Add Being Late to a Mother’s To-Do List

In the spirit of the busy life a working mother has these days and the lack of hours in a day to sometimes accomplish the always expanding to-do list, this email turned into a “Flashback Friday” instead of a “Throwback Thursday.”

A picture can be worth a thousand words, especially one with such important individuals. For those of you who do not know these family members, from left to right are: Barbara Bishop (my grandmother and wife of 4th Generation member Al Bishop), Arthur Bishop (3rd Generation – my great-grandfather), and Diane Bishop van der Grinten (my aunt – 5th Generation).  This photo was taken while family and staff were celebrating Arthur’s birthday around 1980.  Barbara, my grandmother, would ALWAYS make the time to bake a cake for everyone’s birthday, her father-in-law being no exception! Whether in the breakroom at the farm, Arthur’s office or back home with family, baking was always her favorite thing to do! Her handwritten recipe cards have all been computerized and imported onto our website’s ‘Bishop’s Cookbook’, as well as recipes that still to this day, are used in our Kitchen and Bakery. Barbara’s Blueberry Buckle is still a #1 seller and a dessert very well known throughout the shoreline, and personally my favorite, right after her raspberry pie!

Both Barbara and Diane spent years working in the business, while also raising families of their own. But they are not the only ones!  The Bishop “Moms” have all played vital roles in our family business for generations.  Back when the staff was small and all hands on deck were needed, Barbara ran our cash office and filled in wherever else she was needed. Diane started working outside when she was in high school, then leaving for college where she got a teaching degree. After teaching for a few years, she accepted the family’s offer in 1997, to bring her in as the Kitchen and Bakery Manager. Around 2010, Diane left the business to go back to teaching.  While Barbara is officially retired, and Diane has changed career paths, there are still female family members putting in long days at the farm market in various capacities and managing their families at home.  My mother, Debbie Bishop, who started working at the farm market before my parents married, followed in the footsteps of her mother-in-law (Barbara) and now manages the Cash office and Payroll.  Back in the day, you would find her on a register, with at least one of her 4 kids usually around, quarantined in an apple bin as  a makeshift playpen with a few toys!

Though our business might have started as B.W. Bishop’s & Sons, and we have had so many male role models in our lives to look up to and follow in the footsteps of, we would be remiss in acknowledging the amazing women that have played an extremely vital part in the business along the way and their dedication to our families.  The role of women in the business has evolved so much to the point where now, the 6th generation of Bishops have two women running the day to day operations of the company, and our spouses are in the wings  lending a hand when needed during the busy and vital times. Such role reversal from the previous generations. We often joke how we should change the sign to be “& Daughters.”  My sister Carrie and I are full-time working Moms, and our dedication to the business and our families, embodies those of past generations especially our own mother and grandmother.  This weekend we celebrate and honor the love, sacrifice and unselfish generosity of all those who fill the role of MOTHER in our lives. We hope that they all get a weekend filled with joy, laughter, relaxation and admiration.

And to our own mother… Happy Mother’s Day! We are thankful for all that you do, your continued love and support of our family, and for being the role model that helped shape who we are today.  We love you!

“If mothers were flowers, we would hand pick them all!”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sarah Bishop DellaVentura