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We are Cindy and Richard Hoyt - the “us” in Pineywoods Herb Farm. Richard’s background includes a long and very interesting career in aviation. My background includes a long (but not nearly as interesting) career in sales and marketing. “Gosh, with those careers how did you end up doing this?” you might ask. Well, many people do ask us that question along with several other questions we get quite often from visitors to the herb farm: |
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What brought you from the big city to way out here in the country? My mother and stepfather bought this property in 1979. They lived and worked in Houston and wanted a country retreat for weekends, with future plans of retirement. In the late 1980’s they retired and moved here permanently. In 1995 my mother lost her battle with breast cancer. My stepfather, who was in poor health himself, could not continue to take care of things so he decided to put the property up for sale. I had some very fond memories of this place as did my children, whose memories of Grandma and Grandpa centered here at “the farm”. I realized that once the property was sold there would be no place I could go that held so many wonderful memories of my mother, and that nagging thought was the reason I decided to purchase the property from my stepfather. Richard and I lived and worked in the Dallas area at that time, so for the next 6 years our weekends consisted primarily of driving 3 hours each way from our “weekday” home to our "country home" here in Kennard, where there was so much work to be done. When 9/11 took place we re-examined our priorities and made the decision that the country was where we really wanted to be. So in April of 2002 we sold our house in the Dallas area, said goodbye to life in the big city and became permanent residents out here in the middle of the Davy Crockett National Forest. One of the best decisions we have ever made!
How long has the herb farm been in business? I knew when Richard and I bought this place that I eventually wanted to have an herb farm, but it wasn't until we moved here permanently in 2002 that I was able to begin preparations for what the herb farm has become. I started out by selling potted herbs and a few herbal products at local town square events in Crockett, Madisonville, Rusk, Lufkin and Huntsville. People would ask me where my shop was and what my hours were, but at the time I had neither. I decided that if I was serious about this business I needed a shop and hours so I began the process of procuring both. We remodeled the original small house on the property as my shop and soon after came the hours!
How did you come to be in the business of herb growing? In 1983 I lived in League City, Texas, which is just south of Houston. I happened upon an old, stately home in the middle of town that sat on about 1/2 an acre where the owners sold a nice variety of herb plants. I was in heaven when I visited this place… I remember thinking that a place where one could live and grow plants to sell and cook with would definitely be a dream come true for me… a commute of just a few steps away, doing what I loved most in life! Sometimes I’m still amazed at the way everything worked out almost exactly the way I envisioned it back in the early 1980’s.
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