Luke Paris
Welcome to the Meadowbrooke Gourd family Luke! I would like to introduce you to our newest member of the Meadowbrooke Gourds team, Luke Paris. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and is the youngest of the Paris children. He has an older sister, Karli, and brother, Jake. He lived there until around the 6th grade and then moved to central PA when his dad got a new job.
Luke began working here as part of the farm crew at the young age of 14. His older brother, Jake was already part of the farm crew. “He proved from the very beginning that even though he was younger, he was going to keep up with the older boys, especially his brother,” said Ben, Owner and Farm Manager at the time. Ben also mentioned that Luke always had a smile on his face and that he was always good at whatever job he was given.
When Luke became a senior at Big Spring School District, he began coming in for half a day to do a work experience co-op and after graduating, he became a full-time employee. Luke has floated in many different areas but says crafting is his favorite area to work in. The crafting room is where all the jigsaw cutting and most of the wood burning of our designs are done. He now has a permanent workstation in crafting and has been in this position for 1 ½ year. Because crafting takes a year plus to become proficient, and several years to be considered an expert, he still has his work occasionally checked by one of the master crafters. He said he has found burning to be the most difficult job for him to get down.
During his break, lunch and any other time he can fit it in and find willing participants (which is never very hard to do), he can be found at the company’s ping pong table. When not at work, he enjoys being outside, hunting, fishing, and the occasional video gaming. He also enjoys doing carpentry work, riding around in his new truck and still always has a smile on his face.
