Tibby

"If  you have a problem money can solve, you don't have one."

I don't know where this saying came from, but I have a feeling it came from the time that Audrey was fighting cancer.  Tib knew the difference between controllable and uncontrollable situations.  Problems that could be fixed with money would eventually be solved, but those that surrounded your health and the hearts of others would be in the hands of God.

Every once in a while a tough decision had to be made and Tib had to make it.  He knew that I would be president and be in his shoes someday, so he would repeat this saying so that I would not forget it. 

His meaning, as I interpreted it, was this:

No matter how tough the decision, you had to keep your head up before and after your decision.   Lowering your head and allowing the crown to fall to the ground would not be a good example to your customers, employees or growers.  

I always thought that being hired by Tib at MFX was a God thing. 

It was the spring of 1977 and Sheila Ellis, a member of the church I attended, was working in the accounting department for MFX.  Sheila had heard that Triple A Sugar Company was closing and that I was out of a job. Actually, I was driving planter for Ray Harris and was planning on a motorcyle trip to California to visit relatives as soon as planting season was over. 

On a beautiful spring Sunday morning Sheila informed me that Donnie Thibodeau was moving to the farm in Fryeburg and that Tib was looking for a someone to take his place on the sales desk.  I asked my dad about MFX and Larry Thibodeau, he said that I should call Owen Smith, since Owen sold most of his potatoes to Tib.

Owen was a family friend and was always willing to give good adivce to those who needed it.  He told me one thing that I will never forget.  He told me that 2 years with Tib at MFX was a good as an MBA from any university in the country.  Having forgone a chance to get my master in agriculture I thought this was a great chance to get my PHD (potato house degree.) 

I called Tib and made an appointment to meet him.  He took me to the old conference room which is where our seed department is now, and set me down to ask a few questions.  It was not a long interview as he listened to my educational and job experience.  He told me that not everyone is cut out to be a salesman and asked this question, "Would you rather have something bought and not sold, or sold and not bought?"  After a brief thought I said bought and not sold.  WRONG ANSWER!!!!  He said "Anyone can buy something, I need people who can sell."  I thought that was the end of the interview, but he said he would hire me and give me a try.  Trying to use my bargaining skills I told him that Roger Erskine from the bank had called and asked me to come in for an interview.  "The bank will give you a title and no money" he said, "If you fail here you can always go there."  How uplifting.  My starting salary was $18,000 per year. 

One winter day just before Christmas the post office called to tell Tib that he had a box of oranges at the post office from Lincoln Meena.  Tib waited until late in the day around 4:00 pm to go to get them.  After picking them up he returned to the office and parked his station wagon out front (we had no back entrance at the time.)  He left the car running so the oranges would not freeze.  After calling Lincoln for the last time that day he said good night and headed down the stairs.  A minute later he returns and asked us what we had done with is car.  He would think that because our fieldman Bud Haley would take our vehicles and park them somewhere around town if he found the keys in them.  We told him we had nothing to do with it, but at first did not believe us.  Down the stairs he went to look up and down Main St.  Convinced we had not "reparked" the car he called the police department to report the stolen car.  The conversation went like this.

Tib:  Officer I think someone has stolen my car.

Officer: What do you mean think.

Tib: It was parked in front of my office and now its gone!

Officer:  Was it locked?

Tib: No

Officer: How did they get it started?

Tib: I left it running to keep my oranges warm.

Needless to say we were all rolling on the floor.

The car was found in one of Warren Anderson potato field behind Dodos Market in Caribou.........without the oranges.

The art of selling and realizing what the market was, was one of Tib's greatest strenghts.  He told us the following the story many times.

A farmer had an old horse he wanted to sell.  The farmer knew the horse was not worth much so he cleaned him up and put up a sign that read Horse For Sale - $1000.  The horse was only worth $200.  The first person coming by to look at the horse could see that $1000 was out of reason and offered the farmer $200.  The farmer said "Its a heck of a comedown, but I'll take it." 

The lesson here is that the market is not what you ask its what you can actually sell it for.  The other lesson is that everyone needs to feel that got something out of the deal.

When we could not seem to do anything right, Tib would tell this story.

Johnny was a little league left fielder.  His coach watched him make error after error during practice.  The first fly ball was misjudged and went over his head, the second one went between his legs and the the third was dropped.  The coach was sofrustrated he ran out to left field to instruct young Johnny.  "Watch how I do things and learn" he said.  The first fly ball the coach misjudged and it went over his head, the second went between his legs and he dropped the third one just like Johnny.  The coach gave the glove back to Johnny and said "Johnny you have left field so fouled up no one can play it."

When honesty or streching the truth became an issue Tib's favorite expression was

"I was being commercially honest."

Two frenchmen were lost in the northern Maine woods.  They had one can of beans remaining and it was all that sperated them from life and death.  They were saving the beans for the bitter end to extend their chances of surival.  One night one of awoke to the smell of beans.  He looked over by the fire to see his friend   warming up the beans.  The friend by the fire noticed he was being watched and immediately spit in the beans saying, "My beans."  The other slowly rose, walked over to the fire, and he too spit in the beans.  He said "They're yours."

