The Pepper Farm, a Mexican Success Story

Tommy Newsom played the saxophone for the Tonight Show band. His bland personality often provided Johnny Carson a comic foil. I watched one show where a psychiatrist asked Johnny, Ed McMahon, and Tommy to sketch a self portrait. The good doctor then described the personalities and foibles of each. His performance delighted the audience when discussing the two stars of the show. When he described Tommy, he said that he was the most harmonious, serene personality he had ever seen. The camera zoomed in on the picture. It looked exactly like Paul Pippenger does today.
A couple of days ago Paul took me on a trek to a pepper and tomato farm that he has funded for Victor, a waiter at restaurant in Mazatlan. During the three hours of driving to and fro, I learned much about the history and the men behind a fascinating Mexican success story. Some six years ago Victor and a local Canadian merchant were partners in a floundering farm. When the partnership dissolved, Paul, a frequent visitor to Victor’s restaurant for over twenty-six years, asked Victor if he would like a new partner. Fortunately, Victor said, “Si.”
Paul grew up in Orofino, a small Idaho timber town, the son of a grocer. His father made sure Paul spent time working a variety of jobs, join the military, and attend college, so that he would gain a more worldly perspective. For this Paul is sincerely appreciative. He speaks glowingly of his father’s influence and tutelage. Paul eventually returned to Orofino to work at and subsequently to purchase his father’s grocery store.
His successes and failures over the years have given him healthy insights into not only the business world, but also into the world of relationships concerning both family and community. He learned to take calculated risks in business which has since provided financial security. His involvement in Orofino helped the community overcome its previous dependence on timber where 75 per cent of the townspeople once earned their livelihood. Only 25 per cent work within the timber industry today. It is these experiences that made Paul a perfect partner for Victor.
Paul shared some of the changes that he instituted that permit this farm to turn a profit for Victor. Paul refuses to make money on this venture. He only attempts to recoup his annual contributions. Paul’s guidance and understanding of running a business have aided Victor immensely. This once floundering operation has taken flight. He has taught Victor the value of buying in bulk supplies like seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides, water pumps, and parts for all the machinery that could break down; thus saving money and preventing production breakdowns. He convinced Victor to build a storage shed for these supplies. To promote safety and well being, Paul purchased masks for those spraying the crops. He introduced Victor to a chemist to teach him which insecticide worked for which disease and how to recognize what ailed the crops.
Paul encouraged Victor to attend farming expositions to learn more about his new flowering farm. On the day of my visit Victor proudly explained to us what he had learned at the last expo he attended. He found better seed that could produce five inch peppers. And it cost less than the previous seed! Paul smiled like a proud father.
As we wandered the rows of peppers, Paul and Victor explained every aspect of the operation. This labor intensive operation makes Victor and his brother Carlos, who lives in La Concepcion, extremely popular. Paul convinced Victor to pay his workers more than neighboring farms (150 pesos versus 100 pesos a day). He encouraged him to provide lunch as well. When picking season begins, Victor has no problems finding workers. No phone calls are necessary in this community. Word spreads fast when work on Victor’s farm is needed.
Paul’s influence stretches well beyond Victor. Paul built Carlos a home that cost $7,000 in La Concepcion. Carlos views this humble home as a palatial estate. Paul felt that someone needed to live close to the farm. Carlos would walk to it until Paul purchased him a donkey for $450. Carlos suffered sores from the ride in, so Paul purchased him a saddle for $70. Eventually, Paul found an old pickup truck for $700. Paul has a friend in Carlos.
Victor told me the most compelling story during my pepper farm visit. One day five Mexican workers found a large hole in the ground that they figured an armadillo wandered into. When one of them poked a stick into the hole and withdrew it with blood on it, he realized it couldn’t be poking an armadillo. He had been poking a seven foot snake with a three inch circumference. Victor didn’t have a name for this snake, but he said that it was poisonous and angry. With his hands wildly waving Victor described how this snake sought out the one man of the five standing there who had drawn its blood with a stick. The snake took off after the man who dropped his stick and sprinted through the rows of peppers. According to Victor the snake never trailed the man by more than ten feet. He followed up one lengthy row after another. I grew tired just watching the distance that this man had to run to stave off the snake. Victor further described the snake as poised to strike at all times even during the chase. As the man raced back towards his friends, one of them hit the snake with another big stick which the snake curled onto. Eventually, they killed the angry beast. The chase collapsed to the ground in relief and exhaustion.
I hate snakes. I had taken numerous pictures prior to hearing the snake story. I held my camera in my left hand. I held onto it so long that the extended lens automatically vibrates as it returns within the camera. When it vibrated in my hand, I jerked my arm upward so violently that I thought I had dislocated my shoulder. Fortunately, Paul and Victor had moved on down the row and had missed my fearful exhibition. I hate snakes.
After a couple of pickers had selected three large bags of peppers, we loaded them into Paul’s SUV and headed for the tomato farm, a mile down the road. A huge truck had backed down a road adjacent to rows of tomato plants. Dozens of pickers had plastic three gallon buckets. They brought them to the truck where Carlos and a friend took them and poured them into larger more easily stacked milk crates.
To fully realize what a popular figure Pa oool as they call Paul, you must watch the pickers respond to him. Jose, a 67 year old dynamo, walked up and hugged Pa oool. He then turned and hugged me. Any friend of Pa oool’s is a friend to Jose and many, many others. Everyone wanted to shake his hand and in turn, mine. But Jose’s appreciation of Paul goes beyond helping him find work. Paul took Jose’s picture, developed it, and gave it to him. Jose told him it is the first picture he has ever had of himself. He pinned it above his bed.
Victor walked a crate of tomatoes to Paul’s SUV. Victor then left the farm at 1:30 to begin his evening shift as a waiter an hour and a half away. Paul then gave me a tour of the small town of La Concepcion. This humble town has no running water in any of the homes. Paul talked of the many meals that he has shared and how you can’t say no when people wish to honor you with their hospitality. Being full is not an acceptable response. So he contently eats away.
Watching the interactions between Paul and Victor and then Victor and his workers moved me. A mentor has created a respected leader. He has taught him well. Victor handles his new found knowledge with pride and dignity. Paul has helped a man and a town to be self reliant. What a gift. And it is this giving that has helped create such a serene and harmonious person.