A "TINY" FARMERS MARKET

This month Farmers Markets are exploding throughout Oregon with freshly grown produce from local gardens. Farmers Markets reflect the needs of the folks that are located near them. As an example a less populated area will not have a large farmer's market while a larger city will have a large one. So Farmers Markets come in all sizes -- large, medium and small. But in this post I am adding a forth size I came upon in my Oregon wanderings. -- "tiny". The area surrounding this tiny market is called Deadwood an unincorporated community of less than 300 people. 

Above is the homemade sign on its way to be posted at the market. The day I visited there were less than half a dozen vendors. But the produce offered was diverse and fresh. 

Here is a sampler of the "tiny" market images ----

Fresh picked blueberries -- no chemicals.

Some of the vendors and their booths.

Fresh picked wax beans, peas, and zucchini.

No chemicals.

An ancient scale to weigh the produce in this case -- blackberries. 

Two different kinds of sweet plums. 

My taste buds will attest to their sweetness.

No chemicals.

Have some fun with friends and/or family . Visit different Farmer's Markets during the growing season. Support your local growers.

THE PRESIDENT AND LEADERSHIP

Group of unemployed New York City workers holding up 1914 newspaper -- "The Voice of the City"
Library of Congress

Here is an article recently published and wrote by Robert Reich. Robert Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations

I admired what he had to say. Maybe you do or don't but it is something to think about

I'm sharing it with you in its entirety as follows:

The President’s Jobs Plan (Not)
TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011
What did the President do in response to last week’s horrendous job report — unemployment rising
to 9.2 percent in June, with only 18,000 new jobs (125,000 are needed each month just to keep up with the growth in the potential labor force)?

He said the economy continues to be in a deep hole, and he urged Congress to extend the temporary reduction in the employee part of the payroll tax, approve pending free-trade agreements, and pass a measure to streamline patent procedures.

To call this inadequate would be a gross understatement.

Here’s what the President should have said:

This job recession shows no sign of ending. It can no longer be blamed on supply-side disruptions from Japan, Europe’s debt crisis, high oil prices, or bad weather.

We’re in a vicious cycle where consumers won’t buy more because they’re scared of losing their jobs and their pay is dropping. And businesses won’t hire because they don’t have enough customers.

Here in Washington, we’ve been wasting time in a game of chicken over raising the debt ceiling. Republicans want you to believe the deficit is responsible for the bad economy. The truth is that when the private sector cannot and will not spend enough to get the economy going, the public sector must step into the breach. Cutting the deficit now would only create more joblessness.

My first priority is to get Americans back to work. I’m proposing a jobs plan that will do that.

First, we’ll exempt the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes for the next two years. This will put cash directly into American’s pockets and boost consumer spending. We’ll make up the revenue shortfall by applying Social Security taxes to incomes over $500,000.

Second, we’ll recreate the WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps — two of the most successful job innovations of the New Deal – and put people back to work directly. The long-term unemployed will help rebuild our roads and bridges, ports and levees, and provide needed services in our schools and hospitals. Young people who can’t find jobs will reclaim and improve our national parklands, restore urban parks and public spaces, recycle products and materials, and insulate public buildings and homes.

Third, we’ll enlarge the Earned Income Tax Credit so lower-income Americans have more purchasing power.

Fourth, we’ll lend money to cash-strapped state and local governments so they can rehire teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and others who provide needed public services. This isn’t a bailout. When the economy improves, scheduled federal outlays to these states and locales will drop by an amount necessary to recover the loans.

Fifth, we’ll amend the bankruptcy laws so struggling homeowners can declare bankruptcy on their primary residence. This will give them more bargaining leverage with their lenders to reorganize their mortgage loans. Why should the owners of commercial property and second homes be allowed to include these assets in bankruptcy but not regular home owners?

Sixth, we’ll extend unemployment benefits to millions of Americans who have lost part-time jobs. They’ll get partial benefits proportional to the time they put in on the job.

