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Mickey Whalen and her brother Wally Vogel run a specialty flower stand at the Williamsburg Farmers Market. Vogel, who is deaf, mute, and autistic, finds as much delight in his flowers as the patrons do.
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Patrons can find over 65 varieties of produce throughout the season, as well as soaps, teas, jams, meats and baked goods.
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Photo used courtesy of Odd Moxie.
“Each vendor has a cool story. People can come to the Farmers Market feeling like a stranger, and leave feeling like they’re part of something more.” -Tracy Herner
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Leashed dogs with their owners are welcome at the Williamsburg Farmers Market.
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Vendors come from all walks of life–some were pilots or architects before taking up growing.
The Williamsburg Farmers Market was bustling on an overcast morning in April. Music played, vendors lined the path, and York County grower Wally Vogel went around visiting patrons with a box labeled “Wild Chicken.” People who crossed his path would get a surprise as a squeaky chicken toy popped out its head, and the box top flipped up to read “April Fool’s Day.”
All-in-all, it was another typical, “not-so-typical” morning. “You never know quite what you’re going to see,” said market manager Tracy Herner, 37, of Williamsburg. “Some weeks there are Angora rabbits, some weeks there’s a pig. It reflects our interesting community. Interesting people live here.”
The interesting people who began it all were Williamsburg business owners Tom Austin and Tom Power. They envisioned setting up a European-style farmers market right in Merchant Square, and in July 2002, the Williamsburg Farmers Market had its first season. Sixteen vendors came out along with 1,800 customers. It’s only grown from there.
“There was a real need for people to connect again with their communities,” Herner said.
That seems to be the case all over Virginia, with the number of markets now over 200.
Patrons can find over 65 varieties of produce throughout the season, as well as soaps, teas, jams, meats and baked goods. The 40 or so vendors who call the Market home each weekend come from all across Virginia—including Westmoreland County’s Zamora Produce and Hanover County’s Agriberry.
Others only travel 10 minutes.
“I woke up at 3 a.m. to load up the trailer,” Mickey Whalen, 67, of York County said, laughing. “Well, actually, I woke up my brother and then I went back to bed until 4:30.”
The brother and sister duo run Gifts of Nature, a specialty flower stand which was started by their mother, one of the Market’s original vendors. Whalen handles the business side of things while her jokester younger brother, Wally Vogel, 64, all but lives in the garden.
“Our mother bought property just so we could grow the flowers,” Whalen explained. “She bought him a greenhouse and he was so happy, he did a snow angel on the grass.”
Both of them radiate enthusiasm for the Market, and Vogel, who is deaf, mute, and autistic, finds as much delight in his flowers as the patrons do. The family doesn’t use sign language. Instead, they communicate with pantomime gestures that the customers can also understand.
“I love showing off my brother,” Whalen said. “And I love this Market. The people are so friendly; they make me happy.”
People are what the Market is all about. As Herner explained, “When you come, it should all seem effortless, but what makes the Market special is the variety of people who impact it.”
That doesn’t just mean the patrons. Vendors come from all walks of life— some were pilots or architects before taking up growing. Many own family businesses. Jamestown Pie Company, for example, was founded by a Turkish family who has been hand-making “round foods” since 2004.
For Maureen Anderson, of Tasha’s Own Goat Milk in James City County, getting her family involved is just another joy.
“I have six boys and two girls,” Anderson said. “People say, ‘You’ve got all those kids, they must do the work for you.’” While Anderson’s kids have always helped, she explained, “I let them be what they want. I’m building a beautiful life through the farm so that they can say in the morning, ‘I’m going to study Shakespeare today.’”
Anderson has been selling homemade goat milk soaps at the Market for four years, but she’s been farming for about 18. “I had 30 acres in Virginia Beach before I came to Williamsburg and one day, the sun was setting andI was walking home from the barns, and I thought, ‘I would not have any other life.’”
It’s not something many people expect when looking at the 51-year-old brunette woman. According to Anderson, “People are surprised because I’m a beekeeper; I shear sheep by hand and lecture and teach classes. Many years ago, a young priest would help at the farm and he said, ‘You are really countercultural.’ I really loved that.”
With the Market welcoming its 15th Anniversary, Anderson’s story, like Whalen and Vogel’s, are just some of many unexpected accounts that can be unearthed.
“Each vendor has a cool story,” said Herner. “People can come to theFarmers Market feeling like a stranger, and leave feeling like they’re part of something more.”