SOSMagAprilJune2022

school we had to feed the calves and the heifers. Growing up like this is just your life. You are there and you’re involved in it, so you do what you can, for your age,” she said. “There are always chores to be done in the barn. That means, pitching manure, moving hay, bedding or feeding the animals. After high school, Melissa went to work and earned her Bachelors Degree in Business at Firelands-BGSU. She married her husband, Jim, in 2000. Melissa is in her 19th year of employment with Stinchcomb Associates. Jim has been farming for Ro-bern Acres for 12 years. “I have a full-time job away from the farm, but I know when it’s spring and fall this is the time when they need runners. They need someone to get the parts, get the seed and someone to keep that tractor working the field to finish planting before the weather sets in. I’ll come in and run the combine to relieve my dad or I’ll take tractor’s back and forth. When you aren’t in the field, you are in the kitchen getting food ready. I will say, the crockpot is a wonderful thing…. And so is Snooties BBQ & Tracy’s Treats,” she said as she laughed. Pat added with a smirk on her face, “If you show up they will find a job for you to do.” I asked all three women, how growing up on a farm shaped them as person. “It has definitely made me more resilient and more adaptable. You have to be able to think on the fly,” said Heather. For Pat, “The big thing for me was you are working with your parents. I never thought it was ‘working your kids,’ because as a parent you were with them and teaching them. She said, “Learning to care for animals on the farm, just makes you different. Having a living being to care for and knowing that it depends on you… It makes you a more responsible person who is more aware.” Pat recalled a day when someone made a remark, which was less than complimentary, about her working in the field. I thought her reply was brilliant. She said, “I told that person, it is not my goal to be a rich widow… and he needs help. I’m going to help him.” Melissa believes growing up on a farm is what developed her independence. “I grew up doing different things on the farm. I take for granted that I can do a lot of things, other people can’t do or they have to wait until they are told before they will know to do it. Heather agreed. “You definitely learn how to fix things. Either you can’t afford to have someone fix it or it’s needed now, so you have to figure it out. She recalled one day when old combine broke down. “I went to the combine graveyard to get the parts, brought it home and fixed the combine.” She still loves fixing things, today. Melissa married her husband Jim Graham, 2000 Melissa with her father, Don Schaeffer, 1989 Today, Melissa still enjoys farm life 8