Reclaiming our Food Independence
I was pleased to be invited to be the speaker at the local DAR meeting at the Cowan Community Center in March. I was somewhat nervous about this as the ladies in DAR are women I have known and respected for many years. My fears were alleviated a few days before I presented, when I saw a FB post by Joyce Pinson of Friends Drift Inn and all agriculture related. Joyce had recently spoken at the Pikeville DAR. She had made the connection to Thomas Jefferson and his kitchen garden. Thanks Joyce!
Having this framework as my guiding principal made the presentation connect with me. We talked about the efforts of Thomas Jefferson in record keeping for farmer’s market in Washington, DC. DAR participants were given heirloom seeds from his farm in Monticello. We talked about the need to reclaim our independence by becoming more responsible for our food security.
Visiting with the DAR was a pleasure and am appreciative of any opportunity to talk about the good of Grow Appalachia and the good that is happening with gardening in Letcher County.
Grow Appalachia participants study Bernie’s Almanac Calendar
In a few days we gathered back at the Cowan Community Center for our garden planning meeting. We had Tony Slone, experience gardener talk with our group about garden planning. All of our participants received an Almanac and much of the conversation was about planting by the signs. I made a mental note to have Bernie calendars printed for Grow Appalachia next year and provide to our participants. My other reflection was much like Sister KC at Saint Vincent Mission said in an earlier post, is that I have underestimated the wealth of knowledge that many of our participants come with. In this session we tried to involve participants more, but I will make sure I plan into the structure of our meetings that we learn not only from a presenter, but from each other. A common theme throughout this gathering, was the members who were there searching for the quick answers and just “old fashioned” rules for best planting times, they didn’t come easily. Many of our participants, expressed a sadness and wistfulness for older family members who are gone that seemed to instinctively know when best to plant and so many answers that were only a phone call or a visit away. We hope to do a better job this year in recording more of our rich history in gardening and Appalachian food.
Grow Appalachia volunteer, Pat Yinger, accepts paperwork from new participants.
Also, like Sister KC, I was pre-occupied and can’t show the pictures of the crowd, but we had over 60 participants present, arriving with notebooks and pencils. Our group was diverse, although the pictures don’t reflect it. When participants left those who had all their paperwork in were given a $40 Cash for Crops certificate to redeem at a local greenhouse and farmers supply store for approved and needed supplies.
Looking forward to our next session.
Valerie,
I enjoyed reading about your recent meetings at the Cowan Community Center. I was impressed by your comments about the DAR Presentation and how you connected it to Thomas Jefferson. That was very clever. Also, I was impressed with your comments from the Grow Appalachia Garden Meeting concerning the wealth of information that your participants bring to these meetings. I admire your determination to more fully engage the participants in sharing their knowledge with each other and not just learning from a presenter. I fully appreciated the comments about the loss of so many loved ones who were almost legendary in their communities for their vast knowledge of all aspects of agriculture and the ease with which one could approach them to share their knowledge with you. Sadly, we are missing for the first time this season in our community, one of those such persons. Keep Growing!
Carol Ison, Director
Cowan Community Center