The Story Behind Heirloom Solutions
Written by Stephanie Benson
I was offered a basketball scholarship from Hillsdale College when I was a senior in high school. It was a win-win for our family, as it was an opportunity for me to continue to play the sport I loved while attending the best school in the country.
During my time at Hillsdale, I was blessed with a great group of teammates and friends, coaches and professors. The high expectations and standards Hillsdale placed in the classroom and on the basketball court helped me grow in all areas of my life. Learning how to balance a rigorous academic schedule while playing basketball wasn’t always easy, but as my Hillsdale basketball coach rightly said, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”
That lesson, along with everything else I learned at Hillsdale, helped prepare me for life as a wife and mother, and for running a business.
My husband, Bud, and I met when Bud first started working for Heirloom Solutions. It was working out in the fields together, working in the dirt and enjoying the fresh summer air, where our relationship was formed. A few short years later, we married on a beautiful fall day, and here we are!
My father, Bill, started Heirloom Solutions back in 2011. In the same way, I’ve been involved with the seed business over the years. About three years ago, Bud and I took over managing it. We’ve had our challenges, ups, and downs, just like anything in life, but we’ve been very blessed to be able to do what we love—to work in the garden, enjoy God’s creation, and do it all as a family.
We read in the book of Genesis, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (8:22). Every new growing season means a fresh start (which we often need and desire). It allows us a “do over” if things didn’t go so well the season before. It gives us an opportunity to create something wonderful, beautiful, and edifying.
Our goal first and foremost is to glorify God in all that we do. With that in mind, we strive to provide the best personal customer service and best heirloom seeds we can. We grow our own seeds in our trial gardens every spring and store them in a Munter’s unit to ensure the highest quality of seeds. We add new varieties each year based on customer requests and, of course, varieties we are interested in. (I love beautiful flowers, and it’s hard for me to narrow down what to add each year!)
We are excited about the opportunities God has given us and the relationships we have built along the way. You can learn more from our website at www.HeirloomSeedSolutions.com.
Stephanie (Heid) Benson graduated from Hillsdale College in 2003. She and her husband currently manage an heirloom seed company called Heirloom Solutions in Thomson, IL. They have two children, Ivy (3 ½) and Obadiah (2). Stephanie can be contacted at [email protected].
Published in February 2019.