Sentinel column - 10/24

At the start of the market season last spring Paul Jackson asked me if I knew anything about a drawing the Lions Club was having on the last day of market. He’d seen it advertised. I didn’t know a thing about it then but it wasn’t long before we heard from the Lions Club and sure enough they planned to do a drawing on our last day. Now that day is approaching. Next Friday, which is our last regular market day, the Lion’s Club will hold their drawing at 1 p.m.

Until then you can still buy tickets for $1 at their market booth today and next Friday. The prize is a street-legal electric three-wheeler and battery charger. It’s a one-person vehicle with storage in the rear and it travels up to 18 miles between charges.

It was a pleasant discovery that the Lions thought the market a good place for their project. One of our goals is to be a community gathering place. A friend in the Audubon Society once described the market as grand central station for local non-profits which is just what we want to be, but before your organization goes too public with plans to be at the market, give us a call so we can help your project be successful.

I continue to be surprised at the abundance at the market so late in the season. We are still loaded with green beans, peppers, squash, zucchini and a host of other veggies and we have a passel of growers.

It’s supposed to be chilly today. You may find me hovering around the chili roaster at Broken Wire’s stand. It’s warm and the peppers smell wonderful as they’re roasted. Owner Tom Lewis did a brisk business last week and I expect he’ll do the same today. It only takes a few minutes to get a gourmet treat unavailable at any other farmers market in the state.

Lunch will be just right for the weather – all-you-can-eat ham and beans, plus cornbread, fruit cobbler and a drink for $5. There will be both brown beans and white beans (that’s pinto and Great Northerns to you discriminating diners) and the beauty is that you don’t have to make a choice. You can have a mixed bowl or a bowl of each if you’re hungry enough. Actually, I’m not absolutely certain the white beans aren’t Navy or limas, personally I go with pinto every time.

If you’re a huge fan of ham and beans like my husband, you might want to bring a food storage container to the market at about 12:30 and see if there’s enough for you to buy some to enjoy this weekend. And there’s almost always plenty of cornbread to buy for taking home.

We’ll enjoy the music of Jack and Lee Ann Sours during lunch today. I hope you will take time to thank them for playing. They have entertained us as a duet, as part of a trio with Bailed Green and Wired Tight or with the quartet called the Plainfolks two or three times each month this season. The Sours drive up from south of Neosho and the musicians that play with them come from Pineville and Springfield. They know that we really appreciate them, but I’m sure they’d like to hear it from our customers as well.

Next Friday will be our last regular market day. Lunch will be chili with all the fixin’s, brownie and drink for $5. The Loose Notes will play gospel and bluegrass. It will be Halloween and a perfect day to bring the kids in their costumes for a photo with the scarecrows. The Loose Notes are such fun people, I won’t be surprised if they show up in costume, too.

We’ll soon be planning for 2009 and welcome your comments and suggestions and, of course, would also like to hear your favorite moments from this season. If you have something to share, please drop me a note at PO Box 1, Webb City, or email me at eileennichols@sbcglobal.net.