This past weekend we had the pleasure of spending some quality time with Adam’s grandpa Gene and his wife Liz. The two have been married 24+ years and still buzz with love for each other. They plan on being married for at least another 25 years so Liz can have her 50th anniversary party. They live in Fruita, CO , which is about 41/2 hours from Denver, so visiting with them is a rare occasion. But we made the time for a visit and it was awesome! This weekend really put into perspective family values and how they pass on over time from generation to generation. Adam and his two brothers are all very creative and entrepreneurial. A traditional job just isn’t enough for them and to see the same from our dad, Mike, and now from their grandpa Gene is just plain cool! It makes me think of the saying “Your actions speak so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying”, so be careful with what you are teaching your kids.
So here is a little tid bit of what Gene and Liz shared with us.
Over a delicious breakfast of pancakes,bacon and eggs we learned that Gene had owned several businesses within a variety of industries before Adam was even born. In the early 70’s Gene moved to Grand Junction and bought a hot dog/hamburger stand that was small in size but moved a lot of meat, somewhere around 100+ lbs of meat/day by the time he sold it. This little hot dog/ hamburger stand was booming. At one point it became the only restaurant that served hamburgers and pizza. Why? Might you ask…”Because no one else was doing it” was the response we got. A few years later a pastor came through town looking to own a business and took a look at the little hot dog and hamburger’s books. The numbers were so impressive that he made an offer and within a week, after training the family how to run the business, Gene was out of there with his profits.
Being the entrepreneur he is, Gene then opened a restaurant called Country Kitchen between 1973-1974. Gene learned how to make the most delicious cinnamon rolls, about 5″ in diameter and several inches thick, that sold like hot cakes for about $1.25 each. He said the whole batch was gone before 10 o’ clock every morning. Yet again he created another booming business and sold the restaurant as quickly as the previous one. He hasn’t made the cinnamon rolls since he sold the restaurant so Liz, Adam and I are determined to have a sample during our next visit. “He brags about them so often that he has to make them for us just to prove it!” Liz told us as Gene went on to talk about the savory delights he used to make.
After the restaurant sold, at the time, there was only one western wear store in the area and the idea came up to open up a second store for a little competition. Being the risk taker Gene is, he decided to open up his very own western wear shop and went into profit mode as soon as he could. Now mind you, Gene told us that neither one of these businesses were his expertise…he just knew it was a good idea at the time and had the gusto to step up and give it a go, besides “God hates a coward” as Gene told us. So once again he got the shop going and when the timing was right he sold it off to someone who was interested in the company and walked away with a smile on his face.
The last company that Gene put together was a Hay Bailing company in the late 70′ early 80’s. He bought all the equipment and went into high gear, bailing hay stacks and driving heavy farming machinery up and down fields of gold. Gene and Liz shared story after story about learning how to drive the baler with crazy wheels, no brakes, making straight lines and bailing hay. My cheeks locked up from smiling and laughing so hard that my face began to hurt. Gene also, during his bailing years was a horse judge and one of the greatest “horse whisperers” around town breaking wild horses. Everything he knew about horses he learned from his late brother, who meant a great deal to Gene. He said “We had power stearing those days too, just a flick of the wrist and the horse did what I taught it to do!”
On October 25th Gene will be turning 80 and he looks great! A true role-model for living life to its fullest and having fun! From driving an ATV, registered as a farm vehicle because he added a homemade power-hose system, around town, to riding a new bike with gears, instead of the old fashioned pedal/brake system, into bushes with baskets and horns. Thank you Gene and Liz for the wonderful visit. I look forward to our next adventure and showing you pictures of the flowers from the many poppy and dianthus seeds you gave us.
