Texas Gal
by C. Sprite

 

Chapter Twenty-Seven          Gin Anyone?

We were so exhausted from the trip to the Riviera house that we went immediately to bed and slept almost until dinnertime.  As we slept, the cook prepared a meal for us according to the instructions that Grandma had left before she went to bed. It would take a couple of days to get our internal clocks adjusted to this new time zone, and that evening we went to bed around eleven p.m., not because we were tired but because we were trying to adjust to the new hours. Susan and I both tossed and turned until we finally fell asleep.

I don't know what time it was when we finally fell asleep, but I know that we were still tired the next morning, and as soon as breakfast was over we all walked down to the beach, found a nice spot, spread out our blankets, slathered suntan oil on our bodies, and laid down to relax and enjoy the sun. I was probably the palest of Judy, Mary, and Susan, but I was brown compared to Mother. Auntie had very tanned arms, face, and neck, but was almost pearl white everywhere else. Since bathers were allowed to go topless here, we all removed our tops so that we wouldn't have any tan lines. Grandma preferred to stay covered up, exposing only her arms and legs to the sun. I had taken special care to conceal my little secret, and the hormones that I had been taking for the past several years made me look like a natural born female in all other respects.

Not wanting to overdo it the first day we only spent a little over an hour on the beach. After returning to the villa we washed off the sand and then went for a walk through the town, stopping in the little shops whenever someone saw something that caught their eye.

 

During the following days we usually sun-bathed or swam in the mornings, then went shopping in the town or went for rides along the coast during the afternoons. We had a group of admirers who always seemed to be nearby whenever we were at the beach, but whether it was some look by either Mother or Grandma, or something else, they never came too close.

Our quick French refresher course had served us well and we were able to get through our entire vacation without having to rely on outside language help, even if we did have to have things rephrased several times when we didn't understand the initial sentence. But even that was helpful as we learned with each such problem.

We were rarely out of sight of one another during our entire stay, and yet we never tired of each other's company. Our two weeks just flew by as we enjoyed our time away from school and work. When it was time to leave, it almost seemed impossible that we had been here two weeks already.

On the morning of our last day we said goodbye to the cook, left for the airport, and we arrived back in the U.S in the early afternoon, local time. We stopped in New Jersey so that we could have medical checkups with Dr. Clark. She was expecting us and had left the entire late afternoon open for us. Grandma had her own physician in Dallas and stayed with the plane while we took a taxi to Dr. Clark's office.

Mary and Susan needed a physical for entering college and Mother had brought along the proper forms. Between examining and conversing, we spent about five hours with Dr. Clark, and all six of us got clean bills of health. It would have been nice to stay and have dinner with Dr. Clark but Grandma was waiting, so we took a rain check for another time. Mother invited Dr. Clark to come spend some time with us again this summer but Dr. Clark didn't think that she would be able to come this summer. I also wished that I could see the twins, Melissa and Melanie, but they were home with their nanny and we didn't have time to stop. Another thing that we would have liked to do was see Gina and Maria. That also would have to wait for a different trip.

As it was, it was after 7 pm by the time that we got back to the plane. Grandma had spent most of the time on the phone getting back in touch with company business. Not that she was ever very far from it. We got home to the ranch just after 9 pm local time, but the very long day that had started in France had taken a lot out of all of us and after saying goodnight to Grandma, Charles, and Grandma's secretary, we went inside and up to bed. We didn't even feel like eating, and we would worry about unpacking our suitcases tomorrow.

  

I spent just one day relaxing before preparing myself for my return to Vermont. I found it much easier to get used to the time difference when traveling west. On Sunday afternoon the plane returned and took me north again. Earl was waiting with the limo when we touched down, to drive me to the Holiday Inn. I arrived just in time to have dinner before the restaurant closed for the evening. If I had been much later I would have had to settle for a cold sandwich from the night staff.

The parking lot was more than half full when we arrived at the plant on Monday morning. With both paper manufacturing buildings in full operation and the administrative staff working during the first shift, this would be about as full as it gets, except during the half hour before each shift change, when it was difficult to even find a parking spot. Earl dropped me off at the front door and then continued around to the rear entrance that he used to get to his 'office'. Doris smiled and greeted me when I entered the building, and after returning her greeting, I took the elevator to the top floor.

Nancy was at her desk and greeted me also. She asked me about my vacation and we talked for a few minutes before I continued on to my office. As I walked down the hallway leading to my office I noticed two very large pictures, about 30 by 40 inches, mounted on the walls. Both were aerial photographs; one being of the Brandon plant and the other of the Greenfield plant. They appeared to have just recently been done because you could see the completed tunnel construction area in the Brandon picture. I stopped and spent several minutes examining each.

Nancy had left several folders on my desk and after I prepared a cup of tea, I sat down to look through them. One folder contained photo ID records of new employees. I saw that most of them were listed as being assigned to the Concord plant. Another folder contained the transcripts of the last two weekly meeting. I had asked Nancy to hold onto them since we would be away. And the third folder contained letters from people expressing their interest in selling their companies. Since I had only been gone for two weeks, there were only a half dozen letters. I had no intention of acquiring anything for a while since we would be occupied with the businesses that we had already purchased but I looked at the letters before putting them back in the folder. There wasn't anything of interest there anyway and I would give them back to Nancy so that she could prepare refusal letters.

Before I starting reading the transcripts of the meetings I had missed, I went out onto my deck to enjoy my tea. I saw that the yard was now completely intact once more. The slightly darker color of the new asphalt, showing where the tunnel was located, was the only indication that there was something different, and the yard was again fully open to traffic. It was a beautiful day outside with the sun shining in a bright blue sky but I finished my tea and went back inside to work.

