Page 9 - Free State Winter 2022 - Website Version

THIS BUSINESS OF OURS A Mike Hemming

Transitions

f I was going to title this article, I’d call it Transitions. longer, though. In truth, I am having a ball and very
They have been on my mind lately. My own and others, happy at the way things are going here.
Iplanned and unplanned. Planned is best of course, We have all seen generational changes in nurseries,
unplanned can be rooted in tragedy. Or it can be just old but my thoughts have been caused by two examples
age creeping up on people who are not thinking ahead.
going on close by on the peninsula. One is a generation
My own here is going quite well. I would say I’m quite change from father to daughter at Forest View Nursery in
happy with its progress. I have no doubts that I could Delaware. A few years ago, I noticed that its operations
retire tomorrow and my son and grandson, Larry and were well, getting old. By that I mean they had less stock.
Robert, could handle our nursery. Part of this stems from What they grew was still quality and reasonably priced.
our day-to-day operations proceeding normally. The part It didn’t worry me. But I did notice and thought it was like
which makes me happiest is listening to their ideas for what our nursery was doing before I shocked everyone
the future. They are both looking forward at possibilities and returned from the Navy. My father, thinking I was
of using technology and other progress. Solar power, a career submarine sailor, was letting the nursery wind
computers, material handling and RDF figure high in down to his retirement. Doing a transition in a declining
the future they see. After some thought, I realized a few business that way does create its own concerns and
months ago that I needed to step back and let them problems. Added to the change in leadership was
move forward and fly, if you will. After all, I’ll be 79 by the fact that I had decided to change to a container
the time you read this. I still hope to be around making growing operation. My father concurred with this change.
cuttings, pruning, even pulling a few weeds for a while Unfortunately, he passed on before it was completed. It
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