We might entitle this story "the hitchhiker’s guide to prosciutto," not because our Iowa hogs embarked on an interstellar journey but because the two protagonists met as a result of a flagged-down ride. In 1974, then 25-year-old Herb Eckhouse was traveling by thumb around the country. Born in Burlington, Iowa, and raised in Chicago by a World War II Jewish refugee, he graduated from Harvard and then hit the road, where he caught a fateful ride to Idaho from a cousin of his future wife, Kathy.
Originally from Berkeley, California, she spent time in Europe before crossing paths with Herb. They worked together as ranch hands in Iowa, and in 1979 a job with Wells Fargo took them to San Francisco, where Herb specialized in agricultural finance. Two years later Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a well-regarded seed company, enticed them back to Iowa with a job offer, and in 1985 Herb was reassigned to manage the business’s Italian division.
In my opinion, Pioneer had a unique management style because its international business assignments turned out to be quite prescient and significant. Herb, Kathy and their family "endured" four delicious years in the city of Parma, located in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna and home to prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, as well as great pasta, vino, balsamic vinegar and other delicacies. And don’t forget Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati and Bugatti! Gosh, I sure hope they qualified for a hardship allowance from Pioneer!
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