BIG SANDY — Ron and Gay Pearson might not be household names, but just about everyone in Montana knows who they are.

"We'll be walking like, say, in the store in Great Falls and somebody will call, 'There's the melon man!' or the melon lady," said Gay, co-owner of Pearson's Big Sandy Cantaloupe.

Tim McGonigal reports - watch the video: Montana Ag Network: Big Sandy couple has sweet success with cantaloupe farm

For more than 30 years, Pearson's Big Sandy Cantaloupes have been a hit at grocery stores and farmers markets across Montana.

"We took them to Winifred and Big Sandy grocery first, and they just absolutely loved the cantaloupe. They couldn't get enough of it," Gay said.

But the work to grow the melons was painstaking.

"We hand planted them, we hand rolled the mulch. Everythin

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