Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Webb City Sentinel market column - Wednesday, July 8, 2020

I'm starting the column this week with a trip down memory lane, revisiting part of a column from last fall. It was an item after the style of Carolyn Foat's Acts of Kindness column in this paper.
“Tim Green's wife, our dear Vi, was diagnosed with cancer and underwent a long treatment which ultimately failed last spring. Tim said that another of our vendors, Carrole Palmer, called Vi on the phone two or three times a week for 22 months. 'It really cheered her up.' Such an intentional and sustained act of kindness. Would that the world had more Carroles or folks like her.”
Sadly we lost our friend and long-time vendor, Carrole Palmer, last Friday evening. Carrole, one of the kindest people I ever knew, had a heart as big as all outdoors, but in the end, that heart failed her. It is a shocking loss to many of us at the market. Should you wish to send a sympathy card to her husband Joe, and friend Maria, just drop it by the information table or mail it to the market at PO Box 1, Webb City, MO 64870 and we'll be sure it gets to them.
She taught both Joe and Maria how to make her popular jams, jellies, and butters so I expect we will continue to enjoy those, along with their delightful names, like the one filled with many kinds of berries called Traffic Jam.
 I've found a couple of snippets in past Sentinel columns to give you a taste of the flavor that Carrole brought to the market.
From a story on the market's TomatoFest: “Fairhaven wins Weirdest Tomato every year because Carrole Palmer takes her contests very seriously. She always keeps an eye out for a curious tomato with a 'face' and decks it out with a little straw hat or some other prop that makes it stand out. The Weirdest Tomato contest is always customers’ choice and this year Carrole’s weird tomato won every single vote.” Carrole was an artist, even when it came to weird tomatoes. And her sense of humor was keen.
When a customer stormed out of the market because I responded to his complaint that too many of our vendors were “foreigners” with “We're glad to have them” without telling him their story: “I have to admit that my regret at being inarticulate and unresponsive was almost matched by my dismay at Carrole’s comment. 'It (complaints about foreigners) happens more often than I’d like to say. I just don’t respond to them.' I noticed she also didn’t ask him if he wanted to buy anything. The Palmer’s are as kind as they come and have taken the Asian vendors into their hearts, and often have taken the younger ones into their arms, giving them a hug whenever they meet. They were proud as punch when Mina, a young woman who had helped at her parents’ stand since high school, graduated from college this month.
So bless the good souls like the Palmers and the other native-born farmers at our market who have befriended our immigrant farmers, and bless our immigrant farmers who try so hard, load me down with gifts of produce and pitch in to help clean tables and take down the umbrellas at every market, and especially bless our dear customers who treat all our vendors with respect. Thank you.”
Carrole was the essence of the market's vision of being a welcoming kind community. She will be sorely missed.
The market calendar this week:
Tomorrow Songbird's Kitchen serves Asian specialties. Drew Pommert plays. Farmers include Agee's, Braker Berry Farm, E & O Produce, Harmony Hill (also baked goods), Lee Family Farm, Lykou Farm, Nature Valley Farm, and Vang Gardens (also cut flowers). (You may have noticed that Songbird's Kitchen, and the last four farms listed are Asian-owned. And they continue to make our market a better place!) Stormy Farm will have pork, chicken, and farm fresh eggs. Helm will have honey and Juniper Coffee will have freshly roasted coffee beans and iced coffee.
The Free Kids meal tomorrow is served hot and packed to go from 11 to 1 in the Kids Tent north of the pavilion. It will be a turkey, spinach, and provolone sandwich, fruit, and milk.
Thursdays are lovely days for folks who want room to socially distance especially between 5 and 7 pm.
Saturdays are our busiest days and this one is no exception. In addition to most of tomorrow's vendors, Saturday's vendors include 2Ts handcrafted soaps, DnD Smoked seasonings and mixes, Garrett Family Farm and Sunny Lane with all-natural meats, Grison Dairy and Creamery with cows' milk cheeses, Kings Kettle Corn, MaMa JoJo's Pasta, Misty Morning Farms, OakWoods Farm, Pate's Orchard, Redings Mill Bread Co., Salt & Light Farmhouse (mushrooms), Still Waters Farm, Terrell Creek Artisan Goat Cheese, and the Yang Family Farm.
Cooking for a Cause will be served up in the Kids Tent north of the pavilion. It benefits the Friends of Camp Mintahama this week. Randy and Phil are on the market stage.
The Free Kids meal will be served in the Kids Tent. The menu is a Sloppy Joe (filled with hidden zucchini!), market cherry tomatoes, fruit, and milk.
Tuesday Ghetto Taco returns with street tacos. Cochinita Mexican Street Food will have spicy grilled
Mexican corn. Our newest Tuesday vendor, Red Fern Farm, will have grass-fed beef for sale.

We're still waiting on a good supply of sweet corn and the cantaloupe is probably a week away with watermelon coming in the week after that. These favorite crops were delayed by a cool wet spring. But you will find loads of tomatoes in every size and color, and too many other fruits and veggies to list.