One Good Woman

Many customers have been asking about my Dad. Let me report Oliver Sylvester Ebersole, Jr. “Bus” to those who know him well is doing just fine. Last week he celebrated his ninety sixth Birthday (he says he is going for a hundred) at the Hideaway in Mt. Gretna.

Surrounded by family and lifelong friends, Bus was in top form. “I never knew how much work it was living 96 years,” he said. Dad now lives at the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown. The facility and the people there are outstanding.  “It is like an Ivy League College,” Dad says “But I don’t have to take the tests. I like that, I wasn’t too smart.”  When we were leaving the Hideaway I asked Dad if he enjoyed his birthday he said, “Yes, but your coffee is better.” Everybody should have a Dad like mine!

Joe is planning to bring Dad to the shop when the weather gets warmer. Meanwhile, if you would like to drop Dad a line:

Oliver Ebersole

600 Freemason Dr

Laffyette East Masonic Village
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

I am writing this from the New York Gift Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Attending the gift and the Food Shows are the most important thing I do at One Good Woman. It is here I find the new, the unusual and hopefully the wonderful to bring back to Central Pennsylvania and our customers online.

So far several things stand out:
First, the attendance at the show is very high and the enthusiasm is contagious. This is a good sign after a down year. Second, brights are in for the spring. At the same time linens and the industrial look is very strong. Gardens are hot and we will be bringing cute new hats, gloves and accessories so get ready to eat your vegetables. The other thing that stands out to me is birds. Birds are everywhere at the show. I am trying to find ways to incorporate them in our store.

I have to go now, Joe’s picking me up at the train station.

One Good Woman does things on a different schedule than most people…For instance, anyone who came in during the Holiday rush knows how insane things were. Therefore we always wait until things are calm in January to get all the girls (and our two guys!) together to celebrate a wonderful season with good food and lots of laughter.

This year we celebrated at Holly’s house, with food prepared by Pure Taste, a local “Healthy Gourmet to Go” company. The food was absolutely fabulous, the wine was delicious and the company was amazing…of course, that’s what happens when you get more than “one good woman” in a room together!

Here are a few of our photos from the night…and a special thank you to all of our girls and guys at One Good Woman: Holly, Joe, Tom, Carole, AnneMarie, Margie, Doris, Cathy, Lori, Laura, Barb, Ashley, Angela, Dottie, Rosemary, Darby & Merry.

Catered by Chef Kevin at Pure Taste

Joe and Tom, our two Good Men, and Cathy

Joe cutting our Goat Cheese Tart!

Barb…enjoying our appetizers

Lori, Holly and Cathy

Joe, Lori and Cathy…never too many cooks in the kitchen!

The One Good Woman Gang!

Holly came to me 15 years ago and said, “All my life I have wanted to start a business.” And from that moment to right now, starting and growing One Good Woman has consumed every bit of our creativity, our energy, our courage and our enthusiasm. For me being part of creating a successful business has been a fantastic experience.

The biggest surprise to me was how nice the people I came in contact were. The One Good Woman customers are great. They appreciate anything you do for them and they are ready to return the favor. It takes great customers to make a great business and One Good Woman customers are the very, very best.

I can not forget the ladies who work at One Good Woman. These dedicated women have been a revelation. They are inspiring in their professionalism. Here I was one guy working with 16 women and I can say without a hesitation these ladies were fun, easy and we never had a dull moment. Thank you so much!

So now I move on to writing projects that have been on hold too long. I read somewhere that a poem was any worthwhile place you could put your heart and soul. One Good Woman for me has been a poem. It is bright and expressive, it is full of color and life, it delivers the goods every single time.

I appreciate so much the honor of being a part of it.

One of the big lessons of my life is that I can’t do two things at once. I have learned if I try to do too much, in the end all the things I am trying to do get short-changed. It was a hard lesson but I am so glad I learned it because it comes in handy at a time like this.

The country is in a funk. The news is full of things I can do without. The weather has turned cold. I feel rushed, over-scheduled and put-upon. Meanwhile I am trying to do Christmas for my 95 year old father, my family, my friends and my neighbors, all while I run the business.

That’s where the lesson ‘do one thing and do it well’ comes in. When I am in the shop I work my butt off to make the holidays wonderful for my customers. With great customers it is actually pretty easy. When I shut the door and walk away I leave the business there. Done.

For Christmas I start with the people I know who most need a Holiday cheer and do my absolutely very best for them. No holding back. Then I find the causes that are important to me- feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless, children – any time, any place I can help kids I do it.

Then comes family and friends and the giving and receiving that make us a wonderful community.

Finally, let me tell you the one thing I do not do. I don’t worry about myself…not at all…ever. I have been given everything I need. My job is to share what I have been given. Besides if I am I working for my own achievement that is doing two things at once and I will surely short-change this magnificent season.

When I was a little girl my mom preached to me. “Smart people think about other people. Dumb people think about themselves.” My Mom wanted to be a smart person and wanted me to be smart but there is a whole lot more to my Mom’s simple wisdom.

Smart people help other people and because they are helping other people they don’t worry about themselves. They don’t get depressed. They don’t go negative. Smart people live happy, productive, contributing lives.

I thought smart was something you found in school. Wrong. Smart isn’t something any IQ test will uncover. Smart is helping others plain and simple. Smart is not looking for payback but accepting what comes.

At One Good Woman we think of ourselves as smart people. We aren’t smart because we made money last year. We are smart because we gave 104 donations to worthwhile groups and agencies. We are smart because we care about others. We are smart because we contribute to our community in every way we can.

My Mom’s little kernel of wisdom has grown into a philosophy of life and a successful business. Thanks Mom.

Hello!

Everyone at One Good Woman is excited to have a blog. Frankly it was strange to me until Laura, my blog expert, said, “A blog is just a way to get to know more people.” I like that!

My entire life has been in retail from the lemonade stand in front of my house in Hummelstown, PA to the biggest department stores on the East Coast. I have seen and done all there is to do in retail. Nothing I have done compares with owning and operating my own business.

When I finally took the plunge and opened my own store my husband gave me great advice. He said, “Listen to your customers, and let them tell you what to do.” I have followed that advice every step of the way.

Now we start a new chapter on the Internet, my pledge to you is to get you great things for not a lot of money. Your job is to tell me what you like and need. This will be a win/win.

The secret to a great business is great customers. I have a great business and I want to welcome you aboard.

Welcome!

As cold weather approaches, try some of our delicious coffee or tea.

Just Added: our Pumpkin Spice and Apple Crisp Coffee!!