Shane Parrish

He genuinely liked farmers and farming.

Employees told stories of his habit of stopping his car on country roads to watch a crop being planted or harvested.

He'd get out, talk to the workers, tell them what a great job they were doing and thank them.

Potato farmers to Harrison were the salt of the earth.

Potato farming was real economics, a real product you could

plant, grow, process, and sell, something that couldn't be duplicated in the financial markets or in government.

His son Mark tells of the satisfaction Harrison got from driving around Florenceville, pointing at newly repaired houses with fresh paint and a new car in the driveway.

Before McCain Foods, he would say the houses around Florenceville were leaning.

No more.

People had jobs now.

People had income.

that's what it meant to him it wasn't the billions not the factories on six continents it was the houses that started getting repaired harrison mccain died in 2004 at the age of 77. he and wallace had built one of the greatest businesses of the 20th century together but they were also brothers and no family that builds something this large gets through it without scars the short version is they disagreed over succession harrison wanted professional management to run the company after they were gone

Wallace wanted his son, Michael, in charge.

In October 1992, without consulting Harrison, Wallace publicly announced that Michael would lead McCain Foods U.S.

operation.

The move broke something between them that never fully repaired.

The dispute went to the court and to arbitrators.

Harrison eventually won the governance battle, but the cost to the brothers was well beyond money.

People who worked with Harrison used words like energy, determined, inspiring, enthusiastic, and charismatic.

But they also said headstrong and at times unreasonable.