Just as I started to read, the phone rang. It was Bob Warren checking to see if I was busy. I said no and he asked if he could come over. I said sure but told him to bring his own coffee since I didn't have any made.

A few minutes later a knock at the door preceded Bob's entrance.

"Hi, DD. Welcome back. Did you have a nice vacation?"

"I sure did, Bob. Thanks for asking. The weather was absolutely beautiful. How have you been?"

"Great. I took the family to my brother's house over the weekend and we had a great time. He has a small boat and we did a little sailing yesterday."

"You had a nice weekend for it."

He smiled and nodded. "We did. My youngest got a bit too much sun though. She's absolutely covered with lotion today." He smiled even more widely and said, "I had to be careful kissing her goodbye this morning. I was afraid that I'd hurt her if I squeezed a little too hard, or that she was going to slip right out of my hands if I didn't have a good enough grip."

I grinned. "How's everything going at the plant?"

"Great. We've changed over to running two full shifts in Plants 1 and 2. Third shift is just pulp operations and equipment maintenance now.

"Eric has cleared the storage area next to the boxing operation in Greenfield and we've begun prepping the area for the new box making equipment. Paper production in Greenfield is going well and we're getting ready to put on a second shift on one of the machines.

"Danbury is on two shifts now, although second shift is still a bit thin. We didn't have any employees to recall so it will take a while to get a fully trained crew together.

"Glens Falls is doing well. We've started making the new boxes for the toy manufacturer, and between the increased needs at Danbury and with some other new contracts that we've picked up, the first shift is running at maximum. We have to consider putting on a second shift.

"Matt's doing swell selling off the inventory at Concord. He's moved almost forty percent of the bleached paper and 70 percent of the Kraft. We've rehired enough crew to operate the Kraft paper plant, and the pulp workers started Saturday. The paper equipment operators start today. We're in the process of moving the walls to shrink the office area. The first of the bag making equipment has been ordered and will be installed within 30 days. Matt's holding up the next catalog mailing long enough to have inserts made which list the Kraft papers and show samples of the new bags. The artwork for the bags was provided by the equipment manufacturer.

"We've set up a new section here in Operations. The name is 'Fleet Management' and only has one person right now. With each new acquisition we've added more trucks and vehicles, so the new section will oversee licensing, insurance, and vehicle maintenance, including truck painting, for the entire fleet. During the past couple of weeks we've had all of Plymouth's trucks repainted with Piermont's name and colors. Now we're going to rotate those trucks into the system so that we can free up the trucks from Danbury, Greenfield, and Glens Falls that haven't been repainted yet because they couldn't be taken out of service.

"We've had an offer for one of the land parcels by the highway. We figured that we should be able to get $300,000 for each of the two three-acre plots so we set the asking price at $375,000. The offer that we received is for $310,000. We can try to get a little more or accept this price. What would you like to do?"

"How's our cash position?"

"We're in okay shape. The current statements are in with your transcripts. Brandon, Greenfield, Danbury, and Glens Falls are all doing very well. The Concord deal drained us a bit but we have solid revenues coming in from everywhere else. The inventory in Concord's warehouse should bring us almost $400,000 when it's all sold, which will replenish the accounts, but it's likely to be at least several months before Concord is paying its own way. Plus we have the new equipment purchases to take care of. We still have the 20 million credit line that we can tap if we need it."

"What do you think? Can we get more for the land?"

"I think that we should be able to get another ten or fifteen thousand without scaring them off. This was just their opening bid."

"Okay, Bob. I'll leave it up to you. Try for the increase if you think that we can get it. The extra money will come in handy right now."

"Okay, DD. I guess that's about everything."

"I noticed the new pictures hanging in the hallway. They look great."

"Yes, they did turn out nice. Matt knows a fellow that has a small plane. We sent one of our catalog design people, whose hobby is photography, up with him. He took pictures of Brandon and Greenfield using an old 4x5 camera. We thought that we could use one of them on our catalogs, and they turned out so good that we had those enlargements made and framed. The same guy is going back up this week to shoot the other three locations. If they turn out good, we'll mount a picture of each in the hallway, plus we can always use the shots for the catalogs and press releases.

"Great. What about the tunnel and cafeteria?"

"The tunnel is complete, and all the outside work is done, but it'll be several weeks before the inside work at the two ends is complete. The cafeteria will be ready about that same time."

"Wonderful. I assume that we're making arrangements for cafeteria help?"

"Ben is on top of it. He's found somebody to manage it and that person is working out menus and ordering supplies. We'll probably have quite a few non-employees coming in such as truck drivers and the like so we'll have regular prices posted. Employees can use their ID cards to charge their meals against their paycheck and they'll receive a 50 percent reduction in the price at the time that it's deducted. Even at full price the food will be a good deal, but the cafeteria will pay its own way at the discounted prices since we're not looking to make a profit."

"Sounds good, Bob. You seem to have everything well in hand."

"We're rolling along smoothly. We'll be set when you find something else for us."

I laughed. "Nothing planned right now. Let's catch our breath and get our current projects settled. We'll wait until the boxing and bagging projects are settled. I'd like to see Concord paying its own way before we do anymore acquisitions— unless we find a deal like Danbury."

"If you're sure about that then I'll schedule some vacation time."

"I'm sure. Just try to be around on the weekend, two weeks before Labor Day."

"What's up?"

"I had an idea while I was on vacation for an employee picnic in Texas Barbeque style. I thought that we might hold it on the plot behind the Greenfield plant and open it up to employees from all five locations. Greenfield is almost in the dead center and is close to the Interstate."

