Meet the staff!
From the left:
Lydia Keckler is our CSA Manager, and is also our primary Raspberry-picker. More than once, Lydia has been in the Raspberry patch for more than 10 hours at a time. Lydia is engaged and is getting married in May.
Tamara Keckler is the primary baker at Orchard Country Produce. She bakes the pies, sweet breads, and muffins for the Market stands. Tamara is married to Stuart Keckler, the oldest son of Gregg and Louise.
Virginia Keckler is mainly a field hand at Orchard Country Produce. She also goes to Westminster Farmer's Market. She is a senior in Highschool and is going to attend college in California this Fall.
Martha Keckler is a field hand at Orchard Country Produce when she is available. Martha owns her own lanscaping business. She is engaged and is getting married in September 2011.
Katie Tuckey is in the picture, however she has defected. She married Ryan Tuckey and is now a part of Tuckey's Mountain Grown Berries, Fruit and Vegetables. Katie is now Katie Keckler-Tuckey.
Sarah Keckler (being held) is currently a Business Administration and Japanese Major at Washington and Lee University. When she is home on breaks, Sarah is our Web Designer and manager as well as "Quality Control" manager.
Oliver Keckler goes to market at Bethesda, Columbia, and the DOT building in Washington DC. Oliver pretends to be a hard worker but truthfully spends his time trying to find ways to ride the tractor around the fields, while claiming to be working.
From the left:
Mark Wooten is Lydia's fiance. He and Lydia first fell in love in the Raspberry patch while picking Raspberries. :-) Mark is a Nurse but he continues to work at Orchard Country Produce in his spare time.
Ryan Tuckey is Katie's husband. He and Katie were married in August 2008. He keeps busy on his farm, Tuckeys Mountain Grown Berries, Fruits and Vegetables.
Daniel Caudill is Martha's Fiance. He attends college at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and is working on becoming a certified electrican. Daniel works at Orchard Country Produce during his breaks.
Louise manages the Orchard Country Produce stand at the Bethesda Farmers Market and Columbia Farmers Market. She also does a ridiculous amount of paperwork, pays the bills, keeps the books straight, and writes the weekly e-mails to CSA members. In addition, Louise's organizational skills go unprecedented and thus she is in charge of deciding what and how much of each kind of produce goes to which market. Seriously people, this woman is amazing.
Gregg manages the Orchard Country Produce stand at the Department of Transportation Farmers Market as well as the Westminster Farmers Market. He also plows the fields, plants the produce, harvests the produce, prunes and sprays the fruit trees, and assists in assembling CSA shares. His speciality job is cutting and bagging lettuce mixes for the farmers markets. Gregg is the Orchard Country Produce beekeeper and braves the little creatures to provide you with unprocessed honey.