May 17, 2012

Spotlight Brian Ogle -- Part One

Brian Ogle
from Moscow, Idaho



His mother said:
My son, Brian, is covered in angel kisses and blushes at the drop of a hat. Ugly spots? No way. When I was a youngster, I tried to…… give myself freckles with an eyebrow pencil. I also dreamed of suddenly waking up with dimples.

 in a very cute post called Angel Kisses 


     I first spoke online with this nice gentleman when I joined MaryJane Farms Sisterhood. He emailed me with lots of information and was so helpful. He even showed me how to get my blogs on GirlGab Site.  You know how when you speak to someone even in an email you can just tell they are very nice. This was the case with Brian. I Knew there was a story behind this person, and even before I knew he was MaryJane's Son.  I wanted to do a story on him and find out what it was like working at MaryJane's Farm,.  Little did I know he was her son.  He was kind enough to answer my questions.  I love what he had to say and I think you will too.

    The following will be in question and answer format.  He like a lot of us would rather have questions asked of us. I think that in general most people are a little reluctant to talk about themselves, when in reality they lead very interesting lives.

Dolly: Brian can you tell me a little about yourself?

Brian: I'm 31, married and we have a 2 year old daughter.  My wife and I are fixing up the house that I grew up in (a couple miles down the road from the farm) and my grandma actually lived there for a time when she was very young.  I don't know when she lived there.  I did hear that she rode a wagon over the hill to the place if that is any indication of when she was there.



Brian, his lovely wife Ashley, and their beautiful daughter Adria



Click here for a video of Brian and Ashley's Wedding



Dolly:  Do you have your own business, or do you work at the farm in some capacity?

MaryJanes Farm


Brian:  I work here at MaryJanesFarm full time and plan to do this for as long as I am able.  My title is technically "Director of Customer Support".  My actual responsibilities extend a little beyond being in charge of customer service here at the farm.  To name a few others things I also manage our Farmgirl Sisterhood Database, sell advertising on our blogs and email marketing, Winter snow removal, Spring B & B clean up, hay bale bucking (my LEAST favorite task). I am pretty sure that everyone here at the farm does at least 2.5 full time jobs.

Dolly:  Brian what is hay bale bucking?

Brian:  Bucking hay means that you and hopefully a crew of folks drive through the hay field picking up hay bales and stacking them on the back of a truck in order to move them down to a covered shed so that they don't get rained on.  We cut hay at the end of June or early July so it is always hot and dry.  You are walking through an empty hay field picking up 40-50 lb. bales and tossing them up several feet to some one on top of the growing stack in order for them to arrange it on the trailer.  It is hot, itchy, physically exhausting and I'm not a fan.  Never have been, never will be.  Luckily the 11 acres of hay was tilled last year since there was an invasive grass that took over large sections of the field.  The hay ground will be growing spring wheat or barley this year.


Dolly:  Hearing him say all that does makes me tired, how about you? Please tell us more about what you do.

Brian:  The customer service aspect of my job is something that I've enjoyed since high school when I got my first non family farm job at the Moscow Food Co-op.  I have always enjoyed helping customers and having them leave happy.  I enjoy dealing with people and I also get a kick out of being able to answer their questions and help them one step beyond their initial question.  During college the most valuable course I took was a conflict management class.  The lessons in that class were basic, but oh so valuable.  (Listen to the person you are dealing with, find common ground, speak clearly without raising your voice, etc....)  I get even more of a kick out of making an upset get off the phone (or respond to an email)  happy with the outcome.

Dolly:  What is it like living in the house where you grew up?  You must have a great love for family.

Brian:  I always knew in the back of my mind that I would come back to the house that I grew up in.  I've always felt centered at my house with our surrounding hills and familiar views.  My wife and I lived for more than 3 years in a rented house on Spokane's South Hill area.  We put a lot of love and labor into fixing up that house and it really gave us a taste for renovation and the joys of finishing a project.  What living in our 1890's farmhouse is teaching us is the joys of learning how to deal with living in a house that has rooms that are in a constant state of "Half done'ness" and throw in a 2 year old for fun.  My wife and I make a pretty good team when it comes to remodeling the house.  I tend to sit back.  Look at the project.  Mentally go through the steps to complete the project.  Sit back again.  Try to think of any obstacles we will encounter.  Work around my mental obstacles and then maybe I'll take the hammer to the nail at that point.  Ashley tends to look at a wall and say, "Let's knock it down and rebuild it".  Then proceeds to start pulling nails out of the wall.  Our projects get started thanks to her "Let's do this" and I like to think that we avoid disaster due to my excessive planning.


Take a virtual tour of MaryJanesFarm.  I would love to visit the Bed & Breakfast myself...Glamping sounds like outdoor fun to me. It sure looks like Brian has a beautiful place to live and work
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/tour/virtual/
Also for a better understanding of this farm and what it means to this family and others
click on the link below:
http://www.maryjanesfarm.tv/FarmRomance.asp


I love this story but hang on there is more.
Please join me in the next part of Brian's Story coming up

Until next time,


3 comments:

  1. Great post. Can't wait to read the next part.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fun surprise to see Brian featured here Dolly! He is wonderful at what he does. I think the entire MaryJanesFarm team is filled to the brim with Western Hospitality! They know now to make everyone feel right at home! Looking forward to part 2! Thanks for this fun spotlight Dolly dear!

    ReplyDelete


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