Every crew I ever had before would need these catch-up breaks now & then. The "hippies" seemed to take it as a challenge, and were determined not to slow up the harvest by stopping. No matter how many dirt clods were in there, they just worked faster. It was absolutely amazing! Their hands were flying so fast, I could hardly see them. We almost never stopped.
I found myself wishing that some of my former "hard-working, farm boys & girls" could have seen these kids that all the local "conservatives" had the attitude about.

When we settled up our labor for spuds deal, I found out that when they bartered labor with other vegetable farmers, they usually ended up with the seconds that weren't as marketable!! I gave them field-run that had all grades. After the job they had done for me, I would gladly have given them all #1 Bakers! But the field-run are more versatile, and keep longer.

So I got my spuds out and into the cellar and they got a couple of tons of good, organic food for the winter. And I got a good story to tell whenever I hear someone say anything about "hippies" or communes.
It was an honor to work with them, I often wonder where they are now and what they are doing. With that kind of work ethic, I'm sure they're doing OK.

Best to all for success,
Dave Horn


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