Maybe, just maybe a little relief from the miserable heat is in store for the next few days. I got to tell you, folks are getting MEAN. The various weather reporting services are all over the place. But as I write this, it’s 12:45pm and it’s not yet 80 degrees and the humidity is much lower. Kevin Myatt is predicting rain Sunday and Monday. Yesterday was so hot, George the groundhog lay on the foundation of the old chicken coop gasping for breath trying to catch a breeze. Anne is going to do her rain dance this afternoon…i.e. she’s going to spray the grapes. Keep your fingers crossed.

REMINDERS

The Wytheville Farmer’s Market successfully launched its 3rd season Saturday, and all indications are that this will be the best season yet. Located in the old R.P. Johnson parking lot on Main Street, the Market is sponsored by H.O.P.E. Ministries (Helping Overcome Poverty’s Existence) and the Wythe/Bland Community Foundation. The Market is under the enthusiastic leadership of full time director, Suzie Richert (276-389-9306) (wythevillefarmersmarket@live.com)

Virginia grown organic vegetables and herbs, grass-fed beef, free range eggs, home baked goods, flowers, handmade crafts…this year’s market has it all.

Home Gardener George Krause with some of his organic produce

Several of the vendors, Anderson Grass Fed Beef, and Lazy Bee Farm, we have encountered before at other locations and can attest to the quality of their products. Lazy Bee’s sourdough bread makes excellent French toast.

Martha Holder of Lazy Bee Farm in black tee-shirt

For two people who don’t eat a lot of red meat,  Anne and I have a goodly amount of hormone-free, grass-fed beef in the freezer thanks to small producers like Cassell Family Farm, whose ground beef provided the basis for a yumalicious meatloaf I made last night.

One vendor I would particularly like to point out is Jason Hounshell of Earthganic Greenhouse. Jason was last year’s market director. 100% of his proceeds go to support Crossroads Shelter, a local homeless shelter.

Jason Hounshell

Market Shots

Miss Mattie's Delights

Home baker Sue Govin who has been at the market since the beginning

Dave Richert, Suzi's husband, with some of their Wilder Woods Farm products

Anne and I got there around 9:45 am, which was pretty good for us since Marion is almost an hour from Our Humble Little Cottage. We would have been there earlier, but it took us nearly a half hour once we got into town to find the place. We asked several people for directions. One started with, “It’s right across from Macado’s, only back a few streets…..sorta…..”  If Ken Heath, the market director reads this, I suggest you put a sign that says “TURN LEFT” at the appropriate spot for those of us coming in from exit 45 on I-81, who are unfamiliar with your charming little town, and are directionally challenged.

And it is a charming town with an excellent  market. The vendors we had a chance to talk to were very knowledgeable and informative about their products.  At 10 am there were still enough choice products left that we spent all our cash, and there were still things we wanted to buy.

Farmer’s Markets of one form or another have been around for over a thousand years in Europe and Asia. Here in the USA, they date back to Colonial Days. Contemporary markets are a growing trend in this country. In 1994, the first year that the US Department of Agriculture collected data, there were 1,755 active markets across the country. In 2009, the number had more than tripled to 5,274.

Markets allow producers to cut out the middleman and sell directly to consumers. For  many farmers, they are an important source of income since wholesale prices are often the same or less than the cost of production. Consumers have the opportunity to purchase high quality goods like organic vegetables, free-range meats, homestead cheeses, local honey and jams at reasonable prices. Markets also feature local art and crafts, home baked goods, and flowers and produce from home gardens.

Aimee Dickenson's "Koi Fish" cupcakes

Shelly Sells' handcrafted goat milk soap

The real highlight for me was the opportunity to meet two small producers of grassfed meats: Charlie Clark of Rich Valley Grazers, and Antoinette Goodrich of Laughing Water Farms. Charlie produces beef and pork, and Antoinette offers lamb and veal. I’ve already used products from both farms and can tell you their offerings are superior, some of the best I’ve had in a number of years. While I was a chef, my signature dish was Osso Bucco, an Italian preparation of braised veal shank. Saturday was the first time that I’ve seen veal shank offered in this area. That night I was inspired to fix Osso Bucco braised in white wine and chicken stock with a lemon gremolata, served with a wild mushroom ragout, and polenta garnished with fresh thyme and wild asparagus. Not to pat myself on the back, (which I do every chance I get) dinner was delicious.

