BJJ-Blue
07-26-2010, 02:55 PM
"Officially established in 1960, the Robert Is Here fruit stand is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Robert Moehling, who's been running the stand since he was 6 years old, can still be found behind the counter on any given day, chatting with regulars and answering questions about exotic fruits.
The stand got its start because Moehling's father, also named Robert, was having a hard time unloading a harvest of cucumbers.
Not wanting to throw away perfectly good cucumbers, Moehling's father set his then-6-year-old son on a rural intersection one Saturday in November 1959 and told Moehling to sell the vegetables.
"I sat here all day long," Moehling said. "Not only did I not get any customers to buy cucumbers, no one even stopped."
Moehling's father simply couldn't understand how so many people could drive by without wanting to buy cucumbers, concluding that people must not have seen the boy. Moehling's father grabbed a couple hurricane shutters and wrote "Robert Is Here" on them in big red letters. He set Moehling back on the same corner the next day with the two signs in place. Moehling sold all the cucumbers by noon and walked home.
For the next several weekends, Moehling returned to the corner - the same location where the fruit stand remains today - to sell various fruits and vegetables. When Christmas vacation arrived, Moehling spent every day at the corner. When school resumed in January, Moehling's mother, Mary, arranged for the bus to pick him up and drop him off at the fruit stand. They would set up each morning and leave a coffee can on the table, allowing customers to pay on the honor system. After the bus dropped off Moehling in the afternoon, he worked until dark.
Despite the long hours, Moehling said he never resented working the stand as a child.
"It was something that I had to do to keep the family's head above water," Moehling said. "The first year or so it was sustaining an income we didn't have, because dad was really busted out."
The family's fortunes eventually improved, and by the time Moehling was 9, he had hired a neighbor woman to watch the stand for him while he was at school. The young entrepreneur bought his first 10 acres of property when he was 14. He planted an avocado grove on it and rented out the house. Over the years, Moehling continued to buy property in five- or 10-acre patches. Moehling, his wife and his children still farm the land and sell the produce at their stand.
After decades of running the business, Moehling said his children are handling more of the responsibilities. Three of his four kids decided to return to the fruit stand after graduating from college. The fourth is still in school."
Full article:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/26/fruit-stand-started-year-old-boy-celebrates-th-anniversary/
The stand got its start because Moehling's father, also named Robert, was having a hard time unloading a harvest of cucumbers.
Not wanting to throw away perfectly good cucumbers, Moehling's father set his then-6-year-old son on a rural intersection one Saturday in November 1959 and told Moehling to sell the vegetables.
"I sat here all day long," Moehling said. "Not only did I not get any customers to buy cucumbers, no one even stopped."
Moehling's father simply couldn't understand how so many people could drive by without wanting to buy cucumbers, concluding that people must not have seen the boy. Moehling's father grabbed a couple hurricane shutters and wrote "Robert Is Here" on them in big red letters. He set Moehling back on the same corner the next day with the two signs in place. Moehling sold all the cucumbers by noon and walked home.
For the next several weekends, Moehling returned to the corner - the same location where the fruit stand remains today - to sell various fruits and vegetables. When Christmas vacation arrived, Moehling spent every day at the corner. When school resumed in January, Moehling's mother, Mary, arranged for the bus to pick him up and drop him off at the fruit stand. They would set up each morning and leave a coffee can on the table, allowing customers to pay on the honor system. After the bus dropped off Moehling in the afternoon, he worked until dark.
Despite the long hours, Moehling said he never resented working the stand as a child.
"It was something that I had to do to keep the family's head above water," Moehling said. "The first year or so it was sustaining an income we didn't have, because dad was really busted out."
The family's fortunes eventually improved, and by the time Moehling was 9, he had hired a neighbor woman to watch the stand for him while he was at school. The young entrepreneur bought his first 10 acres of property when he was 14. He planted an avocado grove on it and rented out the house. Over the years, Moehling continued to buy property in five- or 10-acre patches. Moehling, his wife and his children still farm the land and sell the produce at their stand.
After decades of running the business, Moehling said his children are handling more of the responsibilities. Three of his four kids decided to return to the fruit stand after graduating from college. The fourth is still in school."
Full article:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/26/fruit-stand-started-year-old-boy-celebrates-th-anniversary/