This spring the students in Anne Merkel's 7th and 8th grade writing class at Edgecomb's Center for Teaching and Learning went out into their communities to meet local working women and learn about their lives. They learned reportage, data-gathering, and interviewing techniques, and they experienced the process of making sense of data and crafting it as literature. Their goals were to learn how to conduct original, first-hand research and to make women's work and experiences more visible in their communities.

Jennifer Ingham starts off her day by printing out labels, assembling boxes, and packaging bags. Then she’s out delivering popcorn with her kids. Later, she’ll head to her store, Cameron Clan Popcorn in Wiscasset, located behind Red’s Eats.

Ingham was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and took a business course in high school. In 2013, she moved to Maine in search of a family business that manufactured a food item. She explains, “I thought popcorn was a good idea because the cost of starting was low, and the profits were high.” But before she became a businesswoman, Ingham was a waitress, ran a small cleaning business, helped with her husband’s massage business, and worked in construction.

Ingham is pleasantly surprised by how well the popcorn she makes has been received. The business has taken off. But, she notes, “I was also surprised at how much work it took to set up for the show — just organizing and getting ready.” Ingham describes her position at Cameron Clan Popcorn as its general manager: “I manage all aspects of the business,” she says.

Another reason Ingham chose this line of work is because she thought a small business would work well in Maine and have the potential to grow. But it’s not without challenges. She explains, “We have to have enough finances for everything at the right time, and get the bank to take us seriously because we are selling popcorn. The biggest challenge for me personally is juggling family and business.”

Ingham can also speak to the difficulties of starting a shop from scratch and growing the business from popping popcorn at festivals and events to actually manufacturing it, getting it into stores, and then setting up the retail shop.

Ingham goes on to explain how she learned the skill set she currently needs. “I took a lot of advice about being a small business owner from my brother, my aunt, and other successful owners. I’ve also done a lot of online research about owning a small business.” She goes on to explain why she loves her job: “My favorite part of this work is customer service. I love working with people, giving out free samples to everyone.

Ingham hopes that each customer she serves will remember her as hardworking and her popcorn as delicious. She concludes with satisfaction, “The benefits of being a family business is that we get to spend a lot of time together. My children get to learn about how to run a small business, and we get to make decisions together as a family.”