Wow, December is just flying by! Christmas is right around the corner, and I know I’m not the only one filled with excitement for this special holiday. Here at Miller’s we love this season of joy. We love getting our lights hung on the porch, and little touches of Christmas can be seen all around our store and custom shop. We hope that every time you visit our store you feel the Christmas cheer. I know one employee in particular that will never fail to make you smile and bring that Christmas joy into your day. If you are a regular store customer then Lea’s face is not a new one.

Lea Wangerin was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany and moved to the United states when she was 5 years old. Her father served our country in the military, which caused many moves throughout her childhood. She grew up in New York, with her 7 siblings and Lea was the second oldest of the Wangerin children. Lea has enjoyed baking ever since she was young, and her kitchen memories stretch way back. Lea’s mother was a talented pastry chef in Germany, so Lea loved learning all her mothers baking tricks so that she would become a great baker herself. The two of them love the Christmas season, and take pride in their holiday treats. Lea explained to me that she and her mother made cookies together every Christmas, they would fill giant tins with delicious homemade goodies for all the neighbors. She elaborated and told me they would make at least six different kinds of cookies, and invite others into their home to bake with them and enjoy the tasty results of their work. Growing up Lea’s specialty was brownies, she told me that they had a spectacular recipe, and everyone loved when we would whip up some delicious brownies. She also spent a lot of time making bread throughout her years at home, her mom is known for homemade sourdough bread. Lea’s baking days definitely didn’t end in her childhood home. She went on to be a head baker at a food co-op for about 2 years, and now uses her talent here at Miller’s Meat Market. It was about a year ago when Lea began working here at Miller’s. She had moved to our area not knowing anything about our store, but a close friend thought it would be a good fit for Lea. She was then approached by Sherri Miller, who offered her a job. Lea cheerfully told me that she and Sherri hit it off right away, and she quickly fell in love with Miller’s Meat Market. She said with a smile that Miller’s is the nicest place she has ever worked, and she thoroughly enjoys interacting with all the customers. Lea spends her days at work baking, cashing out customers at the register, and helping out anywhere else that she is needed. Her goal everyday is to “make people happy however [she] can”. Since Lea started working at Miller’s, she has learned more about different cuts of meat, and has expanded her baking experience even further. Her days at the cash register have showed her that there are still so many nice and amazing people in the world.

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What is Lea’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market product??

“It is a hard choice because I love so many things, but I have to go with the double smoked pepperoni, maple cotton candy, and the maple pecan granola we sell.”

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Lea has gotten very creative in the Miller’s Meat Market bakery. This memorial day we introduced new cheesecake pies that had beautiful and festive designs that suited the holiday perfectly. Those were amazingly created by Lea! She hand placed each fresh strawberry and blueberry into lovely flag or floral designs that made the perfect topping for her creamy no-bake cheesecake. She made each cheesecake that we sold. Since this dessert was a hit for memorial day, we went on to sell them for the 4th of July and then for the remainder of the summer months. When the holidays came around, Lea came up with new variations of her cheesecake. We now sell a pumpkin cheesecake, and a mixed berry compote cheesecake. Both are full of flavor, and absolutely delicious. New this holiday season is also two kinds of homemade cupcakes, both made by Lea herself. The first is a hot chocolate cupcake, with a brownie like cake and yummy marshmallow frosting. The second is a gingerbread cupcake! A chocolate base with gingersnap flavored frosting and crumbled gingersnap cookies on top! Lea tested many different ways to make each of these cupcakes to make sure she was giving our customers her best. The employees were thrilled on taste-testing days, every treat was great in our eyes but Lea just kept making them better and better! When I tried Lea’s cupcakes, she asked me which one I preferred, and I just could not choose! Both the cheesecake pies and the cupcakes are perfect for holiday get-togethers. If you order either of these products, you are guaranteed to get a dessert made by Lea. She does each order herself, and does a fantastic job.

