Okay, we can stop holding our breaths now. The August shore-things-up shape-things-up crew has arrived in the form of two annual hard-working volunteers: Lourdes Montoro (already mentioned) and now Marie Hess, who spends a month here (August always) every summer. She arrived with huge gorgeous red tomatoes from the South Jersey farm where she works - enough to give away to old friends from the back of her car (including Dale Price, pictured here). But mostly Hessie is here to help in housekeeping and everywhere else she might be needed. She turned 80 this past year. Huh? No way! She's as strong and energetic as ever. And she's still got that amazingly loud heart-filled laugh: a cackle you can hear across the field.John Kremer writes: "During the my first couple of summers at FV, working maintenance, I work for Carl, and came to know them both very well. One of the greatest honors during the summer was being invited over the Hess's house for grilled steaks. This cookout always seemed to be timed around a recent trip of theirs back to the farm in southern NJ, so those tomatoes as well as the best corn on the cob and were always featured as part of that great meal!"
