ITEM

Rob Johnston, interviewed by Anu Dudley, September 22, 2001, at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine, about Johnny’s Selected Seeds, the company he founded in 1973.

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Identifier
NA2688 (local)
Date
September 22 2001 (Date created)
Summary

 Topics discussed include his move to Maine in 1974; buying his farm in Albion, Me. in 1975; looking for heirloom, short season seeds and other rare and imported seeds; the growth of the business; the development of various seed lines such as Baby Bear pumpkins and Lipstick red peppers; adding tools to the list of products they sell; the importance of customer feedback; comparison of Johnny’s with Burpees; social and cultural changes in the 1980s that undercut the organic, back-to-the-land ethos; hiring a manager; involvement with MOFGA and views on its future. 

Creator and/or Contributor
Rob Johnston (interviewee), Anu Dudley (interviewer)
Language
English (Languages)
Other Subject Headings
Seed crops (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Mail-order catalogs (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Cooperatives (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Back-to-the-land movements (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Organic farms (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Entrepreneurs (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Plant breeding (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Globalization (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Medicinal plants (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Business administration (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Maine Organic Farmers' and Gardeners' Association (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Youths (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Cultural change (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Temporal Coverage
1970 - 2001
Geographic Coverage
Albion, Maine (Geonames)
Unity, Maine (Geonames)
Dixmont, Maine (Geonames)
Acton, Massachusetts (Geonames)
Alstead, New Hampshire (Geonames)
New York, New York (Geonames)
St. Anthony, Newfoundland (Geonames)
Boston, Massachusetts (Geonames)
New Zealand (Geonames)
Waterville, Maine (Geonames)
Bar Harbor, Maine (Geonames)
Plymouth, New Hampshire (Geonames)
Related Entities:
Rob Johnston (interviewee)
Anu Dudley (interviewer)
Related Objects
First page of the transcript for NA 2688