Now is the time to place an order for one of Lea’s treats! If you need a contribution to a meal or gathering, these are the perfect desserts! A half dozen cupcakes costs $4.99, and the cheesecakes are $15 each. I think you all need to try Lea’s baking for yourself. I have loved getting to know Lea while she’s been working at Miller’s, and I hope you have enjoyed getting to know her through this blog as well. When Lea isn’t working she loves hanging out with her friends, travelling and going on trips, she loves being outdoors when the weather is nice and she also enjoys photography. Lea’s big dream would be to open a florist shop! She would want to incorporate baking into her shop, and have her baked goods for sale inside. She told me that she would love to highlight German baking, and make new things for people to try. While we all hope Lea’s dreams come true someday, we love having her at Miller’s Meat Market and we are glad that she is here to stay for the time being! Next time you are in the store be sure to give Lea a big smile, she will without a doubt return the favor!

Thank you all for reading the blog! Although they are posted much less regularly than in the past it still brings me great joy when I can put one out for all my readers.

Remember to spread peace and joy throughout every day, and have a very Merry Christmas!

In honor of school starting back up again, I wanted to introduce our teacher on staff! Kiersten Lehman joins our team here at Miller’s Meat Market during the summer months to take charge of the bakery. However, now that the new school year is starting, we unfortunately have to say our goodbyes to Kiersten as she is starting her teaching career this year as a second grade teacher at Beaver River Central School. I thought it would be fun to interview Kiersten about her time at Miller’s before she starts her new job in the school system. It is never fun to say goodbye to a co-worker, but we are so excited that Kiersten is pursing her dream to be a teacher!

As I already stated, Kiersten becomes the head of the bakery when she comes back to help us in the summer. This was her 4th summer at Miller’s, her first being the summer between her freshman and sophomore year of college, so by now she has a great understanding of what needs to get done and how to do things right. She attended college and graduated from Roberts Wesleyan, and Kiersten needed a job to continue paying off the costs of her schooling. She already knew many of the Miller’s employees because they are a part of her church family, so joining the staff was easy and smooth. The people she works with continue to be the reason she enjoys her time at Miller’s, and everyone who works with Kiersten appreciates everything she does very much. She spends her day busily working on tasks such as making the side salads we sell in the store, keeping the bakery organized, pricing bakery items, and of course baking all the delicious treats we have for sale. Out of all the important jobs she has, Kiersten told me that baking cakes has to be her favorite. Kiersten has always just been a summer helper, except for last year when the Covid-19 virus changed her plans. When schools shut down in March of 2020, Kiersten was of course stripped the opportunity to work as a substitute teacher. She then joined us to work a little earlier than she normally would, and helped us through the Covid craziness from March until school started back up again in September. This past school year Kiersten got the opportunity to work in a 9 month long substitute teacher position, but this September marks the official beginning of her career, in her own classroom, with her own group of second grade students. Kiersten explained to me a few of the things she has learned while working at Miller’s, some of those things being time management, how to properly prioritize tasks, and how to successfully plan out a day of work. All of these small lessons will surely help her as she begins the life of a full time teacher.

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What is Kierstens favorite Miller’s Meat Market product?

Hands down, the Potato Salad!

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Outside of work in the school system, and her summer job at Miller’s, Kiersten enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves to hangout with the special people in her life, as well as watch movies and go out to eat. Currently, her favorite movie is “The Greatest Showman”, and her favorite place to eat out is Stephanos! There are so many great things about Kiersten that will make her an amazing teacher. She has a fun personality, and a kind spirit with a passion for teaching. All of us here at Miller’s Meat Market are sad that we won’t have her in the bakery anymore, but we are overjoyed that she has an opportunity to do what she truly loves. We want to wish her the best of luck in her first official school year. When talking to Kiersten in preparation for this write-up I asked her how long she knew she wanted to be a teacher. Her response to me was that ever since she was 7, and a second grader herself, she always dreamed of being a 2nd grade teacher. What a blessing it is to have that dream come true. If you have a second grader headed to Beaver River elementary school this year, maybe they will be luck enough to have Miss. Lehman as their teacher!

