little kids

This year’s market has continued to grow in size and variety of vendors. Here’s a quick look at three of those vendors.

Bracken’s Trout Hatchery offers fresh, fully dressed fish at $4 per trout. I baked a couple the other night stuffed with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and bread crumbs with fresh herbs.Folks, I’m here to tell you the sweet, firm flesh of these little beauties is really something special.

Aurora Lucas fuses plastic packaging into material that she uses to make purses, slippers, and jewelry. Her products are truly unique.

Finally, Anne is now offering freshly baked cookies using her original recipes and one that has been in her family for over a hundred years. Anne is an excellent baker and plans to add pies and cobblers to her repertoire.

So join us Friday evening for some good food and good fun. Hope to see you there!

This year’s parade was smaller than previous years, but you couldn’t tell from all the happy faces. Here’s what I saw:

As far as the parade participants, I’ll let you decide who had the coolest costumes:

the Farmers Market Cow gets my vote

OR

re-enactors of the Recent Unpleasantness

Chatauqua runs all week. Click the link on my blog roll to access the Festival website to check on daily events. This is truly a unique celebration. It’s all about friends and neighbors coming together to enjoy each other and the beautiful place we live.

P.S. Happy Father’s Day!

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T-Shirt of the Week

Face withheld at owner's request

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This Woman is Evil

Miss Mattie

This is Miss Mattie, one of the vendors at the Farmers Market whose specialty is home-baked goodies. She is evil. Her treats are so good that they are positively sinful. Sure she’s sweet natured and a church-going lady, but a woman who bakes as good as Miss Mattie does has to be in league with the devil. [Miss Mattie is not to be confused with Mrs. Matty, (below right) Matty Holder, who gets my vote for the coolest thang since sliced bread. She's so cool, she don't sweat.]
 

Matty Holder

Every week I try and sneak past Miss Mattie’s table, and every week it’s the same thing. The dulcet tones of this lovely lady’s honeyed voice trap me with a, “Mornin’, how are you today?” No matter how determined I am, my feet refuse to move. She’ll offer me a taste of a little sumpin’ sumpin’, and I’m a goner. My plan to cut back this week just flies away. This lady could sell manure to a cattle farmer. I was going to show you a close-up of the Apricot Almond Bars we purchased this week, but they were gone the minute we got home. You’ll just have to settle for the picture of part of her table of delites I took opening day:

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The Elegant Stinkhorn

My Friend John gifted me with a new fungi for my woodland garden this week. It is Mutinus elegans, the Elegant Stinkhorn, a mushroom so foul smelling and nasty looking, you’ll probably smell a patch long before you stumble upon one. It is nicknamed the “Devil’s Dipstick.” It’s supposed to ward off critters. Mine was starting to dry when I took the picture, but the spores should have another pushing up before too long. The things are edible, but I don’t recommend it.

When fresh, the Elegant Stinkhorn looks like a baby penis with its tip covered in pooh

Anne catching up with our friend Suzanne Capone

Not only were there a dozen or so new vendors, but last year’s vendors are back with more and better products. Check out the gi-normous eggs we got from Matty Holder of Lazy Bee Farm.

Don had to cut the lid from the carton. It's just resting on top.

One of the most exciting things for me personally was the new products offered by a couple of the new vendors. Maybe ramps and broccoli rabe don’t blow your hair back, but this ol’ chef came home and did his happy dance.

Crystal Gillan of Mule Hell Trading Co. who offers wild foods (ramps) and handmade olive oil soaps among other things

Sara Fennell, the mother of our arugula, operates Groundswell Farm and is also the broccoli rabe source.

I have a lot more pictures and more to write about, but I’m out of time today. I’ll post more this week. Let me close this out with a picture of hands down, the Market’s most satisfied customer that day.

Chris Francis expects to open Captain Coy’s Cajun Deli the first week of May. With inside seating for 15, Chris plans to offer hand cut steaks, fresh seafood, deli meats and cheeses as well as Po’ Boy sandwiches, daily luncheon specials and meals to go.