Antoinette Goodrich offers a customer a taste of her garlic sprouts

For Sunday lunch, we had cheeseburgers made from Charlie’s ground beef.  Jimmy Buffett doesn’t have a clue what a real “Cheeseburger in Paradise” tastes like unless he’s had a “Charlie Burger” as I now call them.

Charlie Clark, cattle farmer and Chairman of the Smyth County Board of Supervisors

Time ran out before we had a chance visit with every vendor, so we plan to go back soon. This time we’ll get there early.  And bring more cash. The Marion Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday from May thru October, 8:00 am-12:00 pm. It is located at the corner of Cherry and Iron Streets in the Town Square parking lot (across from Macado’s, only back a few streets…sorta.)

Market Shots

Aimee Dickenson of "Baby Cakes" and daughter Piper

Martha Holder (left) of Lazy Bee Farm and Shelly Sells of Country Milk "N" Gifts

Seth Taylor and Larrissa Powers

Budding Artist Eleanor Goodrich

Suzanne Capone (on the left) of Omega Lane Farm

I realized the other day that I’ve been online for 30 years this month. Yes, you read that correctly, 30 years. Before there was the World Wide Web and AOL there was Prodigy, and privately owned ISPs like  Telenet, USENET, CompuServe (the first to offer real time chat), and my first ISP,  The Source, a small company in McLean, Va., that offered both chat and something called “user publications.” User publications were bulletin boards that were the precursors of blogs. I had one of the first 10 “web pages” in the United States. It was a satirical little ditty called The Par Mtn. Telegraph.

Personal blogging is a strange business. You sit at your computer and share your thoughts and experiences, essentially your life, with strangers. You often wonder if anyone notices what you send off into cyberspace and if they do, do they really give a damn? If you’re lucky, you get some occasional feedback, and if you’re very lucky, you sometimes make a connection with someone really interesting that you can identify with. These past few weeks, I’ve been very lucky for I have connected with former marine biologists Ernie and Cathy Wheeler, a couple who detoured off the fast lane and decided to raise their two kids in Cripple Creek, Va.

Ernie and Cathy publish Solace at Cripple Creek, the latest addition to my blog roll.  Solace is a personal journal of two progressive and multi-talented people trying their best to become self-sufficient and raise their children in a natural environment apart from a world that increasingly makes no sense. Their posts are chock full of useful links, interesting and sometimes beautiful photographs, and just plain common sense.

I recommend that you start at the beginning with their first  posts in March 2009 listed in the archives and read forward. You learn as they learn about such subjects as rabbitry, breeding, bee-keeping, and food preservation thru canning and dehydration. Their musings reflect the growing frustration the people of this once great country are starting to feel as we become more  aware of the betrayal of our major institutions – government, business, banks and even our churches. It’s a scary world out there, but I now know where to find a little solace.

Oh, if you’re like me and can’t help yourself when you read or hear the words cripple creek, here’s a little something for you.

]]> http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/03/12/up-on-cripple-creek/feed/ 2 http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/02/16/our-evolving-look/ http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/02/16/our-evolving-look/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:59:14 +0000 Ron Dees http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/?p=695 You may have noticed a few changes to the appearance of Wythe Notes and the information we’re offering. Some were planned, some involve new software, and at least one was an accident.
One of the most noticeable of the changes is the pictures on the banner. Prior to a month ago, I used stock photos provided by Word Press, the software program I use to write Wythe Notes. I’m now using my own shots. In October, I took the one above of a bee swarm in our front yard. The wild hive that had located itself between the studs on an outside wall of our humble little cottage decided to move when we started putting up the new lap cedar siding. Pictures of wild swarms are rare, but so are many of the things I’ve observed in the mountainous micro environment of Chestnut Ridge and Galena Creek.

The picture of Galena Creek was taken  New Year’s Day. We obviously still had a pretty good snow cover from the December 18th storm, a cover that pales in comparison to the one we have now. For me, the creek is a daily reminder of  the reasons we chose to live in Wythe County.

As I’ve stated in previous posts, Anne and I love to go toodling (driving around aimlessly with no particular destination in mind). I took the shot of the red barn on one such trip this past fall. I love old barns. For me, they symbolize the rural way of life. Neither one of us remembers where the barn is located, but I’m pretty sure it’s in Wythe County.

The final picture of the three crosses was taken just over the line in Carroll County. I included it, not because I’m particularly religious, but to symbolize just how important the Christian religion is in Southwest Virginia. The history of the crosses is fascinating. Follow this link to read the story of Rev. Bernard Coffindaffer, the self-proclaimed Methodist minister from West Virginia who founded Christian Crosses, Inc. and financed the initial installations.

