FARMERS MARKET: A SOURCE OF PRIDE

Gardens around Cape Girardeau are finished for this season, having had a fairly good year even though the cool spring put off having ripe tomatoes until well past the Fourth of July target date.

For the 13th year, growers of vegetables and other garden produce, along with some scrumptious baked items and other goodies, have displayed and sold their wares at the Cape Girardeau Farmers Market every Thursday afternoon at the Plaza Galleria parking lot.

As many as 1,000 customers would show up, rain or shine, to pick over the cucumbers and tomatoes and okra and fresh apple pies. Demand for the best selection is so great, in fact, that organizers set and enforced a starting time for sales so that no one has a shopping advantage.

In addition to the variety and quality of produce that is sold, there is another reason so many folks enjoy going to the farmers market: to see the pride of the vendors whose labors have produced excellence and high quality.

Besides, the farmers market is one of the few glimpses into the past that so many residents of this area remember well: growing up on farms or tending family gardens in town.

Thanks to all the participants in the farmers market, and we look forward to seeing you again next May.