Thank you for reading this weeks blog! We hope everyone involved in the school systems have a smooth transition into a new year. There will be new fall content on the blog now that the summer months are over, so be sure to keep checking us out every Tuesday! Have a great day, and an amazing start to the school year!

Hello, everybody! This week I am taking you behind the scenes of Miller’s Meat Market, AND introducing you to another one of our employees! A special two in one combo! Today you will be meeting Andrew Johnson, and learning what his role is here at Miller’s. Every Wednesday Andrew is in charge of smoking the store and custom shop items that we need for the week. Allow me to tell you a little more about Andrew, and his meat smoking responsibilities.

Andrew is more commonly referred to by his last name, “Johnson”, by all his coworkers at Miller’s. Andrew graduated from Beaver River Highschool in 2017, and it was that final year of high-school where his involvement in Miller’s began. Johnson was a standout student in the culinary arts program at BOCES his junior and senior year of high-school, and when the time came for Andrew to start an internship at a local business, Miller’s Meat Market seemed to be a good fit for him. After a tour of our facilities, Andrews interest in Miller’s had peeked and he later found out that he would in fact be interning at Miller’s for about six weeks. However, after his internship and graduation from high-school, joining the Miller’s Meat Market team as a paid employee was not Andrew’s immediate next step. Instead, he headed to further his culinary education at SUNY Cobleskill for a semester. Following this semester of college, Andrew decided to return to Miller’s, where he has been working ever since.

Andrew enjoys working at Miller’s for a few different reasons. He is grateful to work where hours are flexible, while at the same time there is always work to do so he knows he will always be putting in the time he needs to. Johnson’s responsibilities are quite widespread, he runs the polyclip machine which packages burger and sausage, he does some stuffing, and also works at the cutting table from time to time depending on how busy things are. He, surprisingly enough, enjoys cleaning the most! He likes working on Saturday’s which are mostly cleaning days for the custom shop. He likes cleaning up his equipment, and organizing the kitchen so that he knows things are ready to run smoothly during the upcoming week. Another job that he would consider a favorite of his would be wrapping scallops in bacon, and skewering them. Some future goals Johnson has are to be able to purchase and move into a house, and get a new car! Andrew has always loved and been interested in the food industry, even outside of work he loves to cook, grill and have barbeques, and he also loves to golf! During his time here at Miller’s Andrew has learned a number of valuable lessons, one of those being how to drive clutch…in Andrew’s earlier years at Miller’s he would smoke ribs out front for our customers to purchase, and one time Andrew was being taught how to move the smoker so that he could take care of it himself after rib barbeques. Well the learning process had it’s hiccups which included damaging the store chimney, Andrew had (accidently of course) driven the tractor into the side of the store due to his lack of knowledge on clutch driving. However, he assured me that he is now an expert, and that he has not harmed any other buildings with any other vehicles since that day. Thank goodness!

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What are Andrew’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market products?

He enjoys beef Pepperjack Hotdogs, beef Cheddar Bacon Burgers & Pepperjack Burgers, and he says you can never go wrong with our bacon!

“Adding our bacon to anything automatically makes it better.” -Andrew

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Now that you know a little more about Andrew, I want to tell you more about the meat he smokes every Wednesday. Have you ever had any of our deli meat from the store? Well if you have, it was smoked by Andrew! As far as store items go, he makes the pulled pork, smoked sandwich pork loin, smoked turkey breast, and roast beef. These items can be purchased in our retail store, all four of these items are deliciously smoked in house so they have great flavor and can be eaten right from the package! Fresh meat to make great sandwiches! Andrew doesn’t only smoke items for the store, there also is a list of things that can be smoked in the custom shop. When farmers bring their animals to us, we take instructions on how to cut the beef or pork for the farmers customers. There are some smoked meat options, such as smoked pork ribs, beef short ribs, beef brisket, roast beef and we can also make pulled pork or sandwich pork loin from their pig as well. These are all products that Andrew smokes weekly if custom shop customers have these items on their instructions. Some people also may bring us turkey breasts to be smoked, or occasionally fish! When smoking we only use locally sourced cherry wood, every single time! Andrew has been doing this job every week starting sometime in the first year he got employed here at Miller’s, so he has the routine down pat! He is a very valuable employee who has an important job, and he does that job very well. Below are some photos of our deli roast beef, turkey breast, and pork loin.

