Making memories with her grandparents

About 10 years ago, Mitch and Ann Smith  set aside 3 acres of their 32 acre farm to plant peas for the public. "We started it for older people so they could pick on their own. We have people bring their grandchildren to the fields with them. They'll be laughing and singing. Mitch says, "It's very rewarding. Customers can either buy peas or pick 'on halves.' They get half of what they pick for free, and I get half. Last year we had some ladies using canes who came to pick. We have people 85-year-old out here picking."

                                                                                                                              Adam Robison

But the field grows more than peas. It also grows memories. Mitch and Ann got their granddaughter Haley into the business when she was only nine. She and her grandparents are as close as "three peas in a pod." Haley is now a sophomore at Shannon High School. Mostly to spend time with her grandparents, she helps plow the fields, hoe the rows, plant the seeds and pick the peas. She is paid for her work, and has used her earnings to buy school supplies and clothes and even her own phone. Mitch says sometimes he drags her to the field, and sometimes she drags him.