Chris Francis of Captain Coy's Cajun Deli

Next door to Captain Coy’s, Leisa Denti and her daughter Kelsigh are readying Cinnamon Sage, a full service bakery. Among their offerings will be artisan breads, focaccia, muffins, and gourmet cupcakes.

Leisa Denti and her daughter Kelsigh

For some of their breads, the Dentis will grind their own wheat for flour. Leisa plans seating for 12 for those wishing to enjoy their baked treats with a good cup of coffee. A late June opening is planned. For additional information, call Leisa at 223-0223.

It turns out that Frankie Silver was a historical figure. In 1833 she became the first woman to be hanged in North Carolina after her controversial conviction for the murder of her husband. Like the much better known Lizzie Borden, Frankie hacked him with an ax. Parts of Charlie Silver are buried in three separate graves in Mitchell County, North Carolina.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, especially if the locale is my native North Carolina. It has been years since a work of fiction resonated with me in the way that The Ballad of Frankie Silver did. I was thrilled to discover a new to me author who could transport me to another time and place that was both distant and familiar. Her characters were people I could identify with because my ancestors were such people. About the time of Frankie Silver’s execution, a fellow by the name of James Dees moved his family from South Carolina to an area of the North Carolina piedmont where my family has resided for the past 175 years.

Author Sharyn McCrumb

The flyleaf informed me that Sharyn McCrumb lived in Salem,Virginia, and was an award-winning New York Times bestselling author renowned for a series of “Ballad” novels set in Appalachia. Over the last couple of years, I have read most of them. I walked the Tennessee hills alongside Harm Sorley in She Walks These Hills. In Ghost Riders, I rode with the despicable Blalocks, a young married couple who fought as civilian bushwackers for the Union during the Recent Unpleasantness. Folks, I’m here to tell you, Sharyn McCrumb can spin a good yarn. When we saw the announcement that she was to be the featured guest at the 10th Annual Author’s Dinner to benefit the Rural Retreat Library, we tried to buy tickets before they were even printed.

Friday evening, Anne and I got all gussied up in our best literati casual and made our way to the Wytheville Community Center for an evening of culture. Over the years I have met a number of celebrities: politicians, actors, artists and writers. Most have been interesting people and very pleasant to be around. Some, like the late poet and author James Dickey, have been insufferable egotists. Dickey, who is best known as the author of the book Deliverance, which was made into a movie starring Burt Reynolds, had a fondness for George Dickel . . . for breakfast. I had the misfortune of serving as his escort during a two-day speaking engagement (and bender) back in the 70s, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Ms. McCrumb is nothing like what you would expect an internationally acclaimed author to be. First of all, she bears a slight physical resemblance to my aunt, North Carolina artist Ida Jean Parker. She has a ready smile and an accessible manner about her. Her knowledge of Appalachian history is encyclopedic. I stood in line and watched as she signed books and carried on multiple conversations at the same time. When it was finally my turn for her to sign her latest novel, The Devil Amongst The Lawyers, I began a conversation with her that carried on intermittently throughout the night. Despite a little fawning on my part, McCrumb graciously answered all my questions and imparted some good advice on a few of my writing projects. In one of those little serendipitous occurrences, we discovered that Sharyn graduated from Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina. Six years later, Anne taught English at the same high school.

After a god-awful chicken dinner catered by the Rural Retreat Winery (two words for next year: Pizza Hut,) we settled in while Ms. McCrumb regaled us with a little of her family history and antidotes from her writing career. She explained that her stories are about one of two things: someone is going on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. For her, the best part of writing is the research.  She finished the evening by reading a passage from her forthcoming novel, The Legend of Tom Dooley, due out at the end of August. All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. I am already immersed in her current book, and I can hardly wait for August.

P.S. I still haven’t read the Kingsolver novels.