"Sounds great. It might help to give all of the employees a better sense of belonging to one company rather then five separate ones."

"That was the idea. I'm going to start working on it this week so we'll be ready."

"Anything I can do?"

"Not right now. I'll let you know if I need help."

Bob and I talked about the BBQ for about another hour, then he had to leave for an appointment. Although he had given me a nice update on the state of things I sat and read the transcripts of the meetings anyway, and at noon I fixed myself a lunch from the fresh fruits and vegetables that I found in my refrigerator.

As I ate lunch on my deck I made a list of the things that I would have to do for the company picnic. I organized them by priority and then started making calls as soon as I had finished my meal.

First up I spent a couple of hours tracking down amusement companies that specialized in children's rides. I lucked out in finding one that had the date 'open' for an engagement due to a cancellation. They had three mechanical rides suitable for children aged 5 to 11, and several game booths. Next, I found a company that would clear all of the undergrowth on the lot behind the Greenfield plant. Once the undergrowth was cleared I could decide what trees should be saved for shade purposes and which should be cleared so that we would have room for the party area, amusement area, and a ball field. My last job for the day was to find a company that would erect a giant tent for the party. By the time that I headed back to the hotel I felt that I had laid the groundwork for the party.

  

Over the next few days I made more arrangements for the party. I hired a clown who would blow up balloons, a magician who would perform magic tricks, and another who specialized in up-close card tricks. I made arrangements for party supplies such as paper plates, plastic eating utensils, and paper tablecloths for the tables that a rental company would set-up under the tent. I estimated the number of tables and chairs that we would need, deciding that too many were better than not enough. I also hired two bands. One would be for the older crowd and the other would be for the teens. They would alternate at different ends of the picnic area so one band would always be playing during the afternoon. A catering company would provide the food and beverages. There wouldn't be any hard liquor and I thought long and hard about whether to serve beer. In the end I decided to have it. I would have to make some arrangements to see that it wasn't abused.

  

At the weekly meeting on Friday, I made the announcement about the party and gave the basic details. Bob would see that announcements were posted on all bulletin boards in the plants. Bob would also see that all interested employees signed up so we would have an idea how many people, and what age groups, to expect. The party was free, but anyone coming had to get tickets in advance for admittance to the grounds.

We followed the normal procedure and listened to the status reports next. There was little different from the previous week. Mostly we heard numbers about production volumes, orders, and personnel situations. When the status reports were done I fielded a few questions about the company BBQ that I was planning. We spent about an hour discussing this first ever event and then came back to company business. Matt raised the question about us offering paper supplies for delicatessen businesses such as the cut squares of waxed paper and the small paper rolls. We had discussed it previously, after John had suggested it, but we hadn't made a decision. Matt wanted to know before the new catalog was printed.

After a lot more discussion I approved the purchase of the equipment that we'd need and Matt said that he'd make sure that the product information is included in the new catalog mailing. The new equipment would be located at the Concord plant, with the bag making operation.

Lunch arrived and we continued to discuss our product line during the meal. We had so much unused capacity since we acquired Concord that we would look at any possibility for new markets. It was even suggested that we sell processed pulp to paper companies that don't have their own pulp capabilities, but that idea was dropped after a lengthily discussion, because we decided that we would need all of the pulp making output if the paper making operation was restored. We would then have to discontinue shipments of pulp, possibly disappointing customers who had come to rely on us.

When it looked like we had exhausted our topics I stood up.

"I have an announcement to make. Our company continues to grow and prosper through the outstanding efforts of this group. Each time you have been faced with the challenge of a new acquisition you've squared your shoulders and attacked the problems head-on. As a result of your dedication we now have five plants in operation. I'm not minimizing the efforts of the group when I single out Matt Piermont today for his outstanding efforts during the past ten months. Matt and his people have performed the Herculean task of moving the products that we produce. Each time we've acquired a new plant, we've expanded the product lines that we sell. Matt has quickly adapted in each situation and then proceeded to sell the new products at phenomenal rates. We owe much of our success to Matt and, effective today, I am appointing him as Vice-President of Marketing. Congratulations, Matt." I started the applauding and sat down so that Matt could stand up and speak.

Matt, never at a loss for words, stood up and waited for the applause to end.

"Thank you, DD. When you appointed me as the National Sales Director, I told you that I wouldn't make you sorry that you gave me the position. You took a chance with me and I'm happy that I've been able to contribute to the success of the company. Nobody has been more excited that I have when each new product has been added to our catalog. I look forward to coming to work every single day. I'm grateful for your continued confidence in me and I can only restate my former promise that I won't make you sorry for appointing me to this new position. Thank you."

Everyone applauded and then crowded around Matt to slap him on the back and shake his hand before filing out of my office. Matt and Bob stayed behind after everyone else left.

"Matt, you can take your pick of the two vacant offices that we have in the executive suite," I said.

"There's a vacant office next to the sales department," he said. "Could I move into that one instead? It's about the same size as the ones on this side of the building, and I'd be closer to my people."

"Of course."

"Thanks, boss. For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Matt. I'll see you in a few weeks."

After Matt left, I talked with Bob for a while and then called Earl to bring the car around. I had been so busy this week making arrangements for the party that I hadn't felt so alone, but I was still looking forward to going home. I had only come for one week so that I wouldn't feel so sad about being here by myself over the weekend.

The plane was waiting when we got to the airport and I boarded after saying goodbye to Earl. In a few hours I would be home.