It has been a pleasure talking about Andrew, and the meat he smokes every week! If you haven’t tried our smoked deli items in the store, what are you waiting for!? Next time you stop by make sure you give them a try, and now you will know who makes those items! If you don’t live nearby, our deli cuts are also available to be purchased online and be shipped to you. I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about another one of our employees, and getting some behind the scenes insight into the process of smoking our deli meat and other products! Thank you for reading the blog, you know what to do next week!

Have an amazing Tuesday, everybody!

We know that so many of our customers are huge fans of our chicken barbeques! Every Friday in the summer months we have marinated chicken halves cooking for you to purchase and enjoy right away! You can purchase a chicken halve for $8, or a whole meal for $10! (Please note these prices are accurate as of June 22nd 2021.) The meal would include your chicken, a roll, chips, and your choice of side, between the delicious options of macaroni salad, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans! Once you decide what you’d like, we invite you to sit and eat across the road at our picnic tables. The weather is getting nicer, and there is nothing better than barbeque chicken on a beautiful day! I know sitting in the sun isn’t always a blast, but we also sell freshly squeezed lemonade with our chicken barbeques to keep you hydrated with a delightful drink! If you have come to our chicken barbeque in the past, then there is a very high chance you were greeted and served by the young ladies I’m going to introduce you to today! I’d like you to meet our core four chicken servers! Jade Miller, Mia Widrick, Rain Miller, and Brin Miller all have their own jobs when it comes to serving you chicken. They have learned their jobs well, and have fun while working! Occasionally other young helpers are around to do jobs as well, but these four girls are a key part in our Friday barbeques.

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Six year old Brin Miller is always excited when Friday comes around, she loves helping out at chicken barbeques! Out of all the girls who serve you, Brin enjoys it the most. She is an ambitious young girl, always looking for a way to be helpful. Brin’s job when it comes to serving chicken dinners is to make sure you get your chips and roll! As soon as you walk up to the table she bounces out of her seat and gets to serving you immediately, ready to put your roll and chips into your to-go container. She also proudly told me that she put the “B”s on the containers of baked beans! If you were to ask Brin which side you should choose with your chicken barbeque meal, baked beans would be her answer! Of all the side options, the beans are her favorite! On occasion Brin get’s to help with the family business outside of chicken barbeques, she can sometimes be found helping in the bakery and glazing the doughnuts our customers love so much! When the chicken barbeque line has died down Brin likes to sip on mountain dew, however she made a point to tell me she doesn’t drink her soda in front of customers. She has work to do then! Next time you come and get some chicken make sure you say hi to this young but hard-working girl!

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What is Brin’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market product?

When I asked Brin this question she quickly answered, “the gum!”

As Brin gets older we all hope she realizes we do not make our own gum. :)

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Rain Miller has her own role in chicken barbeques, and she is amazing at her job! Rain is 8 years old, and has been helping out with barbeques for a couple of years now. When you order a chicken dinner, Rain will speak right up say “What would you like for a side?” If you aren’t sure what your options are then Rain will happily list them off for you, and put your side container in your to-go box! Rain prefers the macaroni salad out of all the side choices, so if you ask her for an opinion that’s probably what she would say! Rain isn’t a shy young girl, she speaks well to customers at just 8 years old! In the photos of Rain below, you can see her labeling the tops of the side containers so she knows which is which, and you can also see her pursuing her role as the “runner” of the group. If the girls are short on something then Rain is often the one to run along and get what they need. Rain is a spunky youngun with a good sense of humor, but she also knows when it is time to do her job. Now you’ll know the name of the young lady asking what side you want with your chicken dinner!

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What is Rain’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market product?

She loves the Appalachian Ch’arki, because it isn’t too spicy!

