For over 60 years, Concord grapes could be purchased at stands along Route 66, and later Interstate 44, just outside St. James, Missouri. As vineyard owners aged, and younger generations turned their backs on the labor-intensive work required to maintain and harvest the grape, the number of stands have dwindled to five. Mike Ripplemeyer is the youngest of the surviving stand owners and is determined to maintain the tradition. His stand, 4M Vineyards at mile marker 200 on Interstate 44 east of St. James, was a family enterprise, worked by himself, his grandparents and father. He alone now survives to carry on the grape stand tradition, as well as the family business, but to do so requires he diversify to economically survive.
Diversity! To survive in the vineyard business, Mike Ripplemeyer diversifies his income sources, and handling repossessions for banks is just one of many inventive ideas to economically bridge the gaps in being a vineyard grower. The stand is closed and Mike has received paperwork from a bank to repossess a truck located 15 miles away. He somehow has found time today to pick up a key for the vehicle just in case he cannot locate the owner, or if the owner refuses to turn over the keys. It’s now 7:30 p.m., and if they’re lucky, they’ll stop for dinner about 9 p.m. on their return. His partner Jody Elijah goes along to provide a calming effect for the luckless owner who doesn’t realize he is about to lose his truck tonight.
PHOTO BY Nancy Crase / MPW.60