Yes, most of these measures will require more public spending in the short term. But unless we get this economy moving now, the long-term deficit problem will only grow worse.

Some in Congress will fight against this jobs plan on ideological grounds. They don’t like the idea that government exists to help Americans who need it. And they don’t believe we all benefit when jobs are more plentiful and the economy is growing again.

I am eager to take them on. Average Americans are hurting, and their pain is not going away.

We bailed out Wall Street so that the financial system would not crash. We stimulated the economy so that businesses would not tank. Now we must help ordinary people on the Main Streets of America — for their own sakes, and also so that the real economy can fully mend.

My most important goal is restoring jobs and wages. Those who oppose me must explain why doing nothing is preferable

FLOUR SACKS AND A HISTORIC MILL

1924 Garrard Mill Paper Bag

At one time, many grist mills were located in rural settled areas where they milled grains. This provided fresh grains in the form of flour, feed, and  meal.  Local farmers brought their grain harvest to the mill and paid for the milling by giving the miller a portion of his harvest. The grist mill miller turned around and sold his share to area folks and  commercial establishments.

The 1901 Garrard Mill in Lancaster, Kentucky,  marked their grain bags with their logo (see above photo). They  also packed their flour in cotton cloth bags of various colored patterns -- women used this cloth to sew clothes or make quilts.

1901 Garrard Mill, Lancaster, Kentucky

The  Garrard Mill established delivery routes, much like the milk-man routes, which delivered the products of the mill. Grains were delivered in the logo printed large paper bags and flour in the patterned cotton cloth sacks.  Women would request certain patterns of the cotton cloth sacks for home projects they were working on. A common name for these cotton sacks was 'flour sacks." There was a ledger kept by the Garrard Mill with the customer's name and the type of patterns they needed. If the right patterns came along they would be delivered  to the customer .

Just perhaps some of the strip quilts that we see today have pieces of flour sack material in them?

Garrard Grist Mill was built in 1901 and was sold at auction in the latter part of the twentieth century. It is now in private hands and no longer mills for the area.


The Garrard Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places


Resources:
Margaret Simson, Garrard Historical Society
Southern Folk Art and Antiques -- Photo -- Garrard Mill Bag

INSIDE THE COX FAMILY HARDWARE -- WHERE OLD MEETS NEW IN A SMALL TOWN COMMUNITY

COX HARDWARE STORE

Martha spoke to me on the phone today telling me she is the last Cox of the family to run the Cox Hardware store. The year it opened its doors for business was 1907 -- 104 years ago. Martha's husband was the last in the line of four generations to keep the business running. 


People in town asked her after her husband passed last year if she was going to sell the place. She responded to them with, "no, I have fun running this old hardware store."  She told me that she has worked in the store for thirty years and is very familiar with its operation. I asked her if Cox Hardware was independent. She quickly answered, "a hundred percent independent!" 

ASSORTED ITEMS FOR SALE PLACED ON OLD SHELVES AND BENCHES

Cox Hardware is located on Main Street in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. It is a great store to find just what you need in the hardware line -- even one screw or two nails if that is all you need. Any questions -- someone is there to answer with a friendly smile. 

THE ORIGINAL OLD POT BELLY AND AN OLD SITTIN' BENCH

You can find newer types of paraphernalia here as well as the old. An example of an older type item would be oil lamps with chimneys and the oil to burn in  the lamps. Of course I can't list every new or old type of item that they carry as the list would be very long. 


It is a large hardware in an old brick storefront displaying lots of character with shiny original wood floors and antique items hanging or sitting around the store. Many of the cases and bins are original old  pieces. 

OLD HARDWARE BINS

At one time most small towns had a hardware store. Many have disappeared. Some say it is because of the influx of the big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot. But some family-owned hardware stores say that they are doing fine. They claim that their personal service and community attachments allow them to survive. They have met the challenge of having  the old ways remain while implementing some new practices. 

ONE OF MANY CASES TO HOLD STORE  ITEMS

Some small hardwares have become cooperatives, meaning they form as a group selling the products of a chain. And some have remained independent like Cox Hardware -- meaning running their own show. 

