Family Employer

2018

My Mom's brother, Henry Debaugh, lives just a few minutes away in Oella on the property that belonged to my great grandparents, Poppy and Granny. My grandfather grew up there and I remember visiting. Back then there was a small low house and some outbuildings. My most distinct memory of the place was a heavy metal farm gate that was weighted so it would always close. That gate fascinated me. The gate and house and now all of the old buildings are gone or fallen down.

Uncle Henry has owned the property for decades and he and my Aunt Gail built a house and gradually improved the property. Since Aunt Gail's death and Henry's marriage to Donna they have continued to expand the garden, added a pond and water pumping system. Accomplishing all of these projects take time and labor. In this effort Henry has been employing many of the nieces and nephews. Emma had spent a number of highschool summer days going through paperwork, recycling, scanning and saving, plus a few odd jobs. The Kureks and Jauquets have worked on a new fence and lots of heavy lifting. This summer Megan and Rachael stained the fence and did yard work.

It has been a gift for each of the kids to have the opportunity to work some odd hours and make some money. They get to engage in productive labor and learn skills they might not have gotten to try otherwise. I also think the inter-generational connection has merits of it's own. Each day might have a different mix of cousins and tasks. Henry and Donna always feed them lunch and bring them home afterward. Quite a nice job perk.