 

It was wonderful to wake up in my own bed the next morning. Susan stirred as I climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I came out, she was getting out of bed, and since it was Saturday, we went to Auntie's room for our communal bath. Auntie was still sleeping, but not for long. As Susan began working ever so gently on her feet, I started working on her sides. In a few minutes, Auntie was wide awake and screeching as she tried to cover her feet and avoid my hands. Failing that she went on the attack and we were soon all embroiled in a tickling match on her enormous bed.

We ran out of energy just as Mary and Judy arrived for the bath-time, and it took a full minute for us to get our wind back before we could walk into the bathroom. We had all just gotten into the enormous tub that was already half filled with soapy water when Mother arrived.

"Looks like I'm late today," she said as she settled into the bubble-covered water.

"The rest of us are just early," Judy said. "We look forward to this all week while we're away. My apartment only has a tiny tub."

"You're lucky," Mary said. All I have is a shower."

"I probably have it the best," I said. "The Holiday Inn gives me a gorgeous suite whenever I'm there.

"I have it the best," Susan said, "because I was right here all week."

"But you have to leave on an inspection tour next week," I said.

"I'll be staying either in the Portland apartment or in major hotels, so it won't be bad. Are you going back to Vermont next week?"

"No, I'm not. There's nothing really there that needs my attention. I won't buy any more properties until we get the Concord plant paying its own way, and I don't have any regular duties that have to be done. The only thing that I'm working on is to have a large Texas style BBQ for the employees near the end of August."

"A BBQ?" Mother said.

"Yes. Basically a company picnic, but Texas style with half a steer being cooked over an open pit, and lots of things like Chili and Hot Peppers available. I even arranged for pony rides for the children."

I told everyone about all the arrangements that I had already made, and the various entertainments.

"That sounds wonderful, dear. Have you spoken to your Grandmother about this?"

"Not yet. I'll tell her about it this weekend. Susan told me that Grandma's coming over tomorrow. She's repeatedly told me that the division is mine to run."

"Yes, I invited her to have lunch with us," Mother said. "You say that you invited all of your employees?"

"All except the security people who are on duty and the employees who have to tend various plant functions are welcome, plus their immediate families."

"How many do you expect to have there?"

"Well, we have almost 1,000 employees between the five plants, so we could possibly have as many as 5 or 6 thousand with family members. Anyone who wants to come has to get tickets in advance so that we'll know how many to expect. I don't really expect all of our employees to attend, though. I expect a good turnout will be about 60 percent."

"You have a thousand employees?" Mother said. "I had no idea. I guess that I hadn't thought about it."

"It'll be a lot higher once we get the Concord plant rolling. And we're putting on second shifts at Glens Falls and Danbury."

"And you're holding this picnic behind the Greenfield plant?"

"Yes, because we have an enormous amount of property there, plus it's centrally located between the five locations. I've hired a company to clear the area and make it suitable for the picnic. The area is actually large enough to hold a picnic for everyone working for Ameri-Moore. We have 160 acres there."

"Are we invited?" Judy said.

"Of course. I hope that you can all come up for the party, and stay to see the plants. I'll show you how we make paper."

"I'd like to go," Auntie said. "I've heard so much about this little empire, that I want to see it."

"Great. The party is on Saturday, two weeks before Labor Day weekend. Everyone can come up on Thursday and I'll show you around on Friday."

We spent some more time talking about the picnic and then got out of the tub and went to our bedrooms to dress.

We all met again downstairs for breakfast. Rosa had everything prepared and began bringing out the food as we sat down.

After breakfast we went out to the stable. Ricardo had already turned the horses out into the corral and cleaned the stalls, so there wasn't anything to do except round up the horses and saddle them for our ride. Emily came over to me as soon as I stepped into the corral. I'm sure that she spotted the apple that I was carrying for her.

It was still early so the heat hadn't grown oppressive yet. We had a nice ride and then returned to the stable and rubbed down our horses before turning them out into the corral again.

After we had cleaned up and changed, we sat out on the front porch and talked until lunchtime. Judy and Mary told us about their jobs, and the increasing responsibility that was being given them as they learned the businesses from the ground up. Only Susan hadn't gone to work yet this summer, but she was scheduled to begin inspections next week.

After lunch, Susan and I worked in the office for a while, and planned out her inspection route. Although I had been devoting all of my work energies towards Piermont, I was still the Vice-President of Examinations and Surveys, and in her role as an inspector, Susan was part of my section. Unless she ran into problems, Susan would be able to complete all of her inspections in four weeks.

When we were done, we joined Mother and Auntie on the front porch for some ice cold lemonade, and we spent some more time talking about the party that I was planning and they gave me some good ideas about its organization.

Mary and Judy joined us a little later. They had been upstairs doing their fingernails, and toenails.

Our after dinner entertainment was a new movie that Auntie had bought. The title was Oliver, and it was a musical based on the classic by Charles Dickens. Having read the book, I was pleased to see that they had been somewhat faithful to the original story, and the songs added another dimension to a great story.

 

Grandma came over the next day as planned, and during lunch, and afterwards, we mostly talked business.

As we sat at the dining room table, Susan giggled and said, "Grandma, there must be something wrong with Darla Anne. She didn't buy any factories on her last trip east."

Grandma smiled. "Darla Anne knows when to buy and when not to. I'm sure that the timing wasn't right, or the opportunities didn't present themselves. Is that it, Darla Anne?"

"Yes, Grandma. We need to improve the utilization of what we already have, before we look to acquiring any more. Right now, Piermont is its own best customer. Greenfield makes all of its own paper for its boxing operations, plus it makes almost all of Danbury's paper. Glens Falls makes all of the cardboard boxes used by Danbury to ship the forms it produces, and Concord makes all of the Kraft paper used by Glens Falls to make the cardboard. And Concord will be making all of the paper used for the new bag making operation. Of course, each plant produces product for outside sales as well. All of Brandon's paper is sold outside. But even so, we still have a lot of excess capacity that isn't being utilized yet. Right now, the only plant that is not solidly in the black is Concord, and we expect that to change as soon as the bagging operation starts up. I was a little worried about Concord at first, but the Kraft paper making capability has us marginally profitable already."

