A Thank You To Our Military

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and was able to spend at least some of it with friends and family. I didn’t get to spend the holiday with my entire family, but I was able to go on vacation with them a few weeks before. My immediate and extended family were in Rehoboth Beach, DE for a week and we had a great time. Weather was all but perfect and there is always someone to do something or go somewhere with. There was a total of 14 of us for the weekend and 10 for the rest of the week. Seven of those 14 either own, manage or work at Meadowbrooke Gourds and yes, just like our company vacations, we stayed in one big house.

The Fourth of July is a great time to get together for picnics, swimming, kayaking down the creek and of course fireworks. It is the holiday that allows us to remember all the freedoms and privileges we can have in the United States. It also allows us to remember the people that have helped us or is still helping us have those freedoms and privileges today.

I am not from a big military family, but I do appreciate those that are. My dad, Richard Eckman, was drafted into the Army in 1953. My nephew, Brandon Bear, enlisted in the Army after high school and did two tours in Iraq. A few years later my nephew, Justin Updegraff joined the Marines and a few months ago returned after being stationed in Afghanistan. It really wasn’t until Brandon enlisted and was sent overseas that I think my family got to see what sacrifices those who leave and those who are left behind go through. When we started to have our retail store open year ‘round, we wanted to pay tribute to those who had served or are currently serving in the military, so we came up with a military discount in our store on all regular Meadowbrooke Gourds. This discount also includes police officers, firefighters and first responders.

*To get the military discount, you must have formal ID indicating you were/are in the military actively, retired military, law enforcement, a fire fighter or a first responder. Discount is only applicable in our retail store in Carlisle, PA. Discount is only on gourds handcrafted by Meadowbrooke Gourds. Some exclusions do apply.