Farmers market has fruitful opening in Rockingham

By Miranda Baines

Published: May 9, 2008

It’s a place to meet neighbors, to buy homemade and homegrown products. It’s a venue to learn about old-fashioned crafts and a historic spot in northwestern North Carolina.
The Rockingham County Farmers’ Market, next to the Chinqua Penn stables, opened May 3 and will remain open throughout the summer. The market is also open 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays. The Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“This is a wonderful thing for the community and the area to have,” said Dottie Talley of Reidsville. Talley sampled cheese from SleepyGoat Farm in Pelham.
“I like the people and I like the food. It’s always fun because you see so many of your neighbors,” she said.
The market is a friendly place where customers and vendors alike feel at home.
“I love it. The people are wonderful. The vendors are like family,’ said Leda Kohler, a vendor, said at the grand opening May 3. She makes organic soaps, lotions and scrubs out of her Eden home under the name “Dragonfly’s Daughter.”
Kohler said the market is the best of both worlds.
“It’s an old-fashioned, home-style market with the professionalism that today’s consumer requires,” she said.
Liese and Bob Sadler of Little Meadows Farm in Providence embody the old-fashioned, home-style side of the market.
Liese demonstrated yarn-spinning on her horizontal wheel. It takes Liese an hour to spin one bobbin; she plies the bobbins together to make a skein of yarn. Producing a skein also involves carding, dying and washing wool and hanging it out to dry.
“The whole process starts with the sheep. I shear the sheep in March,” Liese said. The Sadlers also have goats on their Caswell County farm, which produce enough milk to make the soaps.
“There are two goats – Iris and Gardenia – that are responsible for most of the milk,” Bob Sadler said. “The proteins in the milk are very skin-friendly.”
Sam and Deborah Crumpton of Running Pine Herb Farm in the Reidsville had homegrown herbs.
“She has many things that nobody else has,” said Terri Harmon, who helps the Crumptons plant their herbs. “She’s got Cuban and Puerto Rican oregano, and cutting celery. It looks like parsley and tastes like celery.”
The herbs would’ve made a good Mother’s Day gift, along with many other items at the market. The Rockingham Opportunities Corporation sold potted plants and flowers, Ellen Hutchins of Madison sold her unique glass jewelry and artists had paintings and pottery.
Randy Billingsley, market manager, joked, “You could even start doing your Christmas shopping early here.” He was surprised by the turnout for the grand opening.
“We’ve had the tables full of people and they (the vendors) have been selling good. We’ve got several new ones and they’re tickled to death.”
Joy Thomas of Reidsville sold “Caramel Paws Pastries,” which are homemade gourmet dog treats.
“We are blessed that we have the Chinqua Penn Plantation in our backyard,” she said. “The ambiance is amazing.”
Jimmy Strader sells his homegrown vegetables at the market.
“This is a good place to meet friends and talk,” he said. “It’s an enjoyable place to come and just see what’s available.”
Staff Writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.