"What do you envision as your next step?"

"I'm not sure. Susan and I developed a five year plan last year, but we seem to have accomplished all the goals already."

"Did you fail to set the goals high enough?"

"We didn't think so at the time- and I still don't think so. Events just propelled us along much, much faster than expected. Unexpected, golden opportunities presented themselves and I took advantage of them. We could just as easily still have only the Brandon plant."

"Then it sounds like it's time to make a new business plan."

"Yes, I guess so."

"Before you start working on that, though, I'd like you to come on a tour with me."

"A tour?"

"Yes, I'm going to be making an inspection tour of the other divisions."

"Susan is leaving tomorrow to do inspections. Do you want me to help her?"

"No I was referring to the cattle and textile divisions. The lumber division is doing fine."

"Is there a problem in one of the other divisions?"

"Nothing that I can put my finger on. Would you like to come along?"

"Sure, Grandma, but I don't know anything about cattle or textile operations."

"I seem to remember you saying that about paper production last year, and now you're the talk of the industry."

"But I can't learn very much between now and tomorrow?"

"Then you'll learn as we go, just like when you first came with me to Portland. The big difference now is that you already have an understanding of corporate accounting and management."

"Okay, Grandma."

We continued talking for another couple of hours, until it was time for Grandma to leave. Charles had waited patiently in the kitchen and been well fed by Rosa.

After Grandma was gone, I went to the library to see what I could find on Textile Manufacturing. I found several books that contained chapters on the subject, although nothing in great depth, so I took them to the office to read. I finished reading everything by dinnertime and I was as well prepared as I could be on such short notice. At least I understood the basic processes involved of taking raw cotton and turning it into a finished textile product.

 

Very early the next morning, Mary and Judy left for their job sites. Both were picked up by the drivers that had been transporting them since they had begun working for Grandma. This would be the last time for Judy because she had her driver's license now and Grandma had arranged for her to have use of a company car. From now on she would drive herself home each weekend, and back on Monday morning.

Susan was all packed and ready to go when the company plane landed. We walked out to the runway with her and stayed until the plane had lifted off.

I was also packed and ready to go when my ride arrived. I said goodbye to Mother, Rosa, and Ricardo, and stepped into the open door of the limo. Charles closed the door and went around to the driver's side. As he got in and closed the door, I asked, "Charles, where's Grandmother?"

"She had a meeting in Dallas last night, Miss Darla, so she stayed up there overnight. We'll pick her up at the company apartment."

I sat back and relaxed as Charles took us north to Dallas. I hadn't seen the Dallas apartment before, so I went with Charles when he went in to let her know that we were there. She was all ready, and after closing her briefcase she led the way to the car. I had only had a chance to take a quick glance around the living room.

Once in the car, Grandma handed me a typed report. "Here's a status report from Mr. Edwards, the executive vice-president of the textile division. Read it over and tell me what you think. We have a meeting with our executive officers at 11 o'clock at the division headquarters in Fort Worth."

I sat back and started reading the report. It was only 10 pages so I was finished before we reached the office building.

As Charles pulled up in front, Grandma said, "What's your impression?"

"It seems as though the textile industry is in a slump. All the numbers are down."

"You're only seeing our numbers. The trouble seems to be limited to our textile division. The rest of the industry is up. We have to find out why we're slipping, and reverse the trend."

"Do you suspect a conspiracy, like in the lumber division?"

"I don't have any notion of where the problem exists, yet. Maybe we'll have a clue after the meeting." To Charles she said, "Okay Charles, we're ready."

Charles got out and walked around the car to open the door for us. I followed Grandma into the building and we took the elevator to the top floor of the ten-story building. Grandma had an office in the executive suite and that's where we were headed. Her office here was as almost as large as my Piermont office in Brandon, and didn't even have a conference table in it. Grandma sat at her desk to work on her notes and I sat in a comfortable chair in the informal meeting area of her office and read through the report again.

A few minutes before 10 o'clock Grandma stood up and headed for the door, indicating that I should follow. She didn't say anything and I didn't question her. I recognized the look in her eyes. She was mentally preparing herself to lambaste some executives.

I followed her to a conference room down the hall and trailed her inside. Eight executives stood up as she entered.

"Good morning, Gentlemen. Please be seated. Before we get started, I'd like to introduce you to my granddaughter, Darla Anne. I'm sure that you all recognize her from the newspaper accounts, and that you know that she's the president of our new Paper Products Division. A division that she founded on her own, without using any assets of Ameri-Moore, and which she has built into a profitable operation with over 80 million dollars in plant assets in less than a year. Some of you may also recall that she's Vice-President of Examinations and Surveys for Ameri-Moore." Looking at me, she said, "Take a seat at the table, sweetheart."

Taking her own chair at the head of the table, she addressed the group again. "Gentlemen, I've read over the latest numbers and I'm not happy. While the textile industry in this country is on the rise, we are declining. Can anyone tell me why that is?"

The silence at the table was suffocating. The executives knew better than to offer lame excuses that wouldn't hold up under scrutiny.

After a full minute, Grandma continued, "well, since no one can offer any insight into this strange situation, let's look at each step of the operation."

Beginning with the reports from the cotton farms, continuing on with the reports from the gins, and concluding with the reports from the mills, Grandma tossed out statistics like a drunken sailor tosses out profanities.