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Mia Widrick is quite experienced when it comes to Friday chicken barbeque serving. She is now 12 years old, but she began working the barbeques when she was 6 or 7 years old. Mia’s main role is to handle the money from customers when they purchase chicken or meals. Back in her early years of helping out, Mia and Jade used to fight on the bus ride to Miller’s over who would get to handle the money that day! It was a coveted job back then! Mia is very mature for her age, and handles the busy Fridays well. She actually really enjoys when things get busy, “I think it’s fun!” she told me. It would be easy for a 12 year old to get overwhelmed with a long line of customers on a hot summer day, but Mia thrives in customer service and does her job well. When things aren’t as crazy, Mia and the other girls past time by playing competitive games of checkers. Maybe you have seen our checker table outside the store, well these girls put it to good use on Fridays! If Mia is hungry during the day the side option she would choose to snack on would be macaroni salad, just like Rain! Make sure you greet Mia with a smile next time she cashes you out at the chicken barbeque table!

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What is Mia’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market product?

Mia loves the Maple Snappies!

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Jade Miller is who I would consider to be the head of this crew. She is 14 years old, but the chicken barbeques are far from a new experience. Jade estimates she started helping out at the barbeques when she was about 5 years old. Her and her family (Darrell Miller family), moved into the house attached to the store building when she was 5, and she specifically remembers receiving a jean skirt from her Grandma Charlene for her 5th birthday. Jade told me she could recall how “wore it the next day to work at the chicken barbeque.” Jades job is to put your chicken in the to-go container, and occasionally she takes care of the money when Mia is busy with something else. If you ask Jade what side you should choose with your meal she would recommend the potato salad, but she likes macaroni salad just as much. Jade typically comes out to the store around ten o’clock in the morning to set things up, that leaves her about an hour of preparation time before things start moving at the chicken barbeque table! Jade is always overseeing the table, making sure everything is running smoothly and getting done right. She is a great big sister to Rain and Brin and is a hardworking example to the girls.

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What is Jade’s favorite Miller’s Meat Market product?

Jade enjoys Hillbilly Ch’arki and Ring Bologna the most!

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While these four ladies really keep things on track during our busy Fridays, they aren’t the only young girls helping out around the shop. We have helpers of all ages! Below you can see photos of Mia’s younger sisters! First, Gracia is helping out in the bakery. She was given the job of labeling the sides for chicken barbeque, so that the girls outside know which is which! Aria is in the next photo, also overseeing things in the bakery and helping out with things as she is asked to. Raeleigh can be found following her Grandmother, Charlene, waiting for a job to be given to her. She looks up to the older ladies who work, and can always be found tagging along while they diligently do their tasks! If you see any of these younguns around, be sure to give them a smile or a wave. We love having such bright spirits running around, eager to be helpful at every moment.

A great group of working young ladies.

(Top) Sydnee Miller, Jade Miller

(Bottom) Rain Miller, Brin Miller

This group of girls are nothing but young and hard workers. They are great at what they do, and like to do it! It is so fun for me to introduce our workers to you, each of our employees are valuable in their own special way, and I have found such joy in telling you about the people who make the Miller’s Meat Market experience pleasant for all our customers. If you have been to our chicken barbeque before, then these may be familiar faces. However if you haven’t visited us on chicken barbeque day we hope you do soon, these young ladies would love to meet you! Thank you for coming to see what I had to share today!

Remember to check out the blog next Tuesday! Have a fantastic day, everybody!

I am so excited to introduce Jedidiah and Carolyn Denney! This newly married couple brings so much to Miller’s Meat Market, and I am thrilled to be sharing their story with you! Both Carolyn and Jedidiah are valuable employees here at Miller’s, and working together was just the beginning of their relationship.

Carolyn Lapp started working at Miller’s September 10th, 2015. She works in the custom shop as well as the retail store, in the custom shop she works as a vacuum packer and in the store she helps out in the bakery. Carolyn has been working here for a number of years and she has always been a hard worker who gets things done and is reliable when there is a problem that needs to be solved. Carolyn explained to me that she doesn’t really have one job that she prefers over another, or one position that she enjoys most. She doesn’t mind what she’s working on as long as she is with her co-workers, who are also her close friends. She likes to visit with those around her while she works, and it’s the personal relationships that she loves most about her job.

