Sun’s setting now an’ I’m gonna get on with it. At least the boy’s home now an’ can help me get the carts loaded up tomorrow…big business comin’ tomorrow. Sweat’s got me blind and the sun ain’t my pal neither…not at this hour ‘least – as she sets down low before the dark. Boy was supposed to finish this up here today but that pretty little thing came walking up the road talking about walking,…and just a lick and a promise later – here I am again on my own…conversatin’ with my back and the heat, just to finish up the day. Negotiating’ll start tomorrow…big business’ll come motoring-on-in tomorrow with dust fluttin’ off their tires an’ iced blood behind them smiles. S’alright though – boy’s home and I’m’a have a talk with him soon…figure out a way to get some’this homegrown freshness down couple’hours to them city folk. I’ll talk to’em necktie folk tomorrow…play along – but next time that pretty lil’thing come up the road – she can keep’on eastward for the day…and next time business’ll be rolling north through the dirt – we’ll be headed south waving hello…we gotta take a break an’fight for ourselves once and again. We’ve gotta get to the big city and shake hands with all the folk our’selves – I know it in my heart,...they’ll love us – they’ll love what we bring.

They leave their homes before dawn. They pack their trucks with just-picked fruits and vegetables, with farmstead cheeses and artisan breads. They rise early so that when we wake, the Union Square Greenmarket will overflow with fresh produce.

All it takes is a trip to the USGM to lift our hopes and reveal a vibrant community just beneath the surface. It’s about knowing who raised your heritage meats, who pickled your pickles, who watched over the pot of your jam. Familiar faces and a sense of community in a sometimes anonymous city – who knew?

A Little Bit Country

The Greenmarket was a far cry from the humble beginnings of Union Place a square opened to the public in 1839 and named for its location at the union—or intersection—of Broadway and 4th Avenue. The square had its day as a home for fashionable socialites in , ...