THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250069
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
The saga of a family farm that endured 107 years in Norfolk near the north end of Granby Street Bridge ended Friday with the death of John G. Cromwell Sr., 74.
Burly, with a big smile and hearty voice, Cromwell sold flowers and vegetables from what he called the ``bargain basement'' of the spacious white frame house at the corner of Orchard and Granby streets.
In the 1930s and 1940s street cars, bound for Ocean View, made regular though unscheduled stops to let passengers buy a sack of tomatoes and a dollar's worth of flowers wrapped in newspaper.
The 22-acre main farm was 25 miles away in Pungo, but Cromwell planted two acres next door. The nourishing sight of flourishing collards lured passing motorists to pause for a spell of country in the city.
The cool, earthen-floored basement was fragrant with the scent of fresh-cut flowers. In the mellow gloom, over at the far side from the door, sat monumental Cromwell amid long tables lined with cans of vivid flowers and rows and piles of fresh vegetables.
His wife, Dorothy, was in, out and about. She kept a display of flowers on an outdoor table alongside a modest sign to alert busy traffic on Granby Street to the glories within.
The customers were as varied as the flowers: a youth seeking a carnation or a rose for his date, a husband buying a bouquet to thrust inside the door so his wife would pull him in, a housewife selecting flowers for the Sunday dinner table.
A giant oak shaded the doorway opening on the sun-dappled driveway. Life slowed to an amble. One was inclined to linger and listen to Cromwell's booming comments on weather, crops and changeful society.
There was much to look back on.
His grandfather, John, who founded the farm in 1888, worked it 40 years with a wide variety of produce.
He made most of his money in strawberries shipped by boat to major East Coast cities. His wife, ``Miss Isabelle,'' guided him in investing strawberry money in land purchases.
The second generation's Benton Lee worked it 40 years. His wife, Buena, was so expert in shipping gladiolus that Railway Express tried to employ her.
John Cromwell took over in 1946, after serving as a Navy pharmacist's mate. His day began at 4:30 a.m. Aiding him were three sturdy sons - Edward, John and Benton Lee. Even after they had launched other careers, they returned on weekends during holiday rush seasons to help.
``It's hard work,'' he once said. ``I've had young people hired to pick flowers say, `Let me work by that big fat man. He can't last long.' Two rows of flowers later, they say, `Give me my money. I quit. I can't take this back-breaking job.' ''
Cromwell had a remedy for a backache. ``You stand up, rub your back twice, and start all over again.''
In 1986, surgeons replaced both his knees. ``I've been up and down in the flower fields so much that my knees finally gave,'' he said.
While he was hospitalized, his granddaughter Renee, then at Maury High School, worked her artistry with daisies, mum buttons, roses, lilies, irises, carnations. She learned from her grandfather. ``I was taught by the best,'' she said.
Cromwell's daughter, Connie, recalled that as he sat on the porch, motorists honked and waved. Children stopped to talk and play. ``It didn't make any difference who you were,'' she said, ``you belonged to his family.''
So the dynasty ends, but a crop of collards is coming on, and they will be for sale through the fall.
``Lots of people count on us for their collards during Thanksgiving,'' son John said. ``We'll let things die down gently.'' ILLUSTRATION: B\W FILE photos
John G. Cromwell Sr. who died Friday, sold flowers and vegetables
from his Norfolk home.<
John G. Cromwell
KEYWORDS: OBITUARY by CNB