The East Coast Pine Cone Company

“Hello!?East Coast Pine Cone Company, this is Margaret, how may I help you?”

?It was the most wonderful time of the year. Business was booming. Inventory broke all records and product demand was at an all-time high.?Boxes of pine cones and pine needles were stacked in every nook and cranny of the tiny log cabin.?Margaret was even considering putting in a second phone line if she could figure out who might answer it.

?***** twelve months earlier *****

William McKenny had the same routine every morning—a toasted corn muffin topped with a pat of butter melting like a snowman in July—teamed with a steaming cup of dark, roasted coffee. “There’s no better way for a lumberjack to start his day!” he announced, although there wasn’t anyone around to listen being that it was 4:30 in the morning.?After two quick bites and three large gulps, breakfast was finished.?It was off to the mountain top.

The summit of Mount Eden offered a spectacular view of southern New Hampshire, western Vermont and northern Massachusetts.?William began working for the Eden Logging Company at the age of twelve, the year his father passed away. Times being what they were, his mother and four sisters also took jobs as housekeepers and laundresses to help make ends meet.

That year, William dropped out of school just before seventh grade was to begin.?Regardless of the circumstances, he came to have a firm grasp of the three R’s – read’in, rite’in and ‘rithmetic. Those gifts, plus the blessing the Lord gave him of height, being six-foot-six, broad shoulders and possessing amazing strength, he grew up to become one of the top producing lumberjacks in the Northern District.?Always somewhat shy, William kept mostly to himself.

There was one other member residing at the McKenny household.?A carrot-top, bundle of energy named Margaret.?Margaret was only three-years-old when her parents passed away from the influenza in 1914.?William’s and Margaret’s mothers had been best friends since early childhood.?On their twelfth birthdays, the two girl’s pinky-swore that if anything bad should ever happen, they would care for each other’s family—cross their hearts!

Margaret was a happy girl.?Her face was rather ordinary with one exception; she wore a smile that touched one’s heart.?Margaret always had a kind word for everyone.?Known to be a daydreamer, she was considered somewhat lazy.?But oh, Margaret was anything but lazy.?In fact, she was the most industrious person in the entire community.?It’s just that none of them had realized it yet; but all that was about to change.

**********************

Margaret sat on a blanket under the cool shade of a tall pine tree just below the northern timberline. Her eighteenth birthday was only a few days away. There, she sat as she had on many occasions, deep in thought, breathing in the fresh scent of pine while contemplating her future. Times were tough with the depression affecting the lives of so many people.?Margaret, a caring and sensitive soul, always found the need of others to weigh heavily on her mind.

Suddenly and without provocation, a large pine cone fell from the sky and landed ‘smack dab’ on the top of her head.?The pine cone bounced off and came to rest on a soft pile of pine needles alongside of her.

“Ooou!” Margaret exclaimed rubbing the top of her head.?“And what’s the meaning of this?” she added with a chuckle while picking up her assailant.

Instantly, the floor of the forest came into focus as Margaret had never witnessed.?There, before her, lay thou-sands of pine cones nestled on a thick carpet of pine needles.?The soft carpet cushioned each pine cones’ perilous journey from the highest treetop and kept each safe from the damp soil beneath.

“Who doesn’t love the fragrance of fresh pine during the holidays,” Margaret thought.?“I have a wonderful idea!” she announced to her new found friend sitting on the palm of her open hand.?Margaret quickly gathered up her blanket and headed home.?There was a skip in her step.

**********************

“We need the timberline completely cleared by the end of the month if we’re to meet this year’s quota,” stated Mr. Mulligan, the Northern District Supervisor for the Eden Logging Company.

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Mr. Mulligan,” replied William.?“I might even be able to have it done a week ahead of schedule if the weather cooperates,” he added.

“Excellent! Excellent!” smiled Mr. Mulligan.?“I’ll inform the home office.”?Getting into his automobile he rolled down the window as he started up the engine. “I’m counting on you, son.?Don’t let me down.”?He quickly drove away leaving a cloud of dust tagging along behind as the car traveled down the old logging road.

“It’s a mighty big task,” William thought.?“I’ll have to start tomorrow before dawn to meet the deadline,” he said out loud.

“To meet what deadline?” came a soft voice from behind him.

