MEMBER PROFILE 



long that people know who we are." 



COMMERCIAL SOD production be- 

 gan in the 1950s. (Before that, 

 Camer-on bought field sod from 

 local farmers.) Today's produc- 

 tion — mostly bluegrass — is on land 

 along the Salmon Falls River in 

 Somersworth, New Hampshire, and 

 Lebanon, Maine. The production 

 fields are small and separated 

 from each other by woodland, but 

 are close enough together to be 

 treated as a single unit. Total 

 acreage is probably 80 acres. 



Sod production is not as large a 

 component as it once was: "In 

 1972, it accounted for 95% of our 

 total business; right now, it ac- 

 counts for 5%. Currently, we're our 

 own best customer — we buy most 

 of it ourselves." 



BUT HYDROSEEDING— spraying a 

 liquid mix of seed, fertilizer, and 

 lime onto prepared land — is in de- 

 mand: two crews (in two trucks — 

 one holding 2500 gallons and one, 

 1500 — capable of seeding 2-4 

 acres per load) work throughout 

 the summer. The technique is of- 

 ten used in seeding landfill clo- 

 sures (Turnkey, Rochester, NH) 

 and school playgrounds. 



EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS— 

 and some hardwoods — are grown 

 on 20 acres in Sanford, Maine, and 

 another three acres in Somers- 

 worth that will be expanded to six 

 this year. It's grown in fertile soil 

 without irrigation and dug as 

 needed. Material is sold wholesale 

 and used in their own jobs. About 

 5% of the material sold at the gar- 

 den center is Cameron-grown. 



THE GARDEN CENTER is a prag- 

 matic place, centered around a 

 Pro Hardware Store. This ties in 

 well with the mill: builders stop- 

 ping in for lumber can also buy 

 tools and supplies. 



But in late April, the space (and 

 three hoop houses) in front of the 

 garden center — actually, the entire 

 frontage along Route 11 — is filled 

 with plant material ranging from 

 bedding plants to large-caliper 

 trees ("We have good selections of 

 a lot of different things — for ex- 

 ample, we carry 15 types of rhodo- 

 dendrons; one year we had 26 of 

 lilacs, but that got too confusing — 

 we had to keep explaining the dif- 

 ferent types. We have less now— 

 but still a good selection"). 



Advertising — radio, newspaper — 

 announces the grand opening on 

 the Saturday before Mother's Day 

 "There's a party atmosphere, with 

 lots of specials." 



This will be the first year that 

 the Walmart down the road will be 

 open and offering its products. 

 "We feel we can compete. We've 

 adjusted our price structure. We 

 have quality and expertise; people 

 can come back to us if their plants 

 aren't doing well in mid-summer." 



THESE ENTERPRISES dovetail 

 nicely. The sawmill and building 

 supplies maintain a connection 

 with the construction trades that is 

 useful in getting landscaping and 

 hydroseeding work. The sod and 

 tree farms supply material for 

 these as well as for the garden 

 center. Material bought in for the 

 garden center can be used in their 

 own jobs. When one component is 

 slow, others compensate. Rather 

 than specializing in a single niche, 

 Cameron has found several, all 

 logically interlocking, each in its 

 own season. Together, they cover 

 a variety of needs for the commu- 

 nities around them. 



Is this old-fashioned or is it 

 shrewd marketing? The sense of 

 community does seem genuine 

 and can be seen as a sense of 

 family grown beyond the bound- 

 aries of bloodline. 



And it's definitely a family busi- 



ness. Five siblings are involved — 

 Don (president), Fred (in charge of 

 landscaping), Bill (hydroseeding), 

 |ohn (nursery), and Sue (the of- 

 fice) Sue's husband, Bob Schulte, 

 is general manager. And the next 

 generation is beginning to work its 

 way up the ladder: Cathy and 

 Karen, two of Don's daughters, 

 and Lynn, Sue's daughter, work in 

 the office and garden center; Bill 

 |r. works with his father; Fred's 

 son, Scott, is at the University of 

 Massachusetts studying landscape 

 design; Don's son-in-law, Bob, is 

 in charge of harvesting sod and 

 nursery stock. And now another 

 generation — the grandchildren — 

 are beginning to work part-time. 



Why have they stayed together? 

 A lot of people ask, Don says, but 

 he doesn't see it as remarkable: 

 "We enjoy the work." When ques- 

 tioned further: "Sure, we have our 

 squabbles, but we work things out. 

 We usually meet to make big deci- 

 sions in winter. The rest of the 

 time, we're too busy." Later, he 

 adds, "We all had to start at the 

 bottom. No one began at the top." 



The number of family members 

 involved in the business doesn't 

 seem to have affected the ability 

 to retain other key employees. Al- 

 though it seems unlikely that any- 

 one outside the family will assume 

 a major policy-making position, 

 employees (in summer, there can 

 be as many as 50) are seen as 

 part of an extended family. "We 

 know their names and those of 

 their children; if there are prob- 

 lems, they know they can come to 

 us." And their hard work is re- 

 warded: Don says, without elabo- 

 ration, "We take good care of them." 



And without elaboration, Camer- 

 on moves into another season. 

 (B.P.) 



Cameron's Home & Garden Center is 

 on Route 1 1 in Farmington. The phone 

 number is 603-755-2124. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