ANTIQUE GLASS DISPLAY CASES

Will the small town hardware stores survive? That is a question that can only be answered by the future.. 

MY CANYON DOG WALKER

MY DAUGHTER WITH SOME OF HER CANYON CANINES
 DURING A SNOW STORM -- BREAKING TRAIL.

My daughter loves dogs. About ten years ago she announced to her husband that she was going to become a dog walker. His response was, WHAT! But with a mind of her own she preceded to start her business and ten years later she has a busy, healthy enterprise -- one that she loves as well as her dogs love.

What does she do that is different from being the ordinary dog walker? Well, she takes the dogs into the canyons of the Uinta Mountains -- come rain or come shine. Let me explain, she lives up against the Uintas in Utah. It's a wild place and the dogs absolutely love it. Of course, she has had confrontations with mountain rattlers, dog and moose stand-offs, porcupine quill attacks, odoriferous skunks, and other critters big and small. She feels it's all in the game of doing what she loves. She carries all types of paraphernalia in her back pack to counter any attacks by critters. 

She calls her dogs her "clients." and some have been with her almost from the start of her business. She makes two trips a day to the canyon trails and walks each group of "clients" six miles off leash. Altogether that's twelve miles of steep ups and downs a day. Her legs have become like iron.

TREAT TIME

She drives an old SUV that she lugs the dogs around in. She details the car once a week but the in-between days produce a lot of hair and dog-wear. Her daughter is used to riding with a friend or two in a dog messy vehicle along with usually a few dogs on their way back to their individual homes. It has become all part of the game with daughter and friends.


But, husband drives his own car where dogs are not allowed. It's not all in the game with him. But after ten years of her dog business he rather tolerates it. He has progressed to giving out a few treats once in a while. Maybe in a few years her business will be all in the game for him -- perhaps? 

KENNY'S FARM STORE

Vintage Convenience Store for Farmers
Rural Jackson County Area, Kentucky

PAINTED LADIES OF DANVILLE, KENTUCKY

The city of San Francisco, California, home of the renown houses dubbed the Painted Ladies, has nothing on Danville, Kentucky.  Only in Danville, the Painted Ladies are the commercial buildings located within the historic main street section. Above and below are a few examples of Danville Painted Ladies.

Multiple varieties of early ornamentation march along the blue and purple front facade of this storefront.

A thick wooden door with a very large one paned window greets customers. 
This pub provides cheer to their customers as does the rose and white colors on the facade.

Storefront colors of sky blue and cool white provide soft contrasts

A three story building splashes a cool aqua along 
its tall side wall at its corner position. 
Various Victorian-type ornamentation 
is painted out in various colors. 

Danville is a small town of 15,477 according to the 2000 census. In 2001 the town received a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Applause for its active awareness of its heritage.

AN ARTISAN MARKETPLACE

 FULL BODIED, HUMAN SIZED, SAINT NICK ARTWORK

Yesterday I visited the rather new Kentucky Artisan Center that is located a couple minutes off Interstate 75 an artery connecting  states between Michigan and Florida.   The Center, run by the state of Kentucky,  seems to serve highway travelers in several ways. It has a fine restaurant, restrooms, lots of benches and seating both indoors and outside and a marketplace for Kentucky made goods. One can find artwork, crafts, books, and gourmet food all with ties to the state and for sale.

 

CONTEMPORARY FOLK LIZARD SCULPTURE

Art work and crafts dominate the marketplace. Many beautiful and unusual pieces can be found -- all contemporary and for sale.  

The items cover a broad spectrum, some reflecting the early forms of Kentuckian folk design, while some others, the newly evolved Kentucky arts and crafts, are dynamic and fit well with the old folk forms.

WOVEN RUGS -- THROW RAG RUG TYPE

I took a few photos of pieces that I thought were good examples of the contemporary art work.

