Meet Jim Eastridge | Owner of Eastridge Farm

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jim Eastridge and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jim, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My wife, Jill, and I wanted to bring the family farm “back to life”. This property entered the family in 1919. During the 100 or so years of its existence, many different farming projects had been undertaken. There was corn production, soybean crops, pecan orchards, watermelons, peanuts, tung oil trees, timber, cattle and probably more that I’m not aware of. After my father passed away in 2009, my mother just kept a few cows in the pasture to keep the grass down. We wanted to bring the farm back to life again and share our little piece of heaven with the public, to see and enjoy what we have.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve been in sales and sales management my entire adult life. From telemarketing, restaurant management, home electronics to a 17 year career in the wireless industry that abruptly ended. When the door slammed on my wireless career, shortly after the passing of my dad, I was lost. I was more or less searching for the new me. I sold insurance, cars, even RV’s, never happy or satisfied with life in general. When my marriage of 25 years ended in divorce, I hit the proverbial wall. Not until I reconnected with Jill, who I’ve known for 35 years, did I begin to climb over that wall of despair. She literally picked me up off the side of the road. I was selling watermelons out of the back of my truck when she stopped to buy one. At that moment, my life changed and unbeknownst to me or her, was the beginning of Eastridge Farm. Our lives connected in such a way that would make a great TV movie. It was through her and with her that I was able to climb over the aforementioned wall. We married amidst the Covid pandemic in a ceremony broadcast on Facebook Live since we couldn’t have a large gathering because of Covid restrictions. While on our honeymoon, an eleven day road trip through nine states we had an epiphany. Driving through the countryside of Virginia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, we saw corn mazes and pumpkin patches dotting the hills and valleys, seemingly everywhere we looked. It was then we said “let’s do a corn maze. We wanted to do something that is fun for the entire family. We enlisted the help of a longtime friend to assist us with bringing our vision into reality. The fall of 2021 was the beginning of the annual “Maze at Eastridge Farm”. We recently celebrated our third year of The Maze. The reception from the community has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. The greatest reward is seeing the joy on the faces of the children and their parents or grandparents that have visited. Knowing we were a part of creating a lifetime memory for them is more than I can put into words. During this time, we were growing and selling watermelons. Jill noticed honeybees flying amongst the blooms and got the idea of getting a few beehives to help with pollination. Two honeybee colonies grew to five, then twelve to now over two dozen and growing. Not only do we get that sweet golden goodness, honey, we also use the beeswax and honey to make natural balms and soaps. Soon, we started receiving calls asking if we could remove bees from peoples homes. That led us to offering honeybee removal services. “Don’t exterminate. Let us relocate” is our motto! Beekeeping is a real buzz! Pun intended. We are not what you would call big time beekeepers. We have no desire to “bee” that. We’re just happy to do what we do on our modest little family farm. A few months ago we diversified our business by starting a freeze dried candy business to our offerings. I’d like to end with this. If you can glean anything from my ramblings it would be this. Be happy and have joy in what you do and be open to the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead. Block out the thoughts of “I could never do this or that” (insert your ideas here). Corn maze and honeybee farming was never, and I mean never, something I ever saw myself doing. Until I opened my eyes. You may not have a drastic life change or a TV movie love story that alters your life and opens your eyes. However, there may come a time that you are at a crossroad where your life can take a turn. Don’t be afraid to seize that opportunity to take that turn at the crossroad. Because you will have times when you are indeed afraid, for myriad reasons. Stay true to yourself, honest with yourself and others and do good things. As Casey Kasem said at the end of his Top 40 Countdown, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars”.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife Jill. To whom none of this would be possible without her support and encouragement to see the possibilities to use the platform of “The Farm” to not only better ourselves but to enrich the lives of others.

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