Our friend Melody....

Our hearts are heavy since yesterday. In the middle of bottling Nouveau, I received a call from Lonnie sharing the news with me that his wife--our dear friend--Melody had passed away a few hours earlier.

Those of you who are our customers may not have known her by name, but she had been a fixture at Allegro since the early 1980s. She first started coming here when John and Tim were starting out. I've seen pictures of her labeling, picking, working festivals. She did absolutely everything she could for us from the very beginning.  Most recently, you could find her working at the winery, at Tollgate, or sometimes even in Enola or Mechanicsburg.

The amazing thing about Melody--or, "Mel" as we called her--was that she was always thinking about us and rarely thought about herself. When my wife Kris and I came to Allegro, Mel was always the person we could count on. Without her, we would have never succeeded in having a stand at Central Market in York. She made that work. Whenever I would ask her to cover or pitch in somewhere, she would do it in a heartbeat...sometimes leaving groceries on the kitchen floor in order to rush off to Harrisburg to help out.

Always, whenever I asked for conflicts when it was scheduling time, she wouldn't share hers with me, only saying that I could schedule her anywhere, anytime. I tried not to ask too much of her, but she seemed to thrive on it. I remember once trying to send her home when she wasn't feeling well, and she thought I was crazy.

The memory that will most likely stick with me longest, though, is that she treated me like I was her little boy most of the time. Called me names like my mother called me. I think she felt like a mom to Allegro, and in a lot of ways she was. She took care of us, and in turn Allegro, I hope, brought her joy.


We'll miss you, Mel. Take care.

Comments

  1. I am so sorry about the loss of your friend.

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  2. Wow, I can't believe she is gone. I know she wasn't doing well over the last few years. She really was one of the sweetest people, and I'm privleged to have worked with her at market. She was my partner is crime there. Mel, you will be sadly missed!!! Marybeth Gallagher

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