THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130334
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Richard Bunch never expected to make a profit when he fashioned a cluster of sturdy, old tables, large coolers and baskets beneath a tree in his front yard in Driver and hung an old-fashioned scale from a limb.
He simply wanted to support his habit - spending winters and summers digging in the dirt, planting seeds and harvesting from three garden plots he works near his Driver home.
``My wife gets mad,'' said the man known fondly as ``Dickie'' by his friends and neighbors, as he stood in the shade of the tree. ``She says I stay in the garden all the time. I'm not a house boy. I could stay out here 24 hours a day.''
But Bunch didn't want to be bothered with tending his makeshift vegetable stand, which has paid for seeds, fertilizer and gas for the plow. So he added a sign to the tree: ``Honor system - Leave money in box - No tax.''
And for some time, the system worked. When Bunch was too busy in the garden to take in the vegetables and the small, plastic cashbox at night, the stand was often there around the clock.
And mostly, Bunch found that folks were more than honest. If they didn't have the right change, or if they had a few spare coins in their pockets, his cash box did well.
``I never really even counted the money,'' he said. ``I just trust people.''
And he still does, although his cash box has been pilfered from twice in recent weeks.
That sent feelings of outrage throughout the small, closeknit community in northern Suffolk, near Bennett's Creek. Talk in Driver was: ``Did you hear? Dickie's box was broken into.''
As neighbors who had never before bothered to pay attention watched from their windows, the culprit - who also took a nice mess of red potatoes - was soon discovered. Bunch confronted the thief with a warning to stay away from the stand. And he installed a lock and chain on a new metal box.
He hated to do it, he said, but the lock still doesn't compromise the concept of his honor system.
``I'll trust anybody until I've got a reason not to,'' he said. ``I'm not worried in the least bit.''
He's too busy keeping his vegetable stand in stock. The system of payment isn't the only thing different about Bunch's stand. It's kind of a gourmet operation.
Most of the time, the corn is already shucked; the beans shelled and ready to cook.
``I shell beans at night,'' he said, grinning. ``Oh, I just love to shell 'em.''
Many of the vegetables are packaged in neat, plastic bags, often in small quantities for special customers who cook for just one or two people.
``I have to take care of my customers,'' Bunch said.
If he runs out of certain items in his own gardens that he knows his customers will be looking for, he goes to nearby Jones Farm and buys more.
While he's harvesting the summer's bounty, Bunch already is busy planning for cold-weather crops. Sweet potato plants have been in the ground for weeks, and collard plant seedlings are popping up. Patches are being readied for turnips and salad greens. And this year, Bunch is planting pumpkins to brighten up his little stand.
Bunch, who grew up on a farm, is 58. He works for the Virginia Department of Agriculture's office of weights and measures, but he's looking forward to retirement.
``Yeah, you know what I'm going to be doing when I retire,'' he said, smiling. ``I can grow everything I want to grow then.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Richard Bunch sells his produce from a stand in his front yard in
Driver.
by CNB