Memorial pies

Seven years ago, Andrew Betz died in a tractor accident.

His family recently found a way to honor him and give back to the community.

Emmett Betz, 10, and Bennett Betz, 8, started baking pies in June with their mother, Jenn Betz. They’ve been selling pies through their Facebook page, 2 Guys Pies, to raise money for other families who have experienced a farming-related injury or death.

The trio has sold more than 100 pies so far, helping at least five families in the surrounding area. (Next week, their total will rise to 120.)

Emmett, Bennett and Jenn have set up at several festivals and events, including at the nonprofit corner with Love Thy Neighbor Project during the Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show on Aug. 25 and the Portland Main Street Fall Festival on Sept. 30.

Currently, 2 Guys Pies offers peanut butter, root beer, cinnamon roll cherry, banana split and birthday cake pies, although they have been experimenting with new types. All profits go toward other families in need.

Jenn had been searching for years for a way the family to honor her husband.

“These guys are complete farm boys, love to dig in the dirt, but they do love to be in the kitchen as well,” explained Jenn.

Emmett and Bennett have their own signature pies they take to family gatherings. When they took their pies to a friend’s house recently, their friends told them they should start their own business. A friend of Jenn’s also suggested they sell the pies and give the proceeds back to farming families.

“We spent a long time praying about it, and we thought, ‘Yep, I think this is where God wants us to go,’” said Jenn.

Emmett and Bennett’s friends jokingly said they should name it “2 Guys Pies,” and the name stuck.

Jenn, a secretary at Bryant Wesleyan Church and office manager for Mustard Seed Remodeling, created a Facebook page to start taking orders. 

And they’ve been making pies nearly every week since.

Emmett, Bennett and Jenn usually prepare pies in the afternoons at their rural Portland home. Their schedule varies depending on when pies are ordered.

Bennett’s specialty is a no-bake peanut butter pie, which has a peanut butter filling with crumbled Oreos as a crust, along with melted chocolate and Reese’s cups on top.

Emmett’s classic recipe is the cinnamon roll cherry flavor, which he’s solely in charge of making. It has a lattice crust on top.

“You make the cinnamon roll cherry pie all by yourself, I don’t help with that one,” said Jennifer to Emmett, causing him to giggle. “I tried once and did not do a good job.”

“Yeah, you burnt it,” Bennett said. He and Jennifer laughed.

To order pies, message 2 Guys Pies on Facebook or email [email protected].

Andrew and Jenn Betz dated for several years. They had been married for only five months before Andrew’s death in October 2016. Jenn recalls how others responded in the aftermath.

“We had people reach out to us and help us that did not know us,” said Jenn. “I can recognize that it was a blessing, that a lot of people reached out to us,” she said.

Jenn noted farmers live a “different lifestyle,” spending most of their time in the fields. Folks don’t often worry about farmers, she noted, but pointed out it can be dangerous operating heavy machinery.

Farmers at heart, Emmett and Bennett enjoy agricultural life as a hobby. They collect tractors, specifically McCormick Farmalls and other red models, and visit the Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show each year. (Bennett won a Maytag Model 30 at the show in August.)

“The boys were born to be farmers,” said Jenn. “They have had it in their (blood).”