ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
WHETHER YOU'RE SEARCHING for pies or potatoes, the Bedford Farmers' Market has it all -including a just-completed remodeling.
John Laughlin says he sells anything that grows on a farm and that's probably why he's a mainstay of the the Bedford Farmers' Market, which just got a face lift.
"I don't sell no old stuff," said the 78-year-old Laughlin, who was picking produce from his small farm Mondays and Thursdays and taking it to the market on Tuesdays and Fridays before the mid-1980s when the market moved to its West Washington Street site.
He has satisfied customers, he said, because he replaces any produce a customer returns.
Laughlin, a retired crane and shovel operator, and his wife, Olivia, have been taking a truck and a carload all this summer to the market and setting up shop in Stall 12.
Laughlin likes doing business at the market even though he doesn't keep very good track of his earnings.
From early spring through late fall, the Laughlins sell whatever is in season: lima beans, watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, apples and pumpkins.
Remodeling the Farmers' Market "suits me fine," said Laughlin, who is glad real rest rooms have replaced the portable privies.
"It's going to be much better," he said of the permanent stalls that surround a stage. The old tents, he said, were "hot like in an oven."
Water spigots at every space also are helpful, Laughlin said.
Although he expects his $80 seasonal rental to go up, "I look forward for the rest of the season."
His only complaint is "fly-by-nights who come and undersell you" by renting a table for a day. He said these folks usually leave unhappy customers.
Bedford officials aren't thinking of the Farmers' Market's face lift as a money maker. They want to turn it into a gathering place for the community.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the market at 220 W. Washington St. at 9 a.m. Aug. 23.
Bedford Main Street Inc. and city and county officials will be celebrating what Jay Scudder calls "a great example of local government cooperation."
Both localities provided money for the renovations, which included repaving the lot.
After visiting several markets, officials decided on a design similar to one in Salem.
Scudder, director of planning and community development, said the final costs will be about $75,000.
"We want to have a lot of stuff going on here," he said, "especially on Saturday mornings and holidays."
Elizabeth Berry-Mosley, Bedford Main Street Inc. director, said local groups are being encouraged to use the market area for public entertainment and events.
People visit the market early Mondays and Thursdays to buy coconut, chocolate or sweet potato pies from Nina Arthur, the first woman to sell on the Farmers' Market. She and her husband, Rudolph, rent stalls and sell vegetables, fruits and items she cans.
Arthur, who retired on disability from Rubatex, said she likes the face lift. "It's nice. ... A breeze goes right through," she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. PHILIP HOLMAN STAFF (Right) Customers pick corn outby CNBof John Laughlin's truck Friday at the new Bedford Farmers' Market.
The market, for which there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug.
23, replaces a predecessor that had fewer permanent features, such
as bathrooms.
2. (Above) Laughlin has been selling produce at the farmers' market
for 13 years, starting when he retired from his job as a crane and
shovel operator. color
3. Nina Arthur, the first woman to run a stall on the farmers'
market, weighs produce before a sale. color