If you want a good game warden, hire a poacher.

Tib sold potatoes to the government during war time and had lots of stories.  This is one of my favorites.

It would seem a colonel that Tib was selling potatoes to called him as he needed an emergency load of potatoes in wood crates to send to Europe by air.  The colonel made arrangements for the crates to be flown into Loring Air Force Base in Limestone and Tib had them picked up there.  Potatoes were packed and placed on truck headed to Andrews Air Force Base.  As luck would have it a snow storm moved out of the west into the New York area that night and at 7 am the truck was in a truck stop in NJ waiting for things to clear up.

Tib called the colonel's office to inform him the of new ETA, but the colonel was not in.  The colonel's assistant answered the phone and upon hearing the news gave Tib a good military tongue lashing somthing like "Thats the trouble with you civilians.  You can't do anything right!!!!!"  Tib told him that he could bring the truck back and they could go without the potatoes if he kept up.  The assistant said a plane was on a schedule and that they could not wait for the truck.

About an hour later the colonel called to check the progress of the truck.  Tib informed him that the truck would be there late in the afternoon due to a snow storm in the New York area.  He them proceeded to tell him of his conversation with the colonel's assistant.  He told Tib that he would go develope a little engine trouble with the plane so it could not leave without the potatoes and that he would call Tib back when the truck arrived.

Later that evening the colonel called Tib and said that the truck had arrived, the potatoes were on the plane and on the way to Europe.  Tib said that he hoped the assistant was now satisfied.  The colonel said that the last time he saw the man he did not look well.  Tib asked why.  The colonel said that he had contracted a new military disease call "gonetokorea."

One of Tibs favorite stories about quality was this story he related several times, but was always entertaining.

JD McCauley was a big potato receiver and packer in New York.  He took delivery of several cars and truckloads of potatoes every day from various parts of the country.  Tib knew that if was going to be successful in the potato business he needed some of JD's business.  As a side bar Mr. McCauley was the first man to make count carton russets of various sizes and market them to retailers.

Tib went to visit Mr. McCauley one day to ask for some business.  When he arrived JD was on a tear and asked Tib to accompany him on his tour of the potatoes that had just been unloaded on his platform.  In those days some potatoes were shipped in wooden barrels with wooden tops along with the regular 100 lb burlap bags.  As JD worked his way along the platform every once in a while he would lift the top off of a barrel, sniff the potatoes, kick the barrel and place the top back on the barrel.  After watching this done for several minutes Tib had to ask the question "Why do you always kick the barrel before replacing the lid?"  The answer was "You can fool the eyes, but you can't fool the flies." 

There may be many stories about how Tib got is potato education, but the one I remember was about the postal telegraph.  Each day he would run telegrams from the telegraph office to the potato packers, dealers and brokers around town.  Often the men in the office would have him wait and take a message back.  He learned how business was conducted, who did business with who in various cities, and how to negotiate.  And he would say the best part was he got paid while he was educated.

At some point in time Tib worked in the woods.  What he did I do not know.  I wondered if he was too young to cut wood, but I do remember him telling me that his grandfather had 70 horses in the woods at one time.  I wonder if he fed and cared for (read shoveled manure) the horses at times.  Maybe that is were Tib learned to shovel the "you know what" as a salesman.

Anyway, he told us that when he went into the woods he would take his lunch with him as he would be moving from place to place most of the day.  His favorite story was to tell us that he would reach up a tree and nail his sandwich to it.  He did this so an animal would not get it while he was off cutting wood or whatever he was doing.  Often he said it was frozen by the time lunch came.  Frozen PP and J.  I wonder?

This information is from Adam Doody. 

Adam worked at Carroll's Auto Sales as a mechanic and is my brother-in-law.  When Tib found out he would ask for Adam to do the work and Adam is a great mechanic (I bragged him up a little).

Adam loved Tib.  He reminded him of his grandfather Doody in many ways, but Tib did one thing better than anyone.  When Tib broke things he really broke them.  Adam says that one time Tib came in the shop and told Adam the pickup was in for repair due to a broken front drive shaft for the 4 wheel drive.

After getting it up on lift Adam could not believe how twisted and contorted the shaft was.  After removing it from the vehicle he hung it on the wall beside his bench as a trophy of sorts I guess.

Adam also said Tib was ingenious.  Tib came in the shop and told Adam he needed a new gas tank as he had poked a hole in it.  Tib explained that he had driven around for a week or so until he had time to bring it in.  Adam was quite surprised he had driven it that long and wondered how much gas had spilled during that time.  Up on the lift Adam discovered that Tib had whittled and plug from a dry piece of wood and fitted it into the puncture.  When the gas soaked the dry wood it had swelled to fit tightly in the hole allowing Tib to drive around a while until he had time to bring it in.  Once a woodsman always a woodsmen.