BusinessNovember 5, 2018
Business Notebook: Brown's Pecan Farm serves up holiday treats
On a gently rolling hill outside Whitewater, 300 pecan trees are loaded with green-hulled nuts -- about 3,000 pounds' worth, estimates Renee Brown. She and husband Bob Brown are working with their son, Allen, on a sunny Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, on Brown's Pecan Farm to harvest pecans before the next day's predicted rainfall...
On a gently rolling hill outside Whitewater, 300 pecan trees are loaded with green-hulled nuts -- about 3,000 pounds' worth, estimates Renee Brown.
She and husband Bob Brown are working with their son, Allen, on a sunny Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, on Brown's Pecan Farm to harvest pecans before the next day's predicted rainfall.
Rainfall's not good for pecans, whose shells can decay if humidity is too high, Renee said, and that means the nut itself isn't as tasty.
But Bob is at the wheel of a small tractor, kitted out with a plywood canopy over his head, and a hydraulic piece of equipment whose wide jaws clamp onto a pecan tree -- and shake it.
Three seconds of vigorous agitation, and the tarps under the tree have disappeared under a blanket of pecans, leaves and twigs.
"We'll fold up the tarps and separate out the pecans," Renee said.
From there, they'll be put through machines in their Health Department-inspected facility.
For all that, they started with only a shovel for equipment, Renee said, but their operation now includes industrial equipment used to sanitize, crack and shell the pecans, as well as a full industrial kitchen to add sugar and chocolate to the pecans.
Of course, they sell plain pecans, too, she said, and another machine pulls the "bitters" from each hulled pecan.
And there's a drying machine, a boxy structure built from plywood and a motorized fan. It keeps the pecans from getting moldy or bitter, or the shells from decaying, Renee said.
Fourteen years ago, Bob and Renee Brown moved to the country, near Whitewater, and planted pecan trees.
About four years ago, those trees started to produce -- about 300 pounds of pecans, to start.
Every year since, more and more and more pecans are loading down the limbs, Renee said, and eventually, "We ran out of family and friends to give them to, so we started selling."
And, she said, "People buy more pecans when there's a little sugar on them."
On the farm, four main varieties of pecan tree stand in long rows, spaced widely enough to allow good air circulation, Renee said.
Missouri's humidity wreaks havoc on the trees, she said, and blight and rot can be an issue if the fallen hulls and leaves aren't kept swept away from the trees' roots.
And, of course, wildlife is a continual presence.
Saplings have wooden stakes slanted into the ground around them to keep the deer from rubbing on them, Renee said, and each tree has a long metallic ribbon streamer tied on. Those serve two functions: keep birds away and mark trees that haven't been harvested yet.
And then there are the squirrels.
From a wild treeline to one area of the pecan orchard, there's a narrow line, almost like a squirrel highway, worn smooth from their scurrying footprints to and fro.
Renee said having an owl on the premises is helpful, but that's about the only pest control method used, aside from some slight spraying against insects and disease.
But any spraying is done far in advance of the outer hulls opening, she said. The brown-and-black pecan shell doesn't get the chemicals.
"To have a good nut, you want a good color, a nice appearance," Renee said. "You want one that's kind of plump, and when you start eating it, it should be crisp, should crack, and have a nicer flavor."
For ordering information, contact monutbrown@yahoo.com.
New emergency room open at PCMH
Perry County Memorial Hospital opened a newly renovated Emergency Department on Oct 26. An open house invited the public to tour the department and learn of the benefits incorporated into the renovation.
The new facility's benefits include:
- Enclosed ambulance bay to protect patients and staff from the outdoor elements
- Improved design, which places the ER receptionist and triage nurse in better contact with the waiting room
- Improved security systems and office area for oversight and management of ER and hospital campus
- Additional observation care rooms for patients needing treatment before discharge or to initiate care before hospital admission
- Improved ventilation systems to prevent the spread of infections and/or to increase the protection of immune-compromised patients
- The employment of new construction materials that resist bacteria and viruses, thus reducing the transmission of germs
- Unique rooms designed for specific types of emergency conditions
- Improved facilities for non-emergent services requiring day and night access, such as DOT screenings
- New and improved patient monitoring equipment
WSIL-TV acquired
Quincy (Illinois) Media Inc. (QMI) is acquiring WSIL-TV, the ABC affiliate that serves the Cape Girardeau, Missouri/Harrisburg, Illinois/Paducah, Kentucky television market, according to a recent news release.
The acquisition is subject to approval of the Federal Communications Commission with the expectation the ownership change will occur in January, the release stated.
The station is being acquired from Mel Wheeler Inc., which has owned the station since 1983. The acquisition also includes KPOB-TV, a satellite station of WSIL in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
The company will own stations in 16 television markets.
Quincy Media began as Quincy Newspapers Inc. with the merger of the Quincy Herald and Quincy Whig newspapers. It entered the broadcast business in Quincy in the 1940s and 1950s, the release stated.
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Ribbon cuttings
Doctors' Park Animal Hospital will hold a ribbon cutting at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at 63 Doctors' Park in Cape Girardeau to celebrate its first year in business. Light refreshments will be provided.
Seis Amigos will hold a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Thursday at 1832 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau to celebrate new management.