??William turned around to find Margaret smiling at him.

“Just talking to myself, that’s all.?Thinking about how I have to clear the timberline along the entire northern slope by the end of the month.”

“The northern timberline?” Margaret questioned with concern.

?“Yes, above the dry creek bed,” William answered.

??Upset, she quickly responded, “No, please, not there!”

?“What’s wrong, Margaret??I’ve been logging the north-ern slope since I was twelve.?You know that.”

?“Yes, but it was always some trees here and some trees there. Never the entire forest,” her voice quivered. Margaret was clearly shaken.

“The logging company is in serious trouble because of the depression. Quotas have been raised so that we can provide more supply at lower prices to increase revenue.?I was told this is the only way to save the company and everyone’s job.”

??“Just tell the logging company it can’t be done!”

?“You know I can’t do that, Margaret. What would happen to the seven of us if I lost my job??How would we put food on the table?”

?“That’s why I came looking for you.?I have an idea, a wonderful idea!”

?William smiled, “Ideas don’t pay the bills. Margaret.”

???“This one will.?I just know it will!”

**********************

The aroma of a hearty stew accompanied by warm biscuits overwhelmed the tiny log cabin. Six famished appetites watched with great anticipation as Ma McKenny filled one bowl after another.?Finished, she placed the large kettle back onto the stovetop and joined the family at the table.?As was customary with the evening meal, the family bowed their heads as William led them in saying Grace.?The McKennys truly felt blessed.

Most evenings the dinner conversation was the same as the evening before with everyone telling how their day went.?However, tonight was noticeably different.?The absence of William’s and Margaret’s voices was obvious to all.

“Is something the matter?” questioned Ma McKenny, first looking at William and then at Margaret.?She couldn’t help but think, “Why, these two have been like two peas in a pod since the day they met.?What could possibly be troubling them?”

“William is being downright obstinate!”?Margaret blurted out loudly.

?“I am not!” William shouted back.

???“Are, too!”

?“Am not!”

???“Okay you two,” interjected Ma McKenny, “let’s settle down.”?Then, after a brief pause she continued, “What’s this all about?”

“I have a wonderful idea that can help the family and William is going to put an end to it,” Margaret replied tear-fully.

??“I don’t quite understand?” responded Ma McKenny.

?“Ma,” William said calmly, “I’ve been instructed by Mr. Mulligan to clear the northern timberline by the end of the month.?Margaret has some crazy idea that her selling pine cones gathered from the forest floor is going to make us rich.?She won’t listen to reason.”

“Okay, that’s one side of the story.?Margaret, what have you to say?” inquired Ma McKenny.

“It’s not a crazy idea.?I just know it’s not.?Don’t ask me how.?I just do.”

“Hum, we seem to have ourselves a bit of a dilemma,” Ma McKenny smiled.?“On one hand, Mr. Mulligan isn’t going be very happy if William doesn’t follow his instructions.?On the other hand, the five thousand acres along the northern timber-line belongs to the McKenny family, deeded by Pa to William just before he left us, God rest his soul. ?It’s true, we get paid a bit more than other folks for logging timber on our own land, but we can darn near do anything we have a mind to do on our own property.”

“Ma, you’re not going to go along with this crazy idea, are you?” questioned William.

“Well, here’s how I see it,” Ma replied.?“I’ve known Chancy Mulligan since the two of us were no higher than a tree stump. I reckon I always knew this day would be com’in.?Chancy is look’in to put the burden of the logging company and the mill on the back of McKennys instead of clearing off company land first.?That ain’t right.”

“Are ya sure, Ma??How are we going to pay the bills?” asked William.

“Listen, son, if I know Mulligan like I know I do, he’ll be glad to get any lumber we care to give him to supply the mill. You tell ‘em the quota from the McKennys is staying the same.?Not a tree more, not a tree less.?If he squawks, you tell ‘em to come see me. Knowing Chancy, I don’t reckon there’s going be any knocking on our door, no siree!”?Ma laughed heartily as each member of the family joined in the merriment.

“Tell us about your wonderful idea, Margaret,” chimed Roberta, the eldest daughter.?Excitedly, the other children leaned forward across the table, their faces beaming with anticipation waiting on Margaret’s response.