"Well… does anyone have anything to say now?"

I saw several heads shake, and no one uttered a word.

"Mr. Kelleher, as Farm Production Supervisor, how do you account for the lower yield this past year?"

"Well… I, uh, believe that it was all spelled out in my report. We experienced smaller crops due to weather, insect, and soil problems."

"And yet," Grandma said, "other farms in the same areas as ours had normal, or, even bumper crops."

"Well… I don't know about that, Mrs. Moore."

"Well I do, and you should also. Mr. Wickerham, how come our employees are putting in more hours at the Gins, and yet we're ginning far less cotton?"

"Uh… I wasn't aware that they were, Mrs. Moore."

"You should be. You're the Executive Supervisor of Gin Operations. Mr. Talliferro, why do we have 12 percent more factory workers than a year ago, and yet they produced 8 percent less than a year ago?"

"We've had a lot of turnover, Mrs. Moore. We lost a lot of experienced employees and have to train new ones. It takes time for them to become as productive as the ones that have left."

"Why are we losing them? We pay as high or higher than anyone else, in every region where we operate."

"I don't know, Mrs. Moore. I only know that they're leaving."

"Gentlemen, I refuse to accept these answers. You are being paid to do a job and to know the answers to these questions. I suggest that you learn the answers, and quickly. Mr. Kelleher, find out why our crop yields are lower then everyone else. Even if you have to go out and root around in the dirt yourself. I want an answer. Mr. Wickerham, you had better start reading the reports that come across your desk and analyzing them more carefully. Mr. Talliferro, find out where the experienced employees that are leaving are going, and why."

Grandma paused for a few seconds, then added "I'm extremely disappointed by what I've heard this morning. I can understand now why the division is declining. It's most distressing that you can't answer the simple questions that I've asked here today. They were the very first questions that came into my mind when I read the reports. You can't just isolate yourself in your own little worlds and think that you're doing a good job. You have to take initiative and look around at other factors that affect our operations, and that includes watching our competitors. I'll be back in a month and I expect all of you to be prepared to answer the questions that I've posed today, plus many others that have occurred to me." Grandma stood up. "Darla Anne, let's leave these gentlemen to their work."

The men all stood up as we left. I followed Grandma out of the room and down the hallway to the elevator. We went to the first floor in silence and strode out to the car. Charles saw us exit the building and hurried around to open the door.

Once we were back on the road, Grandma said, "Do you think that I got the message across?"

"Definitely. I don't think that their lunches are going to sit too well in their stomachs this afternoon."

"I certainly hope not. It was my intention to shake them up. These are not schoolboys, working at their first job. These are top level management. They've apparently grown a little too complacent in their jobs. My reprimand was intended to shake out the cobwebs and get them refocused on their jobs. I deliberately didn't address Mr. Edwards, but I gave him a few looks. It's his job to do what I did today, and he's apparently not doing it."

"I think that they'll be working a lot of long hours during the next month so that they're prepared for your next visit."

"I'd like you to begin a round of inspections at all the farms, gins, and textile plants."

"But Grandma, I don't know enough about this business. I've never even been on a cotton farm. Wouldn't Judy be better for this job?"

"Even if you don't know farming, you have an uncanny ability to spot problems. Also, with your reputation, just the fact that you're visiting every location will get them on their toes. They'll be scared to death that you'll find something that they missed. They'll put their own operations under a microscope to be prepared for whatever you might undercover. They'll be expecting me to spring whatever new information you learn, on them at our next meeting. They'll be well prepared next time and the division should be the better for it."

"Okay, Grandma. When do you want me to start?"

"On Wednesday. For the rest of today and tomorrow, I'd like you accompany me on my visits to our cattle ranching operations. The jet will be back from Oregon tonight. Susan is being flown around to the logging sites by Mr. Sloan, or the man who replaced him when he was promoted. We'll use the plane to visit two ranches tomorrow and after that you will have exclusive use of the plane until your inspections are finished."

The headquarters for the cattle operation was in Abilene, a three-hour ride from the textile headquarters in Fort Worth. As Charles drove us there, Grandma gave me a fundamental class in cattle breeding and ranch management. She told me that she was very pleased with the cattle operation and was not going there because of any problems. It was just time for her monthly visit to the headquarters. The trip to the two ranches was an annual event.

Once we reached Abilene, we stopped for lunch at a seafood place that Grandma liked to frequent when she was here, and we ordered the special of the house, which were crab-cakes, with coleslaw on the side. The food was excellent and Grandma praised the food to the waitress as we got ready to leave.

It was almost 3 o'clock when we reached the headquarters building, a large two-story structure of typical southwest architectural design. In size it was like the Piermont's headquarters' building. Charles parked in front and opened the door for us. We entered the building and took the elevator to the second floor and walked directly to Grandma's office. Along the way she was greeted by a number of people.

Like the textile headquarters, Grandma didn't have a secretary here because she was only here infrequently, but she had an enormous office. We only had time to use the bathroom before we had to leave for the conference room.

Grandma introduced me to the executives in the conference room, as she had done in Fort Worth, and we took our seats. We listened to status reports from each of the executives and Grandma praised their efforts. In all we spent about 90 minutes at the meeting.

After the meeting we returned to Grandma's office so that she could make some notes, and then we left. Grandma maintained an apartment in Abilene as she did in each of the three cities where the division headquarters were located. There were no personal effects there because company personnel, who needed a place while they were in town, also used the apartment.

After we had settled in, we went out to dinner. I wasn't really very hungry because we'd had a late lunch, but if I didn't eat anything I would be starving by breakfast time, so I had a bowl of soup and a salad.