I’ve also made some changes to the blog roll. Unlike some bloggers who fill their sites with dozens of links, I want the links on Wythe Notes to be useful and informative to both local readers and folks from outside the region as well. Blue Ridge Muse is written by my friend of nearly 30 years, Doug Thompson. Doug chronicles the daily soap opera that is life in Floyd, Va, one of the more charming and unique towns in the state. Kevin Myatt is a copy editor for the Roanoke Times, and a self-described weather geek. His blog is informative without being condescending, is area specific, and is usually far more accurate than the National Weather Service or the voodoo-hoodoo radars of the various television stations that cover our areas.

Southwest Virginia Today links you to a number of small town newspapers and is the only way I know to read the column, A  Mountain View, by Liza Field, online. Liza is a teacher, writer, philosopher, environmentalist, and when needed, a community activist. Her column is one of the more insightful I have read anywhere, including those that are nationally syndicated. She writes with both her heart and her brain and her love of these mountains and the people who inhabit them are immediately apparent. Click on the Lifestyles section of the Wytheville Enterprise to find her column.

Aside from being my neighbor (from their driveway to mine is .06 miles), West Wind Farm is a prime example of the type of venture I intend to promote. Southwest Virginia is slowly changing, and West Wind is among the vanguard of those who are leading the change.

In the coming weeks as I become more adept with my camera and You Tube, I plan to add video to the blog. Stay tuned.

Oh…the accident I mentioned in the beginning? I wiped out the green Wythe Notes logo and replaced it with a generic black. I have no idea how the hell I managed to do that. Until I figure out what I did, the generic one stays.

]]> http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/02/16/our-evolving-look/feed/ 1 http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2008/08/19/the-country-store/ http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2008/08/19/the-country-store/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:19:25 +0000 Ron Dees http://www.rondees.com/wp/2008/08/19/the-country-store/

I have always loved country stores. Both of my grandfathers operated country stores, and though I have only the vaguest memories of them, I’m sure that’s where my love affair began.

After I got out of the service in the early ’70s, I went back to college. To supplement the GI Bill, I had a rural paper route. 73 miles round trip daily thru the farmlands of eastern North Carolina. There were four country stores on my route, each totally different from the others. The first was little more than a shack, containing a few canned goods, bread, cigarettes, and an assortment of candy bars and snacks. It also had the cheapest gas in the county. The owner, a widower whose name I can’t recall, was in a constant price war with one of the big oil company stations down the road. I remember paying 18 cents a gallon for regular at the peak of the competition in the summer of 1973. During the winter, he prepared a one pot meal on top of the pot bellied stove. His squirrel stew was memorable.

The second store was located in the middle of a cornfield with only a one lane tractor path for access. Its hours were irregular, but it provided the basic necessities for the surrounding families. If one found oneself in say, a late night toilet paper emergency, one had only to call the proprietor at home and he would open up to fulfill ones’ need.

Murray Whitford’s Store was the 3rd and largest of the stores on my route. Murray offered everything from hand cut steaks to sewing notions. Murray was dedicated to spoiling rotten my 3 year-old daughter Beth, who often accompanied me. Cookies, candy, ice cream; Mrs. Whitford’s homemade cakes, were hers without asking. My protests to the contrary fell on deaf ears. All I had to do was turn my back for a second, and one look at Murray’s grin told me Beth was behind the counter well into a sugar rush.

The fourth and final store was operated by the sweetest little old lady who was…..a bootlegger. For $2.50 a pint, she sold the finest ‘shine I’ve ever tasted. Where she obtained her hooch, I have no idea. Don’t ask, don’t tell was her motto long before the military ever thought of it.

Like many small businesses, today’s country stores are facing increasing pressure and competition from the national chains. Many stores that have operated for generations have been forced to close. We in Wythe County are very fortunate. With a total population of around 28,000 and a population density of 60 people per square mile, I guess there just aren’t enough folks to interest 7/11 and their ilk. Let’s hope it stays that way, because country stores are not only important centers of commerce in Wythe County, they are a vital part of our social fabric. Functioning as mini shopping malls and community gathering spots, the two featured here are five miles apart on Rt. 52 in the eastern part of the county.

Pure Country Convenience is located just off I-77 in Poplar Camp. Noted for discount gasoline and cigarettes, their take-out kitchen in the back corner serves up some pretty tasty fare. My personal favorites are the breakfast sandwiches which feature a slice of tomato on each one. Groceries, hunting supplies, toys and DVDs are just a few of their additional offerings.