FULL BODIED DOG, FOLK ARTWORK

Books by many Kentucky authors such as Barbara Kingsolver or Wendell Berry line the shelves on one wall. I perused them and found a few that I was unfamiliar with. I wrote them down and will order them through my local library.

THE CENTER 'S WING WITH AN INTERPRETIVE APPEARANCE OF EARLY KENTUCKY STONE HOUSES

Overall it was a nice break to visit the Center and stroll through the for sale items made in Kentucky. It was a refreshing exposure to locally made and the idea of  local economies. 

IDA GREEN'S COUNTRY GROCERY STORE

IDA GREEN

Eighty-two year old Ida Green greeted me with a wide smile as I stepped into her country grocery store. She stood at her small checkout counter facing the front entrance door to her 24’x34’ store. I introduced myself and told her that I heard about her store through a local man who has lived most of his life in the area. We did a bit of small talk and then I proposed that I write a little story about her life of fifty plus years of being an owner of the only store for miles in a rural part of Madison County. She agreed to do so but corrected me and told me that the fifty-two years included early years when her mother was the original owner. She became the owner after her mother relinquished ownership. However, family is family – Miss Ida was still involved in the operation of the store for the fifty-two years plus.  

MISS IDA'S SHINY WHITE GROCERY STORE SNUGGLED ALONG
A COUNTRY ROAD WITH A FEW OTHER HOMES

The cement block grocery store remains physically the same as when her mother first bought it. 

MISS IDA'S OUTDOOR SIGN

The following is part of her story of how times were different fifty-two years ago from present times:

When I first started with the store, folks around here all had large gardens, horses, a milk cow, chickens, hogs and other animals. Most could feed themselves with what they had except for a few staples and that is where we played a part. During those early years most of our sales were in bulk. Coffee, sugar, corn meal, and flour were our big sellers. We sold other things like fresh meat that we would cut and wrap with paper and string  for our customers. I still have the paper cutter in the store but don’t use it. Can’t sell fresh meat anymore as we don’t have running water and the health department tells us we have to have it to sell fresh meat. I still have the old meat case that kept the meat cold but now I only put pre-prepared food that needs refrigeration in the case. 

COW BELL SERVING AS A STORE BELL ANNOUNCING CUSTOMERS
WHEN YOU OPEN THE ENTRANCE DOOR

In this area, times have changed considerably from fifty years ago. It used to be that people lived more independently on their small farms, were trustworthy, and really no crimes were committed. The doctor in the area made house calls – he even set up a clinic once in awhile in our store to give vaccinations. Horses were still used, in some cases, for transportation. Today one has to deal with drugs, break-ins, and dependence on large grocery stores for your everyday food. Raising your own food is becoming rarer as time passes. 

CUSTOMER STANDING AT THE SMALL CHECKOUT COUNTER

Many of the old time farmers grew tobacco for their way of earning money. They would run a charge at the store until their crop would be sold and then they would pay us. This could be up to a year that we would carry over their charges on our books. No such thing as charge cards – we just wrote it down as they put things on charge. They always paid their debt.

At one time we had a gas pump where we sold Ashland gas, mostly to farmers for their tractors. 

VINTAGE SCALE STILL ACCURATE

I am a native of Kentucky -- married and divorced with four children. I have lived in the same house for sixty years right near here. Recently, the post office named the street after me as I had lived the longest on the street of any of my neighbors. It is now called Ida Green Lane. She smiled as she said it.

VINTAGE WHITE ENAMELED  MEAT CASE

Miss Ida has a spot located in the back of the store where she has two very comfortable upholstered chairs and a large screen television. She laughed as she told me that this is where she sits and watches soap operas when she is not busy with the store.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
ON FRONT OF CHECK OUT COUNTER

The place where the store is located has had many names over the years – Bear Wallow, Dreyfus, and Waco. It was called Bear Wallow during the  early settlement days as bears were frequently seen at the local salt lick. Bear Wallow is still commonly used to designate the location

THE OFFICIAL SIGN ANNOUNCING THE
NAME OF THE LANE THAT MISS IDA LIVES ON 

Overall, the store contains a variety of goods and vintage pieces. It is neat as can be and a charming place to stop to pick up a few essentials

Miss Ida is a realist, she knows that times change and she is making adjustments to the supplies she carries to keep pace with present needs. Ida Green’s Grocery does serve the locals well. 

