Years ago, when I first met Jim Story of Pendleton, I knew I’d met a true friend. With a heart of gold and an attitude to match, Jim is the kind of person you can’t help but like. Jim is, by my definition, Mr. Pendleton. He’s Mr. Gardener. He’s also a true Gourd Head. He has been growing gourds of various kinds for years. He sends his gourds to designers and artists around the country.

I try to stop by and see Jim occasionally, as his health hasn’t been good. I found him one afternoon in his garage, surrounded by the leaves off a money tree. He was sitting in a chair, looking content.

Other friends stopped by while I was there, offering to help him in his garden. He tells me that he has had lots of help this year with his amazing garden, but that this is his last year of gardening. His health just can’t take it.

On a visit just a few weeks later, Jim took my kids, my mom and me on a tour of his garden. He showed us the different varieties of gourds, vegetables and flowers that he tended this year. He showed us how he trains gourds around poles to make a curly-cue. He gets very creative with the way he trains the gourds, from flattening them to stretching them. We were even more amazed when we learned that his entire garden had been under four feet of water over Labor Day weekend. We are scheduling another tour so we can see the gourds now that there’s been a frost. My kids seem to look forward to the visits, and they watch and listen to Jim with great interest.

There’s something so sincere about Jim. So gentle. So genuine. He’s the kind of friend who always knows how to encourage, to inspire and to help. The town of Pendleton is blessed to have such a citizen in its midst. Certainly I feel blessed having him as a friend.