Feeling 35

I often tell people I don't feel my age. Some days I feel like I am still in my 20s and some days I feel more like I am in my 80s. What amazes me more than the number of candles on my birthday cake is the number of years my family has been in the pecan business.

This fall we will be celebrating 35 years of business and in some ways that just seems nuts to me. I was only two when Mom and Dad opened what was literally a two room "shed" in the little town of Byers, TX where they sold pecans in the shell and cracked. The building had no central heat or air and no plumbing. Mom had to walk across the street to use the restroom at Reed's gas station. The Pecan Shed was only open a few months out of the year...usually November until January or February. We had no pecan orchards of our own at the time but were leasing orchards along with all the other farming my parents were doing (such as wheat, cattle, etc.).

When I talk to my parents neither one of them believed the Pecan Shed would last more than a few years. Dad has even said back in 1981 he thought if it made it eight or nine years he would consider it a success. As the business grew we built a new metal building at the Byers location. Then we opened the "Garden Patch" in Wichita Falls several years later. That location sold pecans and since we needed to stay open year round to pay the bills we also started growing produce or buying it from neighbors on the Charlie/Thornberry Farm Trail to sell at the Garden Patch. In 1994 Mom and Dad built the Pecan Shed at 1401 Midwestern Pkwy in Wichita Falls. This store is still our "hub" location where we do all our shipping and internet marketing as well as retail and wholesale. On October 30, 2014 my dream came true and we opened a second Pecan Shed in Henrietta. PS2 as I loving refer to the Henrietta store serves customers from all over the United States and even several other countries on a daily basis thanks to the highway traffic off of Hwy 287.

While the retail business was growing so were our orchards. In 1987 we started planting the first of our own trees and we have continued to do so almost every year since. To date we have over 1,000 acres and 25,000 pecan trees in the Charlie/Thornberry/Byers, TX area.

While Jake and I grew up in the family business we were both prone to say we didn't want to actually be a part of it when we were done with school. Jake went to Tarleton State University in Stephenville where he earned his horticulture degree. I have a Masters in Business from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. Both of us had career goals that had nothing to do with pecans. However, the old saying is true...the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans. For various reasons Jake and I both ended up back in the family business soon after graduating from college. Of course another old saying is also true...it is always good to be home. The Pecan Shed and the Montz Orchards are definitely home to us.

Today, Mom is retired to play with grandkids, I (along with my excellent team) run the two retail stores, Jake (and his awesome crew) run the orchard operations as well as Jake is a expert in pecan exportation to China, and Dad still has he hand in the mix of everything on the days he doesn't go fishing.

While some days it is hard for me to believe I will be 37 this fall I must say it seems even crazier that we have been in the pecan business for 35 years. Some days it feels like we just began our journey and some days it feels like we have been around forever. One thing I do know is I am sure looking forward to what the next 35 years have in store...no doubt it will be nuttin' but good stuff full of fond memories, wonderful people and (in my opinion) the best pecans, fudge, pies, brittle, and so much more!

We truly are...Family Owned and Grown Since 1981!