Jed has not been working at Miller’s as long as Carolyn has, he was the new kid on the block when he and Carolyn first met. Jed’s first day of work was November 13th, 2019 which was a day that Carolyn had off of work, so she had the pleasure of meeting him for the first time on the 14th. Jed also works in both the retail store and the custom shop. In the custom shop he is at the cutting table, cutting beef or pork according the instructions customers give. In the store Jed serves customers from behind the meet counter, and fills store orders throughout the day. Jed told me that his favorite job is simply cutting meat, he likes to be doing hands on work and really get things done in an efficient manner. Jed has become a key part in the retail store, and is a go to person if someone has a question that needs answering.

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What Miller’s Meat Market products do Jed and Carolyn like best?

Carolyn really loves the barbeque chicken that we make on Fridays in the summertime, and Jeds favorite is the old style summer sausage.

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So, I sat down with Jedidiah and Carolyn and asked them a number of questions about their relationship and how it all started! Obviously, the couple met at work and got to know each other that way initially. Jedidiah was who had initiated the relationship, he first had interest in Carolyn, but he actually didn’t even know Carolyn’s name for about his first two months working! She had known his name because, well, he was the new guy! It took a little longer for Jed to catch on to matching a name with Carolyn’s pretty face. Carolyn told me about her first impression of Jed, she said that he was just so helpful and treated other people with kindness. This was her first impression of him because of the way he had treated her on his very first day of work. On Jedidiah’s first day at Miller’s there was also a brand new freezer trailer that had come in. It was new that day, so there hadn’t been a ramp or steps built for it yet, so it was difficult to get in and out of at that time. That day Carolyn was trying to climb up into the trailer, in a jean skirt, and she could have struggled her way up in there herself without any help but she didn’t need to. Jed reached out his hand and helped her get into the trailer. Yes, a small gesture, but Carolyn noted how quickly Jedidiah was willing to help her, and to this day that is what Carolyn admires most about Jedidiah. His good habit of unconsciously assisting the people that surround him.

Jedidiah and Carolyn’s first date came on the 27th of December, 2019. Jed said it was the night of a Christmas banquet that he was planning on attending, he had finished up at work and headed out to his vehicle. On his way out he passed Carolyn and few other ladies, and he said he assumed they were going to be coming out soon after. So Jedidiah decided to start the girls vehicles for them, and wait for them to come outside so he could ask Carolyn if she would join him at the banquet. Jed said he was waiting for around 30 minutes! After more time than he had anticipated passed by, Jed thought he’d just give up and head home. Then as soon as he was going to shut the cars off that he had been getting warm for his lady co-workers, out they came. Jed did then ask Carolyn to the banquet, but she said no! However, fortunately she didn’t shut him down completely. Carolyn suggested something a little more casual and the two of them decided to head to the movie theater in Watertown to see “Spies in the Skies”. Carolyn said that she was clueless, she had no idea about Jedidiah’s interests in her! They eventually started dating officially on January 12th 2020. They’re dating was pretty casual, they mostly enjoy getting milkshakes and then going up and sitting under the windmills, talking and enjoying the view. In order to spend more time with Carolyn, Jedidiah would tell his family he was working late and go to the windmills with her. Jed plays softball, and Carolyn would always go to his games and then of course they would go to the windmills afterwards to have good conversations and enjoy each other’s company under the stars. Under the windmills was they’re favorite spot to go, and eventually it would become even more special to them than it already was. On August 25th, 2020 Jedidiah proposed to Carolyn under the windmill that they would always go to. Carolyn said that once again she was clueless and caught off guard, but nevertheless knew her answer to his question. The couple became engaged, and on their path to marriage. Carolyn explained to me that she has had a heart shaped ring for years, she always wore it and loves it. While Jed was ring shopping for his future wife he laid his eyes on a heart shaped engagement ring and he knew it was the one for Carolyn. The wedding planning was exciting and stressful, but of course the couple kept looking forward to the happy day that was ahead of them. Carolyn found her perfect wedding dress on her first trip looking and her bridesmaids dresses were handmade by a local seamstress. When talking to Jed a few days before the wedding, I asked if it felt like the wedding came quickly! He explained that the month of September, their first full month engaged, the days and weeks seemed to drag on. However, the months after that did indeed seem to fly by. On April 10th, Jedidiah and Carolyn joined together in marriage.