Five miles south of Fort Chiswell and just down Rt. 52 from our humble little cottage is the New River General Store. Operated by our neighbors, James and Kathy Armbrister, the wonderful riverboat mural painted on the front by Hillsville artist Junior Lark makes the New River General hard to miss. This store carries pretty much everything you need. From hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies to clothes, groceries, and a deli with one of the finest chilidogs anywhere, the New River epitimizes what a country store can be. To paraphrase Garrison Kellor, if Kathy doesn’t have it, you can probably get along without it.

During deer season, James holds a best rack contest and come tax time, the county assessor sets up shop for the purchase of county stickers, saving us locals a trip into Wytheville. You can also purchase hunting and fishing licenses here. If that ain’t convenience, then I don’t know what is.

One of the concerns I had when I left the urban nightmare that is N. Va for Wythe County was the perceived inability to find the quality of ingredients that I was accustomed to using in my cooking. The overcrowding, 24/7 traffic jams, pollution, and rudeness that make up daily life in the Washington area was partly offset for me by the availability of practically every food stuff imaginable. Top quality meats, seafood, and produce were just a short drive away.

You can imagine my delite when, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered Sunny Daze Convenience Store, proprietors Linda and Michael Dix ‘s little food lover’s paradise on the edge of town. From the outside, the store looks like a refugee from a Carolina beach town.

Sunny Daze’ Linda Dix

Their hand cut steaks come from Sterling Silver Premium Beef, (a division of Cargill, Inc.) Sterling’s website advertises that their beef is chosen from the top 12% of prime and choice/AAA beef. At $9.99 a pound, Michael’s ribeyes are not only among the best I have ever purchased, they are a down right steal. Properly prepared, they are like buttah………..

Their seafood selections are certainly the best in the county if not the entire Mountain Empire. I can attest to the FRESH (never frozen) New Hampshire scallops. Their sweetness is like seafood candy. Michael often offers sushi grade tuna and salmon as well as a wide variety of both fresh and flash frozen seafood. There are many, many other delicacies too numerous to list here at very reasonable prices . Michael welcomes special orders and told me he can pretty much get anything from anywhere given enough time.

If you are serious about good food, forget Wal-Mart and Food Lion, Sunny Daze is where it’s at. Located at 610 West Lee Highway in Wytheville, the phone number is 276-223-0555.

The Wytheville Farmers Market seems to be off to a pretty good start. According to Harold Underwood who is the on-site manager, the number of vendors and customers is growing each week. By noon yesterday, 175 plus folks had stopped by, up from 101 total last Saturday. Located in the former RP Johnson & Sons lot at 355 East Main Street, the Market is currently open Saturdays from 7:00 am to 1:00pm, and Tuesdays from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

The market is the result of the collaboration between the Wythe-Bland Community Foundation, the Wytheville Community College Healthy Living Project, the Bland County Board of Supervisors, and the VA Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. HOPE Inc. (Helping Overcome Poverty’s Existence), under the direction of Andy Kegley, is the managing agency.

Anne and I arrived at 11:00 am and the remaining vendors were still doing a fair amount of business though the pickins’ were starting to get a little slim. Still, there were some excellent deals on squash, zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, cantaloupe, and cabbage. Sue Govin had a few tempting baked goods left and some beautiful honey she was selling for another vendor who couldn’t stay. Pauline Cregger told me that there was a line of 30 – 40 people waiting to get in when the market opened so I guess you should plan on getting there early.

Though our own garden is starting to produce, we still purchased some things for ourselves and to take to friends and family when Anne heads to Maryland today for a week. Alvin Cassell’s tasty cantaloupe was on the dinner table last night sprinkled with some chopped spearmint.

I strongly urge all of you to support this project. Aside from the fact that the products sold here are fresher and cheaper, the money spent at the Market stays in our local economy. Chain grocery stores send 89 cents out of every dollar to other states and other countries. Our farmers are being pressed on every side with increases in the cost of fuel, fertilizer, equipment , recent increases in property taxes and the minimum wage, and tighter credit. Farmer’s Markets give them another source of income and a greater return on investment. If you think relying on foreign oil is a problem, what do you think a total reliance on foreign food would be like?

If you are interested in participating as a vendor, contact Andy Kegley, HOPE, Inc. (toll free 1-877-818-8680 or 276-228-6280, Ext. 211.)

-:-

Pauline Cregger smiles at a comment from another vendor.