Leaman's Green Applebarn

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On a farm in Freeland grows a 100-year-old apple tree. While it may not be the best producing tree among its younger, more robust orchard companions, its roots run straight to the core of the Leaman family business. "Someone in my family has been selling fruit on the corner of Wilkinson and River since the 1890s, " says Jaye Reisinger, co-owner of Leaman's Green Applebarn and Cider Mill. Reisinger simply never thought it would be her. She felt she was destined for other things, and left Michigan to pursue her education and career with the church. It wasn't until years later, when her own children were born, did she feel the farm - and with her family - was where she wanted and needed to be. The successful operation of a family business by several generations - seven in the Leaman's case - is difficult as the statistics are startling. According to the Family Firm Institute, more than two-thirds of family-owned businesses do not survive into the second generation. Roughly 12 percent remain viable into the third generation, while just 3 percent operate into the fourth generation and beyond.