BIG SANDY — Ron and Gay Pearson might not be household names, but just about everyone in Montana knows who they are.
"We'll be walking like, say, in the store in Great Falls and somebody will call, 'There's the melon man!' or the melon lady," said Gay, co-owner of Pearson's Big Sandy Cantaloupe.
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For more than 30 years, Pearson's Big Sandy Cantaloupes have been a hit at grocery stores and farmers markets across Montana.
"We took them to Winifred and Big Sandy grocery first, and they just absolutely loved the cantaloupe. They couldn't get enough of it," Gay said.
But the work to grow the melons was painstaking.
"We hand planted them, we hand rolled the mulch. Everything was done by hand. The watering was done by hand, all of it," Gay said.
Things got a little easier when they took advantage of a ready-made labor force.
"But, our two sons were pretty big guys. And then our third son came along and our daughter, and they all helped with it," Gay said.
Gay grew up on this farm. She remembers a time when it almost was lost.
"One time they were going to put, the dam across down here, and I was probably three years old, and I was heartbroken because it would cover our whole area and our ranch would be gone," Gay said.
The only thing sweeter than the fruit might be the chance to be with family.
"There's nothing better than that. And I mean, it's just, you know, and it's just, actually, there's four generations of us now that are involved in the cantaloupe. And, how often does that happen?" said Ron.
Montana might not be considered a melon growing mecca, but the Pearsons have found their piece of produce paradise thanks to fertile soil combined with excellent conditions.
"And it's hot down here. The evenings. The nights don't really get cold. They stay warm. So the melons just keep growing," Gay said.
Gay Pearson said the way they water the melons also makes a difference.
"We run through a ditch to water them. And then they go through black plastic pipes. So the water is very warm when it goes on to the plants. So they don't have the shock of cold, you know. And I think that makes a huge difference on them," Gay said.
The Pearsons also raise cattle and quarter horses, and they grow grain. But from the end of May until the first hard frost, it's all about the cantaloupe, which they hand-pick starting in mid-August.
"Usually in a pickup there can be, I don't know, 800 to 1,600 pounds. On the most given, markets that we're leaving on Friday night, we have three pickup loads," Gay said.
From curious deer to pesky grasshoppers to the unpredictability of mother nature, the cantaloupe business has challenges. But for the Pearsons, getting to work with family is something they not only cherish, it's something they'd like to continue.
"I'm hoping that, one of our kids or grandkids will really get involved in this, and, just keep it going. I hope it does. You know, I'm 70, so it's not going to last forever for me," Ron said.
Working with family, getting recognized by just about everyone, the Pearsons are enjoying the fruits of their labor.
"You know, it seems like there's not too many places that we don't go that somebody doesn't recognize us, so it's pretty cool," Ron Pearson said.