Kitchen and Bath Showroom will hold a ribbon cutting and open house at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at 147 N. Lacey St., Suite 2, in Jackson.
Business licenses
James Thele, Bryan Hampton and Michelle Liscombe applied for a license to operate Electrical Contractors Inc., industrial electrical contractors, at 2180 Rust Ave. in Cape Girardeau.
Christina Roosman applied for a license to operate Jewelry Journey & Co., a retail art and jewelry business that will store and provide loans on jewelry and guns -- guns will not be retailed, only sold wholesale, according to the business license permit -- at 612 Whitelaw Ave. in Cape Girardeau. Opening date is listed as Dec. 1.
Nicholas Laiben applied for a license to operate Skein Insurance Group d/b/a Goosehead Insurance, an insurance brokerage, at 338 Broadway, Suite 311, in Cape Girardeau. Business open date was listed as Oct. 1.
People on the Move
Chris Pruett, a veteran journalist and newspaper businessman, has been named publisher of the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, the Dexter Statesman, Puxico Press and Doniphan's Prospect News.
Pruett comes to Poplar Bluff and Butler County from Indiana, where he served as publisher of daily newspapers in Greencastle, Brazil and Linton for six years. All three publications are part of the Cape Girardeau-based Rust family network of newspapers, which includes the Daily American Republic and the Southeast Missourian.
Pruett, a graduate of Vincennes University with additional studies at Indiana University, started his career as a sports writer at the Vincennes Sun-Commercial in Indiana in 1982 before moving to Linton in 1983. He served as editor, sports editor and news director there until he moved to the Terre Haute Tribune-Star in Indiana in 1990. He served as assistant sports editor until moving back to Linton in 1998.
He has been associated with the Linton newspaper for almost 28 years.
Pruett and his wife, Debbie, an elementary school teacher, have a daughter, Rachael. She is the women's golf coach at Drake University in Des Monies, Iowa.
Saint Francis Healthcare System recently hired nurse practitioner Amanda Wareing, APRN, FNP-C, as a new team member with SFMC's hospitalists. She joins 21 other providers who care for hospitalized patients at SFMC.
Wareing earned her Master of Science in nursing from Maryville University in St. Louis, and is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has been a member of the Saint Francis family since 2013, and previously served as a registered nurse in the medical intensive care unit at the medical center.
Saint Francis Medical Center welcomes nurse practitioner Tamara Keesee, FNP-C, to the Saint Francis Pain Management Center.
She earned her Master of Science in Nursing from South University in Savannah, Georgia, and is board certified from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Nurse practitioners are nurses who have undergone advanced training and are able to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries, order lab work and imaging tests, and write prescriptions. They can manage many health conditions, teach health promotion and help patients with disease prevention.
Cape Girardeau lawyer Dale Gerecke recently attended the 2018 annual Conference of the Association of Missouri Mediators in St. Louis.
AMM is an educational and networking organization that connects mediators across the state and shares information on the process of mediation with the public.
Mediation is a process that helps people communicate more effectively so they can try to resolve issues and concerns, and can be ordered by the court in civil cases or people and businesses can voluntarily choose to mediate any kind of dispute.
Gerecke practices in the areas of personal injury law, business and commercial transactions, property law, family law and estate planning. He also performs civil and family law mediations. Gerecke is an active member of the Association of Missouri Mediators. He is admitted to practice in Missouri and Illinois.
Local business leader Paul M. Cairns recently joined the First State Community Bank Board of Directors at Cape Girardeau, according to a news release.
Cairns was born and raised in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Tulane University in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in management, concentrating in marketing. In 2004, he earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Cairns serves as chief executive officer of his business, Pain Management Partner LLC, and is an active member and leader of several community organizations, including the Cape Retirement Community Inc. board, and La Croix United Methodist Church.
Kelly Darby of Jackson, a financial adviser with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, was Life Application Leader in the Missouri East Region in October.
Darby has been with Modern Woodmen since November 2010.
Kandra Gregory of Jackson, also a financial adviser with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, was Life Leader in the Missouri East Region for October.
Gregory was also named Rookie of the Month in the Missouri East Region for October.
The recognition is given to a full-time representative who has been with Modern Woodmen for less than a three years and is leading the region in production.
Gregory became full time with Modern Woodmen in December 2016.
Modern Woodmen of America is a fraternal life insurance society headquartered in Rock Island, Illinois. Modern Woodmen provides life insurance and annuity products to almost 770,000 members nationwide.
Farmers Insurance and Farmers Financial Services representative Doug Spooler of Cape Girardeau has earned the Financial Services Certified Professional (FSCP) designation from The American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Candidates for FSCP certification must complete a series of courses designed to improve his or her ability to identify and meet customers' financial service needs. The program is designed to help advisers understand client needs in a comprehensive manner by offering practical solutions and guidance for the challenges consumers may encounter.
Spooler became an insurance and financial representative with Farmers Insurance in 2016. In 2017, he was awarded the Blue Vase Award for life insurance production.
The Doug Spooler Farmers Insurance Agency serves the auto, home, business, life insurance, retirement planning, investment management and annuity needs of his customers from his office at 75 Sheridan Drive in Cape Girardeau.
mniederkorn@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
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