Marcia’s Blend Popcorn
One common question we get about our popcorn is: “Who is Marcia?”
Marcia is one of my best friends. We met in middle school band in the early 2000’s and quickly became inseparable. I am very lucky to have some pretty amazing friends, and she is one of them. We “clicked” right away - laughing at nothing, going to each other’s homes for movie nights on the weekends, and spending as much time as possible in the band room.
I always admired her willingness to try new things. She had a natural curiosity about most everything, and she could tell right away when something was important to you. She had a sparkle in her eye when she had a chance to try something new - whether that was traveling to a new country, trying a new recipe, or diving off a cliff on Lake Superior.
After high school, my group of friends dispersed to our respective colleges but at the same time, we stayed in touch as best as we could. Those were the times of instant messaging and Razr phones….thank goodness my cell minutes were free on evenings and weekends!
Beyond college we all settled into our adult lives. Marcia went on to vet school in Iowa to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. I would regularly get random emails from her at 11 pm when she wanted a study break - recently I came across one that she had sent on my birthday in 2011, a late night email that she wanted to make sure got to me before my birthday ended at midnight.
In 2020 when I told my friends I was starting this farm, Marcia was not at all surprised. She chuckled softly, knowing that starting a business was fitting for someone like me. My friends take annual camping trips up north, and in 2020 she joked that the entire trip was sponsored by Thompson Family Farm because I brought a cooler full of delicious produce, jams, pickles, and salsa.
In 2021, we tragically lost Marcia in a car accident. Losing such a great friend of 20+ years has been the hardest thing I have ever gone through. She was the kind of friend who you knew would always be there. The last hike that our friend group took with Marcia in February 2021, Marcia called out to me “Laura what are you growing new in your gardens this year?” I turned to face her and I said…. “Marcia, I’m growing POPCORN!”
Over the course of our friendship, we shared many, many, many large bowls of stovetop popcorn, which was always Marcia’s snack of choice. She would never use snazzy tools though, her preferred method was to put a pot on the stove and cook it. She would expertly swirl the kernel around the pot and dump part of it out so it wouldn’t overflow. Her old popcorn pot was always on the stove at her place.
After her accident, the idea came to me to grow popcorn in memory and honor of Marcia. I knew that would be a way I could bring Marcia with me on the farm. The idea of Marcia’s Blend was born. Proceeds from our sales go towards Prairie’s Edge Humane Society in Northfield in honor and memory of Marcia.
I miss Marcia every single day and I wish beyond measure that she was here to help with the process of growing my popcorn every year. On those especially difficult days, I walk down to my popcorn patch and sit there for a while. I am so grateful for my friendship with her, even though 20 years was way too short. I am especially grateful that her spirit lives on here on the Thompson Family Farm.
