I am writing because I have a story to tell. It is a snapshot of farming in southeastern Sussex County. Please bear with me.
Three years ago, we experienced a painful crop loss at Bennett Orchards due to a late killing frost. Without a peach harvest to sustain us, we explored the possibility of planting a melon crop. However, we lacked the necessary expertise and equipment. So, we sought advice from our friends and fellow farmers, the Magee family of Williamsville.
One day we looked up from our fields to see the three Magee men driving into Bennett Orchards like an army of Good Samaritans on tractors. They completely prepared our soil and assisted with planting, using all their own equipment. When they finished, we asked them how much we owed them. They simply replied, “Nothing.” A legendary melon harvest was produced at Bennett Orchards the following summer.
We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the Magee clan. They left our fields like ghostly angels. I wondered to myself, “How are such young farmers bred?”
Now I know the answer. They are nurtured and guided by mothers like Ellen Magee. As a fellow farm woman, I can attest to Ellen’s experience in running a family farm that is 150 years old. This requires a skill set that most people cannot begin to comprehend. It is Ellen’s value system that sustains her as it does all farmers. She has weathered difficult life challenges with grace.
Here’s the best part: Ellen will bring all of these positive attributes to elected office as councilwoman in the 5th County Council District. I want you to know that she has “the right stuff” to represent this district with honesty, fairness and transparency.
Now it is your turn to do the right thing and cast your vote for Ellen Magee for Sussex County Council on Nov. 6. She will represent all of us, whether we were born here or moved here from someplace else, like I did 40 years ago. We are all Sussex Countians, and Ellen Magee will serve all the constituents in this district. We have never needed a person of her caliber more than we do now.
Carrie W. Bennett
Bennett Orchards
Frankford
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