My friend George Krause is both a postmodernist and possibly a world class artist.

a really crappy picture of George Krause

If you ask George about himself, both those descriptions are unlikely to be part of the conversation. George will tell you that he was trained as a carpenter who became a union electrician in Ohio and who once owned a certified organic farm. He and his educator-wife, Marcie, and their daughter, Maria, moved here not quite a decade ago to be closer to Marcie’s mother. Locals might remember the bookstore and coffee shop they operated out of their home on Main Street. The store was ahead of its time. (Having lived in Wythe County for four years myself, I sometimes wonder how things like electricity and the internal combustion engine ever caught on, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.)

Today, George still does electrical and carpentry work and maintains an urban organic garden. He also makes “awww…you know…stuff for the garden.”

Bottle Tree by George Krause

I first encountered George in May at the opening of this year’s Wytheville Farmer’s Market where he sells his remarkable produce. Shortly afterward, I called George largely because our mutual friend Liza Field thought we would hit it off. That was an understatement if there ever was one. It was more like kismet. I’m proud to now be included as one of George’s friends.

a slightly less crappy picture of George

So why do I consider George to be an artist when he doesn’t think of himself that way? Maybe I should give you my bona fides before I explain.

For the last 10 years that Anne and I lived in Fairfax County, we were heavily involved in the DC and NYC contemporary art community. At one point, I was a docent (a trained volunteer) at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, eventually serving as the assistant to the Curator of Contemporary Art. For a decade, I lived and breathed two things: food and art. I have viewed thousands of pieces of contemporary art across North America and Europe. Museum curators, gallery owners, collectors, and artists tell me I have a “good eye.” Trust me when I say I know good art. George Krause makes good art. As Pop Art master Robert Rauschenberg once stated, “It’s art if I say it’s art.”

George’s lyrical sculptures fall into the “found object” category typified by Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, and friend and art star Dan Steinhilber. Click on the links and look at some of the work of these artists. Then look again at the work of George Krause. I’d really be interested in what you think, so leave a comment.

Window House by George Krause

By the way, George, who tends to be very self-deprecating, didn’t know I was planning to write this. But as he is fond of saying, “I’d rather ask forgiveness than permission.”

The Stan Massie Band

The Stan Massie Band is an accomplished group of bluegrass musicians who produce a sound that reflects the soul of Appalachia. From tender ballads to gospel to foot stomping picking and singing, this is a band I would happily pay to see, but they don’t play for money. They are a group of friends who get together when they can and play for charities, churches, and local events. I sincerely hope Market Director Suzie Richert can convince them to come back for a repeat performance.

If you’d like to meet practically everyone in the county, just stand next to Sheriff Doug King in public sometime. Everyone seems to know Doug. The charismatic sheriff heads one of the best sheriff’s departments in the country. His department ranks number one in Virginia in stolen vehicle recovery. The complexities of running a modern police agency require Sheriff King to be part policeman, part politician, and part business chief executive officer. It is a job he relishes. He gives credit for a great deal of his success to his deputies. Said Sheriff King, “I’m fortunate to have a great staff. I can’t believe I have such a dedicated group of deputies who are willing to work for so little money. My deputies haven’t had a cost of living increase in four years, and it may be two or three more before they get one.” Thanks to Doug and his Department, Wythe County is still a place where you can leave your door unlocked at night.

Sheriff Doug King listening to constituent concerns

State Senator Roscoe Reynolds came early and stayed late. The Senator moved around the market greeting folks and talking one on one about their concerns like a favored uncle at a family reunion. I’m not a big fan of politicians. I’m a political cynic because I spent too much time working in Washington, DC. Roscoe Reynolds does give me pause though. Senator Reynolds really does seem to give a damn. When Anne wrote his office during the AEP rate increase debate, Senator Reynolds’ office responded quickly with a letter outlining his position, which was followed up by another letter and phone call. You can believe me when I say that doesn’t happen very often.

Senator Roscoe Reynolds discussing an issue with a constituent

Among the other officials present were Fourth District County Supervisor Maggie Poole, Wytheville Mayor Trenton Crewe, and County Commissioner of Revenue “Sis” Cassell.

Supervisor Maggie Poole talking plants and produce with Zack Lynn

State Senator Phil Puckett who was scheduled to appear was a no show.