Growing Up a Cellar Rat, by Beau Ballard

While growing up, the words I heard most often from my peers were, “I’m bored.” I can truly say that being raised in, and around, a family business; boredom was not a problem for me. In some cases, it was best to stay as far away as possible - in avoiding the possibility of being called-to-duty! However, in most cases, I’ve truly enjoyed the opportunity to help out.

I have many memories of being around the winery as it’s what I’ve known my entire life. Of those memories, one of my fondest is being able to go see my dad working in the cellar. It was the highlight of my day, and the possibility of getting to help out on the bottling line was exciting! I can remember begging for that chance; and when given it, would work 5-6 hours and go home with a $20 bill in my pocket…which could very well have defined cheap labor back then.

Another memory growing up around the winery includes hiding from my parents in the cellar where there are multiple rooms filled with hundreds of boxes filled with bottles of wine. During my younger years I loved to climb on those boxes and take naps in between the pallets of wine. One day, as I emerged from one of those climbing/napping adventures, I found myself in a bit of trouble as my mother had been searching frantically for me. Still, it did not stop me from exploring my cellar realm and I continued to do so for many years. 

THEN - 2000

NOW - 2013

While introducing myself to dorm mates, at Colorado Christian University – where I’ve just completed my first year, the question arouse of what we did with our summer vacation. It is always fun to respond with, “What I do every summer; crush grapes and make wine with my father.” Growing up with your parents owning their own business can have its perks, and its shortfalls, but it is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. As I said before, I enjoy helping out at the winery and feel blessed in having the opportunity to brag about what they do for a living.

Edelweiss and The Tornado

On the afternoon of May 20, 2013, an EF5 tornado, with peak winds estimated at 210 miles per hour (340 km/h), struck Moore, Oklahoma, and adjacent areas, killing 23 people (and an additional person indirectly), and injuring 377 others.  The tornado was part of a larger weather system that had produced several other tornadoes over the previous two days. The tornado touched down west of Newcastle at 2:56 p.m. CDT (19:56 UTC), staying on the ground for 39 minutes over a 17-mile (27 km) path, crossing through a heavily populated section of Moore. The tornado was 1.3 miles (2.1 km) wide at its peak. Despite the tornado following a roughly similar track to the even deadlier 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, very few homes and neither of the stricken schools had purpose-built storm shelters.  Credits:  Wikipedia


Shortly after this tragedy, we received a Facebook message from Kendra Voss of Morse Bluff, Nebraska.  Here's the unbelievable story she shared:

This past Christmas, I brought a bottle of your wine down to my brother's home in Moore, OK. Unfortunately, we never got around to drinking it. His home was destroyed in the May 20, 2013 tornado (he, his wife, and my nephew are just fine). We found the wine on our first day of digging through their rubble, and it brought us a little joy to know it survived an F5 tornado. We'll save it for when our family is together again under better circumstances. Thought you'd like to know!

Kendra Voss

Morse Bluff, NE

Thank you again Kendra for sharing that great story with us ...