BY LINDSAY VANHULLE
lvanhulle@record-eagle.com
May 09, 2009 08:55 pm TRAVERSE CITY -- At first, Millie Hathaway didn't look up when she spoke. She methodically bunched asparagus into plastic bags, stopping to exchange dollar bills for vegetables and honey for a seemingly endless stream of people. Then she saw someone she recognized, a woman who greeted her with a warm, "Hi, Millie!" and a hug. For more than two decades, Hathaway, 65, has stood behind a table at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market in Traverse City to sell homegrown items from her family's farm north of Suttons Bay. It opened for the season Saturday. "It's kind of a social life," Hathaway said of the market, interrupting herself to help a visitor at her table. "Farming can be something where you're away from people for a long time," she added. "It's sort of an unsocial life." Recent warm weather disappeared for opening day, replaced by temperatures in the low 40s and a cold breeze. Many vendors wore thick coats, hats and scarves against the chill. The weather didn't keep shoppers away, although several people said the crowd appeared thinner than in years past. Those who strolled the booths could choose from an assortment of breads, baked goods, plants and flowers, early-season vegetables such as asparagus, fresh maple syrup and homemade soap. Several stopped at the Maple Ridge Farm table, where Elmer Miller, of Marion, has been for the past five seasons. He made granola and offered local eggs and meat for sale. Cheese came from Lakeview, nearly 50 miles northeast of Grand Rapids. "I have a lot of customers who keep coming back," Miller said. Judy Komarek, of Traverse City, planned to purchase cheese and asparagus Saturday. She buys most of her fruits and vegetables from the market during the summer, even when prices are higher than at grocery stores, because she likes to support Michigan's farmers. "After the years, you get to know all these vendors," Komarek said. "Every now and then, somebody brings something from somewhere else, and you can tell." Frederic Dohm waited for buyers behind a table of his homemade maple syrup, which he collected into containers of different sizes. He ran about 2,000 taps in March near his farm on Old Mission Peninsula. Syrup was plentiful this year, he said, because of a good mix of daily thaws and freezing nights. Customers have noticed. "This is one of the best years this area has had for syrup," said Dohm, who has participated in the market for at least seven years. "I've sold more syrup than I did a year ago, even at home at my farm stand." The market has grown "immensely" since Hathaway, the Suttons Bay farmer, first participated in the 1980s. She and her husband now take their produce to other markets in the region. She talks about retiring at the end of this season. But Hathaway is quick to admit her thoughts might change. "This will be very hard to leave," she said. "I'll probably be here for the next 10 years."
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Photos
Vendors dressed for the cold and rain offer up an assortment of flowers for customers Saturday, the opening day of the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market in Traverse City. Record-Eagle
Asparagus and sunchokes at the Ware Farms booth at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market. Record-Eagle
Kim Kelderhouse, of Copper River Farm, looks over a new product she decided to sell at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market in Traverse City. She said the branches from sweet cherry trees seem to be selling well. Record-Eagle