THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507280153
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON A. MILLS JR., CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
ON A RECENT, SULTRY evening, we ran into a friend who told us of having feasted on fresh vegetables from a nearby farmer's market. The luscious, white corn and succulent, red tomatoes sounded more palate-pleasing than anything even a five-star restaurant could offer.
For many of us, treasured memories include snapping just-picked beans, shucking corn from an abundant crop or simmering other produce, its heavenly aromas borne on summer breezes. The pantries of the gods could boast no finer fare!
What better way to obtain such good eats than from an area farmers market or roadside market? You should have no difficulty locating an outlet.
It used to be that folks gave thanks for the bounty of nature after the fall harvest. Today we can be perpetually grateful that, through the miracle of modern agriculture, fresh fruit and vegetables are available from about April through November.
With the mercury pushing the low 90s - one of the cooler days, as it turned out - daughter Sandi and I set off to visit three markets, all in Suffolk. There's also one in Isle of Wight County, near Carrollton, and other, nearby areas.
Our first stop was the Holland Open Air Market on U.S. Route 58, Holland Road. Its owner is J. Frank Holland.
Lois Holland, who was manning the register, said the market has been open about four years. The Hollands get lots of travelers en route to Lake Gaston and Florida. They open in late June and stay open until Nov. 1.
The bins and tables were piled high with corn - Silver Queen and Yellow Queen - big tomatoes, peaches, snap beans, okra, melons and more. You can buy the products individually or by the bushel, the hundred, or whatever you might want for the freezer.
There's an area devoted to used furniture and collectibles, but the produce is the scene-stealer. The Hollands grow most of what they sell on six acres behind the market and a total of 25 acres.
Alexander Harris, on his way back to High Point, N.C., after making a delivery in Newport News, parked the new Kenworth tractor and 48-foot trailer he drives for Carolina Pacific out front while he ran in to buy corn and tomatoes as his wife waited.
``I'll put this in the reefer unit, crank it up and keep it nice and cold,'' he said with a grin.
En route from Hollister, N.C., to Virginia Beach, Donald Morgan explained that he already had stopped at several roadside markets for cantaloupes and peaches.
He bought more cantaloupes and peaches by the bushel. Morgan has a dehydrator and makes peach jacks throughout the winter.
``I'm not stopping any more on the way back,'' he said, ``except for stoplights.''
Willie Darden, 72, of Holland, has been working for the Hollands about 20 years. ``I've been picking tomatoes all week,'' he volunteered. ``Pick awhile and wash awhile; keeps me so busy I can't even keep the weeds down.''
Willie stocks the market and a large, walk-in cooler kept at a constant 38 degrees. He took time from his picking to introduce us to burpless cucumbers and to show us the difference between them and the regular kind.
When we asked Holland if she had recipes, she ducked into the back and came out with a 20-page booklet she and her family prepared and sell for $1.75 to cover copying costs. It looks like a good companion for the produce.
Our next stop was on Constance Road, almost in downtown Suffolk. It's a much smaller establishment, without even a sign, but what it lacked in size it made up for in convenience.
There used to be a farmer's market in downtown Suffolk, but it closed several years ago.
Junious Spivey, tending the stand, said he's operated it about three years. ``We raise all of it, on a farm on Copeland Road,'' he said.
The stand was well stocked with tomatoes, white corn, cucumbers, squash and onions. As we talked to Spivey, Lynn Wilkinson pulled up during her lunch break from American General Finance. Without breaking her stride, she began to select tomatoes, cucumbers and squash that she paid for as Spivey bagged them.
``We eat lunch from here,'' she said, laughing. ``This is it. We're having tomato sandwiches for lunch. The cucumbers and squash are for supper.''
Our last stop was Sessoms Farm Market on Wilroy Road, almost at Nansemond Parkway. It's been there about 35 years, according to Glenn Sessoms, who runs it with his father and sister.
They open around April 1 and stay open until after Halloween. Almost all of what they sell they grow themselves, on between 15 and 20 acres, on which they also raise some livestock.
Denise Dilday, of Suffolk, stopped in to pick up some enormous, deep red tomatoes. Sessoms said they are from a hybrid seed like Beefsteak or Better Boys, which have thicker walls to keep them fresher longer.
He sliced one open to prove the point and shared it. If there ever was a summer flavor, this is it.
Joyce Baldwin-Warren of Chesapeake stopped in and obviously knew her way around the market. ``I live in Chesapeake Square, so it's not that far,'' she said. ``I'm pretty picky about produce.''
Sessoms said they get a lot of customers from neighboring cities, especially Norfolk. They know the regulars. ``We're here to please the customers,'' he said.
Foreign visitors to the United States, from Nikita Krushchev to young exchange students, have commented for years that one of the things that impresses them most is the modern American supermarket. They are marvels, but in this season of plenty, what better way to raise the song of harvest than visiting our farmers markets? MEMO: We're always on the lookout for things that make this area a special
place to call home. Help us introduce Sun readers to your discoveries.
Call Dawson Mills at 489-9547. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DAWSON MILLS
The family-run Sessoms Farm Market on Wilroy Road has been serving
customers for 35 years.
Joyce Baldwin-Warren, a Chesapeake resident, gets some help
selecting her produce from Glenn Sessoms at Sessoms Farm Market.
by CNB