Lower Highway 58 farmers show up at market in Eugene

“Going to the game?” a man clad in green asked as we walked north on High Street in Eugene early Saturday.

“No, to the Farmers Market,” I replied as we neared Fifth Avenue where the action takes place between Oak and High streets.

I was looking for vendors from the Lower 58 where I spend a lot of my time searching for news and feature stories for this online news source, The Herald.

As I walked through thick forest fire smoke, I located a stand selling honey products.

“Must be the beekeeper from Pleasant Hill,” I guessed.

Sure enough, I met a smiling Erica Mitchell under the tent with enough honey to keep pancakes covered for a year or so.

Erica tends 1,500 hives with the help of partner Ron Ellis. She’s been at beekeeping since 2010.

I made a note to find out more about the bees for a future feature story.

Nearby I located Kris Woolhouse, who was busy selling organic products from Ruby and Amber’s Organic Oasis located in the Row River Valley in Dorena. Established in 1999, the farm was named in honor of the first team of draft horses who called the farm their home.

The River Bend Farm sign was the largest of the Lower 58 that I viewed Saturday. Annette Pershera was not present to sell products grown on the Pleasant Hill farm, but a friend from Moondog Farm in Marcola was handling that assignment.

I have purchased fruit and veggies at the Lane County Farmers Market for several decades and recall with fondness the musicians who played on Eighth Avenue where the sidewalk was uneven and a hazard for those who purchased products there.

The market was moved to Fifth Avenue this year as the city reconstructs the area and plans to provide a permanent site, including a covered area, for the market.

The Farmers Market first opened on May 9, 1979, with 29 vendors under the auspices of Eugene’s Saturday Market. Five years later the Lane County Farmers Market (it uses no apostrophe) became an independent entity.

Today as many as 50 vendors sell crafts, flowers, fruit, veggies and other items between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday. They also show up on Tuesdays in the park block between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, I have a few tomatoes to tend to.

Longtime Oregon journalist Dean Rea, widely known for his years as a University of Oregon journalism educator and editor at The Register-Guard in Eugene,  serves as a founding board member, correspondent and columnist for The Herald.