A Silver Anniversary

At the opening of the 2010 Farmer's Market season today in Hutchinson, the chairman of the Market board announced that this year is the 25th year of operation for the Reno County Producer's Market. A lot of the city dignitaries spoke--Mayor Cindy Proett, City Council Member Frances Garcia, Downtown Development Director Jim Seitnater, Marci Penner from the Kansas Sampler Festival, and one other downtown promoter whose name I was not familiar with and can't remember.

Also speaking was Earl Polk, who was on the very first board of directors and is currently on the board again. He is the only vendor who has been there every year since the beginning. Earl gave a brief history of the market, naming those who served with him on that first board. My father, David L. Miller, was among them. Another key individual, Bruce Shultz, died of cancer several decades ago, and Wes Boese and Kerry Goetz were also board members.

Earl got emotional talking about the wonderful gift that Max Ontjes presented the community when he donated a building for use as a farmer's market. This happened four years after the market had begun operating on the ground level of the First National Bank parking garage. Max was a downtown businessman with a generous heart. He used to operate the Pegues store. When he approached the city with his proposal for a new building that would be constructed at his expense, the city offered property in a paved parking lot downtown for the building's location.

The old Newton railroad depot was being dismantled at that time, and the iron supports reminiscent of rails for train tracks were destined for the scrap heap when some enterprising person saw their potential for use in the new market building. Painted black, and with curving "Y" arms as supports at the top, they're perfect for use as pillars for a building serving a purpose so earthy as the marketing of farm and garden products. Wire mesh netting serves as a ceiling, preventing birds from nesting in the attic of the building.

The market pavilion was the first permanent structure in the state of Kansas dedicated to Farmer's Market use. The building has a wide sheltering roof with the sides open and the ends enclosed. One end has double doors and the other end has restrooms and a storage area that also serves as headquarters for the market manager.

Two years ago a local artist painted a colorful mural on the walls at one end of the market building. In the center a family sits around a table loaded with good food. On one side, a gardener plants seeds, and on the other, a farmer harvests grain. The space in front of that is the performance area. Nearly every week someone plays and/or sings there. Today it was a group of accordian players. Our own Pilgrim student, Arlyn Miller, has played guitar and sung in the past.

Best of all, the market now is crowded with vendors and shoppers. I talked to a vendor today who said she is number 9 on the waiting list for reserved stalls along the perimeter of the building. Hiromi and I are very glad to have reserved a stall last year, which gave us first chance at the same stall this year. Even on this first-of-the-season, miserably cold, rainy market day, nearly every space was taken. Plans are being made to extend the vendor area out to the east by means of portable structures--like a series of carports, I imagine them to be. I remember first day vendor numbers of about six, so this increase is remarkable.

Every year the market board and manager make improvements to make the marketing experience better for everyone. Benches located strategically allow people to sit and listen to the music or wait for the free coffee to finish perking or visit with other people for whom the Saturday market is an important social event. People on food assistance programs now have a way to use those funds for fresh, locally-grown produce. More close-up parking and more entrance points are other changes for the convenience of customers. Wednesday hours have been changed to accommodate the downtown lunchtime crowd--a good thing for vendors as well who suffered through the hottest hours of the day when the market was open from early afternoon to early evening.

This spring several members of my food production class, as well as one former student, talked to me about the possibility of offering produce and baked goods for sale at Farmer's Market. I'm grateful for the visionaries of the past who made this direct marketing venue possible. And I'm grateful that young visionaries recognize this for the opportunity that it is.