THE GREAT AMERICAN TREASURE HUNT -- THE GARAGE SALE

LOVELY WOMAN ON RIGHT, A NATIVE OF FRANCE,
WAS CONDUCTING THE YARD SALE

Yesterday was a glorious fall day and I had a few errands to run. As I traveled around I noticed many yard sale signs of all sizes beckoning buyers. On my way home I passed a sign that said YARD SALE -- CHEAP.. Cheap made me stop. Not that I am cheap but I only had $8.00 in my money pouch and usually one needs cash at a yard sale. Maybe, I thought, I could find a little treasure.

Yard sales go by several common names; tag sales, rummage sales attic sales, moving sales, garage sales, and others.. It appears to be a regional tradition as to what they are called. In central Kentucky I have noticed the name yard sale is popular. So when I use the term yard sale, I am talking about any of the common names for a yard sale. Overall, one can say that yard sales are a national tradition. 

Usually yard sales have signs posted near the place of the sale. I am not a yard saler ( new verb in our language) per se, but once in a while I will stop if the sale looks interesting  -- or its a nice day and and I have $8.00 in my pouch.

Across the country, yard sales perhaps reach the billion dollar mark each year in sales according to one source. They are a form of retailing that is decentralized, run by private individuals not companies. They are informal and social -- one can pick up the item, note any flaws if any, and talk to the owner about the item. Also, the items are fairly priced and  -- just maybe you will find a treasure.  

OLD FRENCH LACE CURTAIN PANEL WITH YARD SALE CANDLESTICK

As I approached the YARD SALE-CHEAP place, a friendly couple greeted me as I strolled toward the front yard where all the sale items were located. I could tell that much of what had been for sale for gone. I know that there are folks that get there first thing and buy all the good stuff. Yet, I felt it was my lucky day and began my search for a treasure. 


I asked the woman of the couple a question about some bottles that I thought were nice -- and I noticed her accent. She told me she was from Paris, France originally. We chatted a bit and then I went back to get the bottles -- but then noticed other items of interest. Not only was everything cheap it was first quality. 

I picked up some lace curtains -- two panels -- that were quite lovely. She told me that she had gotten them from her aunt's French summer cottage. 


Hmmm  -- I knew right where I could use these fine pieces.

SMALL SOAPSTONE CARVED ELEPHANT BOX  AND CANDLESTICK

Then I looked in the free box and found a nice brass candlestick that had lots of character marks. Wellll -- this can have a place at my home.

I do like little boxes. Sitting on one of the tables was a soapstone hinged box with an elephant carved into the lid. I like to use interesting boxes to wrap small presents in or use them for some of my small mundane things around the house -- like paper clips or stamps etc.  Somehow opening an unusual box for some paper clips and other mundanes appeals to me. 

Sooo -- I now have more items added to my purchases. 

OLD FOUR-PART MUFFIN TIN AND ENGLISH BON BON CONTAINER

Now I spotted two tin items. One, another small box emptied of its English bon- bons it once contained. It had a lovely impressionistic lithograph printed on its lid. The other tin was an old muffin baking tin -- I do appreciate old household items. 

The tins joined my growing stack of things to purchase. 

OLD BLUE MEDICINAL BOTTLES

So now back to the bottles I had first noticed when I arrived. Yep, Genuine Phillips Milk of Magnesia bottles, small enough to sit on my window sash -- filtering the sun's rays through their dark blue.


Stacked them with my pile.

OLD VASELINE EMBOSSED BOTTLE

Found another old bottle. This one an old embossed Vaseline (short and stout) bottle. I added this to the mound. 