Carolyn and Jed have plans to be working at Miller’s Meat Market for the foreseeable future. We are blessed to have such great employees working here at Miller’s, not only are the Denney’s both hard working but also caring and kind people. I have loved getting to know Jed and Carolyn in my time working here at Miller’s, and all of the Miller’s Meat Market staff is wishing them the very best as they start this new chapter together. It has been my absolute pleasure to introduce this newlywed couple, and tell about their love story that all started at our store.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Jedidiah and Carolyn Denney! Thank you for reading this weeks blog! There will be another one coming your way on Tuesday, so come and read again then!

Have a great week, everyone!

Hi there, everyone! My name is Delaney Escudero, and I’m the author of the blog! I have been encouraged to do an entry introducing myself, so allow me to tell you a little bit about who I am, my time at Miller’s Meat Market and why I truly love being in charge of our weekly blog posts!

Hi, I’m Delaney!

Miller’s Meat Market employee.

I began working here at Miller’s on May 11th, 2020, so I decided to post the “Meet the Author” blog on my one year anniversary of getting hired here at Miller’s! In my one year I have learned so much about things I never thought I would be educated on. I was hired towards the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, so I began working fulltime while also finishing up my senior year of highschool online. I graduated from Carthage highschool, class of 2020. I was in National Honors Society, was captain of my soccer team, and participated in many other highschool events. I played soccer since I was little and lacrosse from middle school on up. I have always enjoyed watching my siblings play sports, and watching the teams my dad is coaching. I have 4 siblings and my parents are Bill and Jasmine Escudero, dad is a teacher and a coach, and mom is a waitress at Gary’s Restaurant in Lowville. Outside of work I am involved with Naumburg Mennonite church and youth group, I enjoy being around my friends and family and spending time outdoors, and I am super excited for the upcoming summer months! Throughout my highschool years I would have always planned on college after highschool, but amongst the closure I started feeling like college wasn’t a great fit for me like I thought it was. I obviously decided to join the work force, and I have never once felt regret. If I would have gone to college my top choice would have been to go for journalism. I have always had a real passion for writing, so the opportunity to incorporate that love of mine into my work at Miller’s has made me love my job even more than I already had.

I work in the custom shop office where I do things like take instructions for the animals that we process, call customers when their orders are finished, schedule times for farmers to bring their animals in, and recently more work with our website and social media presence. I run our Instagram page which had been dormant for quite some time, so I have had a blast getting that page active and useful to the business. I take care of the majority of our shipping orders that are placed online, and of course the blog! Like I said previously, it has been such a blessing getting to incorporate writing into my job, and it is fun coming up with ideas on what to share with you all. I want to share recipes with you, introduce our employees, continue to be collaborative with other local businesses and more! I think that local business is a beautiful thing, and I am excited to continue highlighting that in blog posts. I truly enjoy my job more than I thought I ever would. I had been looking for a job for a number of months before I got in touch with Miller’s, and I am very grateful I was able to get hired in a position that fits my interests and personality.

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What are my favorite Miller’s Meat Market products?

Moser sausage, Hillbilly Ch’arki, and banana cake!

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It has been so amazing getting to know regular customers, as well as meet all the new customers who come and check out Miller’s Meat Market. Our customers always give us such positive feedback, and it always makes my day when customers begin to share about how much they enjoy certain aspects of Miller’s Meat Market. Our goal is to continue making personal connections with everyone who comes into the store and thrive as the local business that we are. I am so thankful to be employed in a positive environment!

