Gregory, how do you measure the significance of a 44 year friendship? Impossible to quantify. Your giddy laugh and infectious smile have remained alive in me since my 19-yr-old self joined the Blue Heron Bakery so many decades ago.
You have always been a wise one in my life: you mentored DIY sensibilities while making repairs and doing carpentry projects at that funky bakery building. I learned bread-baking and granola-making tips and tricks–and you taught me double-entry bookkeeping, which comes in handy to those of us who hop and jump through careers and collective enterprises. That crazy baby blue geodesic dome you built on the back of the bakery delivery pickup always made me grin as I traveled around town delivering bread and granola. I can’t find any photos, but it remains vivid in my mind.
Most meaningful was your knack for being in the present moment—always curious and engaged. You modelled warmth as a young father and I remember talking about the joys of kids in our lives… my encounters in collective households. You encouraged me to travel to the Whole Grain Collective Baker’s conference in Buffalo one year, and as Blue Heron got more involved in the collective bakeries cookbook project, the next conference had visiting bakers camping on your land!
I have loved reconnecting with you when I returned to Olympia recently–in yoga classes, socializing, at the co-op. So much gratitude to you, Gregory. Your laughter and smile remain a true gift that I’ll continue to pass on to those I meet.
Melissa Roberts
Thank you for giving us that glimpse into those days so long ago. I think I vaguely remember that dome on the truck. It was before our time together. Bets