Peninsula In Passage

In 1989 he bought 122 acres in Isle of Wight to expand the growing operation. He saw a lot of things with this area before they were even close to being done – he was either insightful or lucky and believed If you don’t change with the times you won’t be in business. When building slows down shrubs are not our bread and butter any more. Colors, edibles and annuals are in and trees have always done well. Junie was sharp. He could sit watching a train go by and add up the serial numbers on the train cars while he watched - who knows if he was right?! Dale Saunders, Millie Lancaster’s nephew, worked for 42 years at Lancaster Farms and is now in sales at Bennett’s Creek Nursery. He remembers Uncle Junie hired me at 13 in 1963 to be a delivery assistant and ride along on the deliveries with him. I spent half of my work time on the farm and half at Coleman’s, sweeping sidewalks and whatever else. Junie was energetic - always worked seven days a week. We’d be in fields, hot, dusty, tired, and take one second to stretch and Junie had a knack for seeing that and he’d call over to tell us to get back to work.” When I decided to skip college in favor of going right to work Junie said “Good, I’ll create an apprentice program for you and in 4 years you’ll be more valuable to me than a college grad.” Mike Twiford, Vice President of Purchasing at the Bennett’s Creek Nursery, started working for Coleman’s 50 years ago when he was 13. My father, Floyd Twiford, worked there and my first job was dipping tin cans in tar for

Above: John Lancaster

Left: Mike Twiford

nursery pots – we had no plastic pots back then. I did it year round. Hot tar was good in the winter, awful in the summer. Twiford grew into partnering with Lancaster in Mike’s Trainland, located first at Coleman’s and then at the Bennett’s Creek site, Junie was a very private person and could be very demanding. He expected a lot and worked you hard, but he instilled a work ethic in a lot of people. Junie always liked to make a buck but he always tried to give back. He was in the Bennett’s Creek Rescue Squad, the Ruritans, the Kiwanis, and supported the Tidewater Winds. He was good about doing favors but there would always be a payback when he’d ask you to volunteer to work the pancake breakfast or some other volunteer job. Charlie Parkerson was born in Portsmouth, the son of a sheet metal worker at the shipyard. When he was studying agriculture at Virginia Tech and needed an internship he turned to Junie Lancaster.

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