When we returned to the apartment, Grandma and I again talked about ranch management, explaining what we would be seeing and looking for tomorrow. We talked right up until it was time to go to sleep.

 

In the morning, we stopped to have breakfast before driving to the nearby airport. The plane was ready and waiting and we were lifting off after a short wait on the taxiway while large, commercial jets took off.

Each of the ranches have their own airstrip, and Mary was waiting with the driver to greet us and accompany us on the tour. We started off with a tour of the labs where several vets and lab assistants were working. The enormous herd was kept healthy by constant monitoring. We also toured the yards where cattle were penned in preparation for shipping by rail, and lastly we took a helicopter ride over the vast rangelands where the cattle were raised until they were ready to be shipped to the stockyards. Mary functioned as our tour guide, explaining the various jobs that she had held in the progression of assignments that Grandma was using to teach her the operation. After this year she would be assigned to work at the headquarters in Abilene.

At noon, Mary returned to the plane with us and we ate a lunch that had been brought by the crew. We said goodbye to Mary afterwards and took off to visit the second ranch. Auntie was currently working at that one and we stopped to visit with her so that she could inform us about the progress of her drilling operations.

Once our inspection tour of the second ranch was complete, we came directly home on the plane. Charles had driven the limo back from Abilene and was waiting for Grandma on the ramp in front of the hanger. Rosa had brought him a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade to enjoy while he waited.

The pilots took off right after we deplaned, but they would return to pick me up in the morning. I said goodbye to Grandma and Charles when they dropped me off at the house. I had invited Grandma to stay for dinner, but she already had other plans.

 

The plane returned on schedule in the morning and we left for our first destination. Grandma had given me an itinerary to follow, and made arrangements for me to be picked up by a driver at each stop. For the inspections of the farms and gins I would dress in jeans, as if I was going riding. For the inspections of the factories, I would wear a business suit.

The first stop would be a layover because there were 4 farms and 1 gin within a fifty-mile radius of the airport, and I couldn't possibly do everything in one day. The driver was waiting when we arrived, so I grabbed my hardhat and got into the company car, telling the driver where I wanted to go first.

We arrived at the first farm about 25 minutes later. The farm manager, Mr. Short, was waiting for me with a jeep so that we could visit every part of the farm. As we drove along he talked about the planting cycle.

"Mr. Short, Mrs. Moore is concerned about the low yields of cotton coming from this farm. Can you shed any light on why production is down?"

"Well… what I've reported is that I think that the soil is over saturated with pesticide chemicals. We spray six or seven times a year. That stuff has to be building up in the soil. I believe that it's responsible for the low yield. On top of that we use chemical fertilizers."

"What's the solution?"

"Well… I'm not a soil engineer but I think that the fields have to be left fallow for several years to let them recover naturally. I know that the entire farm system can't be shut down, but some plan might be worked out where we don't plant parts of the farm so that they can recover."

"And you've reported this to your superior."

"Yes. The word that I got back was that a smaller yield per acre was better than no yield at all from huge tracts of the farm."

"I see. And you don't agree with that?"

"Yes and no. In the short term we get a better yield, but over the long term we won't. I believe that the chemicals are building up in the soil since each year's crop is a little smaller when averaged out after accounting for insect and weather problems."

"Anything else that we can do to improve things?"

"Yup. I think that we need a little better control at the gins. Seed that comes from farms with soil fungus can't be used for new plantings. The ginhouse people have to keep better track of what farms are having soil problems."

"I see. Anything else?"

"No, ma'am. We'll just continue to do the best we can with what we have."

After we had driven around the entire farm, and stopped twice to walk into the fields, Mr. Short brought me back to where the driver was waiting with the company car. I thanked Mr. Short for his time and information, and left.

We visited another farm before stopping for lunch, and then two more after lunch. The driver then dropped me off at the motel where the reservation had been made, and left after telling me that he'd be back at 8 a.m.

I sat in my room and worked on the reports for each of the farms for about an hour, and then went for dinner at a restaurant across the road from the motel. Afterwards I returned to the room and finished writing up the reports before getting ready for bed.

  

The driver returned the next morning promptly at 8. I had earlier crossed the road and had a light breakfast of tea and toast. The last place left to visit in this area was the company's gin.

The driver drove to the gin and parked right in front of the main building. I got out and walked towards the door beneath the 'office' sign. I observed, upon entering, that the office was rather dusty, but the paperwork appeared organized.

A woman at a desk said, "Kin I hep you, sugah?"

"Yes, thank you. I'd like to see the manager."

"He's sorta busy right now. What can we do for ya?"

"I'm Darla Anne Drake, Vice-President of Examinations and Surveys for Ameri-Moore. I'm here to inspect the gin." I put on the hard hat that I had been carrying in my hand at my side.

The woman's droopy eyelids opened wide. "Yes, Miss Drake. I'll find 'em right away." She picked up the phone and dialed three numbers. "Bobby, is Billy Ray with you? Well tell'm to get hisself up heah NOW." Looking at me she said, "He'll be here in a few seconds, Miss Drake."

"Thank you."

A door at the rear of the office suddenly burst open and an agitated looking man ran into the room. Looking around quickly, he said in an angry voice, "God, Mary Sue, I thought that the place was on fire… " He stopped speaking as he suddenly noticed my hat. He looked me over quickly, composed himself, and said, "Miss Drake?"

I nodded.

He walked over to me with his hand outstretched. "Welcome, Miss Drake. I'm Billy Ray Arthur. I'm the manager here."

I extended my hand and we shook hands. "Good morning, Mr. Arthur. I'm conducting inspections of all of Ameri-Moore's operations in this area."