“Well,” started Margaret, “the idea came to me …,” she continued to relate her adventure from earlier that morning. The entire family, including William, laughed as Margaret relayed the part of her story where the pine cone landed on the top of her head.?For nearly an hour, Margaret shared with the family her hopes and dreams and how her business venture, the East Coast Pine Cone Company, was going to flourish.

**********************

Having gathered thousands of pine cones and hundreds of bushels of needles from the forest floor, Margaret started packaging two dozen pine cones on top of a handful of needles into large paper bags she purchased from the local grocery store.?Prior to packing, Margaret had carefully written on each bag:

East Coast Pine Cone Company

24 Pine Cone Lane

North Slope, New Hampshire

Call Timberline?3109.

Working capital was non-existent and therefore, made it impossible to advertise and promote the company beyond the few small towns in the vicinity of North Slope.?Much of the initial sales were made by going door-to-door, a laborious task.?But Margaret’s persistence never faltered.

Door after door, Margaret would repeat herself.?“Hello, I’m Margaret Hastings, proprietor of the East Coast Pine Cone Company.?We’re offering two dozen, large, pristine pine cones nestled on a generous portion of pine needles for the very low price of only fifteen cents. They make excellent decorations for the holidays or can add a wonderful pine fragrance throughout the home when burned in a fireplace.?How many bags can I provide you with?”

‘None’ was the typical response.?Never easily discouraged, Margaret knew she had to rethink her plan. She quickly realized there was a simple solution. She ought not to be calling on folks who had a pine grove in their backyard.?

That week, Margaret began taking the long bus ride to Boston and back four times a month.?After six months, sales improved dramatically, especially in the more affluent neighborhoods in and around Back Bay.

It wasn’t long before a steady-stream of repeat orders was being phoned in regularly.?Roberta was the first of the McKennys to be recruited by Margaret to assist her.?It wasn’t long before another sister, Caroline, was recruited to help in meeting the growing demand.

By the end of the first year, pine cone orders exceeded one hundred and fifty a week.?The profits of the East Coast Pine Cone Company now surpassed those of William’s logging wages. The average wage for a lumberjack in the early 1930’s was .37 cents an hour. After working a hard and dangerous sixty-hour week, the average lumberjack was paid the tidy sum of $22 and change.

Within six months, William had left the Eden Logging Company to begin supplying Margaret with miniature log cabins that burned incense.?An idea, he’d tell everyone, which came to him in a dream.?Orders for the miniature log cabins skyrocketed, rivaling Margaret’s pine cone sales.

??The youngest sister, Emmylou, originated pine cone scented potpourri. Her sales, like William’s, soared to record levels.

? By the start of the second quarter of her second year in business, Margaret found it necessary to create a small brochure depicting the company’s growing product line of two dozen pine cone related items.

???The following month, traveling by train, Margaret, William and Roberta expanded sales to now include New Haven, New York City and Philadelphia. Wholesaling to local distributors, they quadrupled profits practically overnight.

This approach was quickly adopted on a national scale by contracting with several prominent distributors to further expand the company’s reach across America. ?Only two and a half years after Margaret hung the wooden sign above the front door to the tiny log cabin, the East Coast Pine Cone Company was filling orders from sea to shining sea.

That same year, Margaret wrote a number one bestseller titled From the Smallest Seed in which she related how even the tiniest idea, when nurtured, can grow into a most successful endeavor—the key ingredients being a steadfast belief in oneself—and perseverance through trying times.

In the autumn of 1932, on the third-year anniversary of the company’s founding, William proposed to Margaret under the same pine tree which inspired Margaret to start the East Coast Pine Cone Company.?Margaret happily said, “Yes.”

Margaret and William continued to grow the company while co-authoring several inspirational books.?As the years passed, they raised five children, three boys and two girls, and were blessed with eighteen grandchildren and twenty-nine great grandchildren.

????From the smallest idea came a wonderful and joyous life that came to touch the lives of so many.?The world is an amazing gift.?God Bless.

The End

?“Change is life’s only constant, embrace it!”?- Douglas E. Glaeser

?“If you never ask, the answer will always be ‘no’.”?- Nora Roberts

?“A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.”?- Paulo Coelho

? Copyright Douglas E. Glaeser 2022

Contact - Douglas E. Glaeser, Cell: 201-738-3627, Email: [email protected]

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