That is about all I have to share! I again want to thank everyone who reads the blogs, it makes my day when I see that they are doing well. There have been so many positive comments, and I read all the feedback that you take the time to give. If you ever have something you want to learn more about, or have highlighted in our blog, you can always feel free to leave suggestions in the comment section on Facebook. I love hearing our customers’ ideas, this blog is for you! So I want to write about what you want to read. I hope that if I haven’t met you yet, that sometime I will! I’ve enjoyed sharing a little bit about me and my role at Miller’s, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading!

Come again next Tuesday to see what I have to share, and have an amazing week!

When we asked our social media followers what type of content they wanted to see on our blog, a very popular idea was to have “meet our employee" entries. So with that being heard by you all, we do plan on occasionally doing write ups about employees and their time working here at Miller’s Meat Market. So to begin, let me introduce to you Carl Miller!

I decided to introduce Carl first because he has a birthday coming up! On the 29th of April, he will be turning 18 years old. So in celebration of that, he got to be the first Miller’s employee featured on the blog.

Carl is the son of Darrell Miller and of course grandson of Danny Miller, the owners of Miller’s Meat Market. Carl has been around the family business for the majority of his life, and during my conversation with him he told me a little bit about his Miller’s Meat Market experience. Carl was named after his great-grandfather, who started the Miller’s Meat Market family business. (In our first blog post titled, “Welcome to the Blog”, we go into more depth of the history of the store and how it all began.) Carl and the rest of the Darrell Miller family moved into the house that is attached to the store when Carl was 8, this is the same age that his grandfather Danny was when the store first came under Miller management in 1962. Carl recalled that when he was young, about 8 years old, he would sit up above the holding pens on a bag of sawdust and run the winch for whoever was harvesting the animals. One other time, Darrell taught Carl and his younger brother Trey how to use the cash register after the store had closed. He explained that his “Dad got together a bunch of candy and other stuff, and we had to punch in the numbers and give him back the right change.” It was young experiences and lessons like this that has made Carl such a valuable employee.

Carl and Trey Miller learning from their Father, Darrell, at a young age.

Here the boys seem to be getting a lesson on how to fill the maple syrup bottles we sell in the store. The boys were taught how to be helpful around the business when they were younger, and helpful is what they continue to be.

Carl has grown to enjoy working around the business more and more as he grows older. His preferred jobs would be working on the harvesting floor, and cooking the chicken for our Friday chicken barbeques in the summertime. He would rather work out back in the custom shop than he would the store, but he is a great worker in both environments. Carl has responsibilities even after the store and custom shop close. Most every night before he gets to go to bed he comes out to the shop and changes out the products in the smokers. In deer season, the smokers are so busy that often times he has to get up around midnight and go take care of the smokers in the custom shop, he knows that this is his job and he does it without complaining. He enjoys the people he works with, which include some of his close friends and of course family members, and says for the most part he actually really enjoys working under his father. Outside of when he is working he likes to hangout with his friends, and is involved with the Living Hope church and youth group. This year Carl and his siblings switched over to homeschooling, and Carl is a senior who plans to graduate at the end of this school year. His plans after graduation are to continue being involved with Miller’s Meat Market. As of right now, his long-term plans center around the family business and he does have goals to take over the business when his time comes. Although those plans could change, there is no doubt that Carl has a passion for the future of the business and very well may be a big part of it.

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What Miller’s Meat Market products does Carl enjoy most?

His favorites are Old Style Summer Sausage, Hillbilly Ch’arki, and Jalapeno & Cheese Bologna!

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This hardworking young man is a valuable asset in almost any situation. Carl is nothing but eager to get jobs done, and knows that efficiency is necessary when doing his job. He works well in customer service as well as physical labor, and you will never catch him slacking off when there is work to be done. We are thankful to have employees like Carl that make the business run smoothly.

Thank you for reading this weeks blog! I am truly loving this new aspect to our website, and the life it brings to our social media presence. I hope you enjoyed the first introduction to an employee, there will surely be more to come. We hope you read next weeks blog as well, there is something very special and exciting coming up! Have a fantastic Tuesday and a great week!