Actually, going to yard sales or having a yard sale is a gender issue. I am a feminist so don't get me wrong. But traditionally, woman have been in charge of all things household. And, sorting out what to sell is usually household items -- so the task of a yard sale falls to the female of the house. Same goes for buying -- women historically are the household consumers. Not that men aren't involved -- they are -- but just in smaller numbers.  

GRANDMOTHERS PLATES FROM FRANCE

Oh such beautiful dinner plates but only two of them. No matter to me as I mix and match all my dinnerware. I don't have any that I bought new. There are stories to share about all the dinnerware I use. My most precious stories are about some soup bowls that used to belong to my youngest son who has since passed. 

The French lady told me that the above two plates were her grandmothers in France. I told her I like to eat from old plates and her face lit up and she said, "it's like having your grandmother there to share your meal!" I agreed. 

SHEFFIELD ENGLAND SILVER-PLATE SPOONS

The idea of yard sales began around the 1950s when the U.S. started their trek toward a consumeristic society. It was a grass roots movement. It provided an outlet for individually owned goods. By the 1970s it had reached its peak and has pretty much maintained that peak until the present day. 


The last items I would buy were some small serving spoons or perhaps they were some hearty sized soup spoons. They are heavy silver-plate and quite old. I know I will use them for soup. 


Final total of goods -- $6.20!


But aside from money, I like used items because they have been touched and cared for by folks. I know that they are not living things but the spirit in which they existed perhaps infuses a certain light into their present day reality. They are my treasures for now. 

SOURCES:
His and Hers: Gender and Garage Sales

Garage Sales Wikipedia

Garage Sales are a big part of retailing

OLD SCHOOL -- SMALL TOWN -- COMMUNITY MEMORIES -- RESTORE

FRONT VIEW OF PAINT LICK SCHOOL

FRONT INTERIOR ENTRANCE

WORK SITE

Paint Lick was considered a modern school in 1912 when the original four rooms were built to accommodate grades k-12 in the small town of Paint Lick, Kentucky. Constructed of brick in the latest two story school style it soon became too small, so over the years a few additions were added -- like the gym that was built in two sections. It served the community well over those years – until 1994. 

The high school grades part were moved to the nearby town of Lancaster in 1964. Then a beautiful school was built at the edge of town for the lower grades. The old school that sat in town joined the ranks of many of the old schools across the nation that were closed in the last several decades. 

As they closed,  these lovely old neighborhood schools became deteriorated  eyesores. For others, good fortune rained down on them as they were resurrected into living apartments, office structures, community centers and even turned into private schools. Towns found that restored schools with such uses contributed to the local economies.

LEFT OVERS FROM THE PAST IN OLD ALCOVE

GHOSTLY SCHEDULE OF THE PAST

ORIGINAL WOOD STAIRCASE
1912

In Paint Lick the old school was sold to a private individual and became sort of a flea market for about 12 years. Then a man stepped forward about four years ago -- to buy the school with a vision for studio apartments. He had previous experience in resurrecting a small office building to its former glory in the town of Berea, Kentucky. Jay, not his real name, has fire in his heart for old buildings and feels that we need them to know our roots. He follows all the National Register guidelines in rehabilitating buildings.

SHADOW WEAR MARKS FROM FORMER STUDENTS
ON OLD WOOD STAIRCASE

CLASSROOM  VIEW

I stepped into the old school last Saturday. The interior was in the throes of restoration. It’s a large building that requires slow deliberate work, much of what one cannot see like asbestos abatement.  Many of the old school interior elements were still hanging on. There were school secrets around every corner. Vintage school colors were still apparent on many surfaces. Wood floors, some refinished were eye popping in the multi -windowed classrooms. Histories of footsteps were pronounced on the old wood stair treads. Even one small blackboard still had class notes from long ago.

VINTAGE BLUE COLOR ON DOOR WITH
OLD AND NEW LOCKS

WORK IN PROGRESS

This school wraps up a man’s vision, student memories, town history and possibly in the future a new beginning for the Paint Lick school.