Stories tell us who we are, remind us where we come from, and show us where we belong. 

 
 

It all started when…

Steve grew up on a corn and soybean farm in central Illinois on land that once was in the middle of the largest Tall Grass Prairie on the planet. His people have been farmers as far back as anyone remembers. Planted in that fertile, dark soil, he listened to his Daddy tell lots of stories. Stories of personal mishaps, fishing trips, and often repeated family tales that grew with each telling. Tates are Big Talkers. “Daddy often said, ‘You can always tell a Tate. You just can’t tell him very much!’”

“MY Daddy said, ‘You can always tell a Tate. You just can’t tell him very much!’”

Steve left the farm to pursue higher education. He felt called to the specialized ministry of Pastoral Counseling, was ordained and received his Doctor of Ministry degree. For twenty years, Steve practiced individual, marriage, and family therapy, ultimately becoming the Executive Director of the Samaritan Center for Pastoral Counseling in Minneapolis.

In 1995 he and his wife Lee and their two teenage sons, left their cozy, comfortable, urban professional lives in Minneapolis, to follow a wild back-to-the-land dream and move to an abandoned tobacco farm in North Carolina…to start a goat cheese dairy farm. They called it GOAT LADY DAIRY. Lee and Steve both felt called and committed to their new way of life…but it wasn’t easy!

It did create many great stories, however. Over the years, thousands of visitors came to the farm to meet the goats, taste the cheese, and hear Steve's stories of their adventures there. In 2017 Lee and Steve were able to retire and sell their Goat Lady Dairy business to their younger employees. Steve's cheesemaking career finished, but his storytelling exploits had only just begun.

Steve is a member of the North Carolina Storytellers Guild, The Triad Storytelling Exchange, and the National Storytelling Network. He has studied with several Master Storytellers, including Donald Davis, Connie Regan Blake, Megan Wells, Loren Niemi, Geraldine Buckley, Bobby Norfolk, Elizabeth Ellis, Doug Lipman, Sherry Lovett, Charlotte Hamlin, and Tim Lowry.

Some Story Titles

  • When Tarzan Came To Our Farm

  • Mr. Art and the Wild Things

  • Bears In The Cornfield

  • Double Bonus

  • Little Tom

  • The Strongest Woman

  • The Last Corn Shelling Day

WHO WANTS STEVE’S STORIES

  • Farmers Markets

  • Libraries

  • Rotary

  • Historical Societies

  • House Concerts

  • Senior Groups

  • Faith Groups

  • Nature Clubs

  • Etc.