What a Day!
By
Gerry Niskern
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a Farmer’s Market, but I was invited to go along to one with some family members Saturday.
I’ve passed the one at Central and Bethany Home Road a thousand times but never stopped. Strange, considering on every trip to another city, my resident historian and I always visited their Farmer’s Markets.
As we moseyed along between the many vendors the first thing I noticed was there weren’t many fruits and vegetables. Ironic, since that’s how Farmer’s Markets came into existence; a place for farmers to sell their produce directly to the consumers. The first market in the United States was started in Boston, Mass. In 1634. And actually, over the years, I have heard stories about my grandfather, who had a farm about ten miles from Vienna, in Austria, loading his wagon with fruits and vegetables and arriving before dawn at the outdoor market every Saturday to sell his produce in the Vienna city marketplace.
On our walking tour thru the Central Phoenix market we did see some vendors selling herbs to grow in kitchen gardens. We passed booths with homemade breads of all kinds. There was unique pottery, one of my favorites. Other booths had vintage clothing, homemade jellies, interesting and different bird feeders and homemade soaps.
It appeared nearly everyone had their dog with them and some were very good looking. Of course, when barking broke out it was always a smaller dog who considered it his duty to challenge one bigger than him. Of course, We passed an unusual amount of booths selling doggie products. Serious nutritious dog food, snacks and treats for fido were offered everywhere. One large vendor had hundreds of colorful dog collars on display.
We eventually arrived at a dead end by some food trucks. The Food trucks were a welcome part of the market. Some in our group enjoyed a lobster sandwich. Turning back another route the truck selling fresh squeezed lemonade had the longest line, since the temperature was rising fast.
We went on to see pretty homemade aprons, wind chimes and one man had silver rings, bracelets, and something I had not seen since I was a kid; silver bracelets made from bending a spoon around to fit a wrist. When I was in middle school, boys used to present an intended “steady” with a spoon bracelet (probably from his mother’s silver set! ) that he had engraved with his and her name.
As we walked on we saw a booth full of hats, kettle corn, special pasta blends, and a man selling funny tee shirts with all breeds of dogs on the front. And last but not least, a booth for special doggie vitamins!
As we were heading out we heard rumors of actual vegetables in the back somewhere and chocolate candy! Maybe for another day!