When I arrived at the Peterson sweet corn farm in April 1972 I was greeted by a welcoming, open, and inviting atmosphere represented by Sever, his Mom Martha, brother Lowell, Hari Rinta from Finland - in his second MAST-year on the farm - along with several other people. Later in the spring of 1972 Hassan Nurmohamed from Tanzania joined our team.
During my second year Frank Bowser joined the overseas contingent on the farm.
Work on a farm is never in short supply, and the Peterson farm was no different, what was different to me was the amount of fun we all had which was plentifully supplied by the trips we did, many initiated and hosted by Sever and his family.
The changes to our lives that were initiated on the farm were fundamental. All four of us found our to be spouses in the USA, and all four of us are now living in The United States.
Due to the experiences I gained while working in different locations in the USA, and being fluent in English it landed me the job in a company which I stayed with for 38 years and eventually retired from.
Picking sweet corn by hand, cooling and loading trucks for distribution was a lot of hard work, but what Sever & family never forgot was that having a good time along the way was important for maintaining good spirits and willingness to do it again the next day. Sever and Sharon; Thank You for that "show and tell".
In 1972 the MAST program helped me to get on the way to a good and rewarding future, the other ingredient is that one has to willing to take a step into an unknown world with a good measure of confidence.