"Yes, ma'am. I heard about you visit'in the farms. I didn't know that you were going to be stopping heah though."

"I'm stopping at all of the operations that are a part of the textile division. You're the last before I go on to the next area."

"I see. Well… please come into mah office."

I followed Mr. Arthur into a small, enclosed area at the rear of the office area.

As soon as we had sat down he said, "How would you like to proceed, Miss Drake? Er… may I call you DD like they do in the papehs?"

"Yes, Mr. Arthur."

"Call me Billy Ray. Please."

"Okay, Billy Ray. First I'd like to see your production figures for the past year."

He stood up, turned to his right, pulled open the top drawer of a file cabinet, and removed a ledger. He opened it, found a particular page, and sat it down on the desk in front of me so that I could read it. I took my notebook out of my briefcase and copied down the figures while he sat in silence.

When I was done, I closed the book and put my notebook away. "Thank you, Billy Ray. May I have a tour of your facility now?"

"Of course, DD. Follow me."

For the next hour Billy Ray conducted me through the plant. He explained, in detail, what each piece of equipment was, and what its purpose was. There was very little activity since ginning cotton was a seasonal activity.

At the end of the tour I thanked Billy Ray, and asked, "I've been told that seed from fields with fungus problems are sometimes used for planting because gins don't keep good records about farms with problems. The fungus in the seed then infects an otherwise good field. What do you think about that?"

"Well… a ginhouse can't mind everyone's business. We try to keep on top of problems like that, but if a farmer doesn't report a problem, or if we don't hear about it from the farm bureau, then what can we do? We ask everyone to report problems like that, but since it affects the price they receive, some try to conceal it."

"I see. Thank you, Billy Ray. My visit has been most informative."

"You're welcome, DD. Y'all come back and visit us again whenever you can."

"Thank you. Good-bye."

I left the building and walked to the car. The driver was dozing in the front seat, but woke up when I got in. I asked him to take me back to the airport.

The pilots were waiting in the plane but it wasn't ready for take-off. I didn't mind in the slightest that it would be ten minutes before we could leave. They had a copy of the route that we would follow, so I didn't have to give them any other instructions.

 

Over the next three weeks, I visited every farm, ginhouse, and textile plant in the division. The operations spanned the South from North Carolina to California. When I visited the textile plant where Judy was working, she conducted my tour. The plant housed fiber processing, yarn spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing processes that transformed the raw cotton, received in bales from the gin. The yarn-dyed fabrics were produced in solids, stripes, checks, and plaids, in a multitude of colors. Judy had started at the lowest job and progressed through most of the positions in the plant. Of course she had progressed upwards at an unprecedented rate of speed because the intent had simply been to expose her to every job. She was now working in the plant office, learning every job there. Like Mary, her industry specific experiences were far more complete than my own, in either the lumber or paper producing businesses.

The first weekend away from home had found me in North Carolina, so I took a side-trip up to Greenfield to look at the progress of the company that had been hired to clear the fields behind the plant. Eric Grunen picked me up at the airport and took me to the plant.

The field had been completely cleared of brush and small trees, and the grass had been mown by a farm tractor. The stubble that remained looked like straw. It would take a couple of years of tending before the grass grew back enough to make it look anything like a park setting, but it would be okay for this year, if we didn't have too much rain just before the party. A heavy rainfall might make the field a muddy mess. I would keep my fingers crossed. In the event of rain, everyone would be restricted to the tent area, and I wasn't sure that it was large enough to accommodate everyone.

Eric and I spent the afternoon marking trees to be cut with a can of red spray paint. Our people from the former Highland Lumber Company, whom I had also invited to the party, would come down next week and harvest the trees that were marked. We left as many as we could for shade purposes, but cleared enough for the large tent, games and rides, and 2 ball-fields.

When we were done, I thanked Eric for helping on his weekend off, and he took me back to the airport so that I could return to North Carolina.

  

I was glad to return home after I had completed all of the inspections. I had pushed hard to complete them so that I could get to work on finishing the preparations for the party in Vermont, and I finished writing the last of my reports on the plane as we flew home from California on Friday. It was after 8 pm when we touched down at the ranch. I thanked both pilots and told them that I'd be ready on Sunday for the trip to Vermont.

Susan, Mary, and Judy were all home already and they came down to greet me. Ricardo tagged along also and helped to carry my bags back to the house.

Mother and Auntie were with the rest of us in the dining room as I recounted my experiences over the past few weeks, while Rosa went to fix a plate of food for me. Judy, as the only one working in the textile division, was especially interested in hearing if I had found anything.

"No conspiracies or signs of gross incompetence, if that's what you mean. About a third of the farm managers think that we use too much pesticide, a third think that we don't use enough, given all the pests that they have to worry about, and a third think that the amount is just fine. I don't know who's right. Also, some of the farm managers believe that the gins are responsible for spreading soil fungus, by using seed from farms with problems, for planting. The gin managers say that they do the best that they can with the information they have. I'm going to recommend that a coordinator be hired in each region to collect information from the farm bureaus, co-ops, grange people, and anyone else who has information, even rumors, about soil conditions at every farm that brings cotton to the gin. I would have preferred to visit the gins when they're operating following the harvest. I didn't find any obvious problems at the textile plants, but I don't have any in-depth knowledge of their operations. I learned a lot about the textile division though, even if I didn't find the problem for the decline."

"Maybe that was your Grandmother's intent," Mother said. "She also took you with her on a tour of the cattle ranches. What better way for you to learn about the textile division than to visit every farm and plant?"

"But I don't have anything to do with the textile division."

"Not right now, maybe."

 

(continued in part 28)

 

 

 

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