FARM VACATIONS:

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Herbert and Frances Merten live in a simple, comfortable old farmhouse on 80 acres, four miles from Hart, Michigan. "Ma" and "Pa" Merten have raised a large family, all of them grown and married now. So many of the children have settled nearby that the gravel road which links the clan is sometimes referred to as "Merten Road". In fact, it was one of Ma's daughters-in-law who first thought of the idea that eased the aging couple's financial situation and started them out in their modest but profitable home business.

Three years ago, the elder Mertens faced a bleak outlook. Neither was in good enough health to make a living from the farm alone. Ma then took a job in the canning factory which kept her standing all day and made her medical problems even worse. There seemed to be no satisfactory solution ... until the enterprising daughter-in-law suggested taking in guests for farm vacations.

Ma was ready to try almost anything that offered her a chance to stay home and get off her feet once in a while. As added encouragement, the nearby children promised to help her with cooking and cleaning whenever she needed a hand. And the grandchildren volunteered to entertain the youngsters of visiting families. Accordingly, with a minimum of preparation, the Mertens started a home business based on warmth, friendship and good home cooking.

Ma Merten placed a couple of strategic advertisements, made ready the three upstairs bedrooms and eventually hung out a neatly painted sign to aid guests in finding their destination. Otherwise the farm is much as it always was, with cats lolling on the back stoop, chickens wandering in the yard, machinery scattered about and cows making their daily pilgrimages from pasture to barn and back again.

How successful have the Mertens been? Here's what Ma has to say: "Well, you can't make a living at it, but it helps, it sure does. I've thought about putting an ad in the Detroit paper, but I'm afraid it'd bring me more business than I want and I'd have to start turning people away. I don't want a lot of folks here all at once, and I don't want guests all the time. I like to have a break in between, a chance to stop and think things over ... so I don't care to be too successful. I think I'm getting all the visitors I want right now."

The supply of potential customers for farm vacations seems, in fact, to be just about unlimited these days. A family who decides to go into the business can probably have as many customers as they want, provided their rates are reasonable. So, if you happen to be a farm (or ranch) owner looking for a way to supplement your income, why not give some serious thought to paying guests?

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print