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New farmers' market pavilion opens
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Vicky Simmons (left) sells her fresh produce to Jane Kincaid at The Higland Farmers' Market under the new pavilion. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) |
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MONTEREY - Fresh produce, Virginia made fruit products, and baked goods were only a few of the options shoppers had at the Highland Farmers' Market last Friday, held for the first time in the all-but-complete farmers' market pavilion.
Highland Center director Betty Mitchell thanked the USDA-Rural Development for all the work it has done for all center programs, noting the boiler and roof replacements as two projects backed by the agency. It also provided a $71,000 grant to construct the new pavilion.
Ellen Davis, USDA Rural Development state director, said, "Our mission is to provide economic opportunity in rural communities … A building like this will allow many rural businesses the opportunity to get started, to grow, to get their products out there. It gives farmers the opportunity to get their products to a potentially higher-value market, and it gives the consumer the opportunity to get the high-quality, locally grown products and produce that they need … I think something that is also very important, it gives the consumer an opportunity to interact one on one and get to know the folks that are producing those products for them."
 | | Builders Tommy Dever and Dave Glendinning admire their nearly finished pavilion Friday. |
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RDA provided funding for the town of Monterey for water system improvements and the county for courthouse improvements, she said.
"All we did is channel your money back into your community … Over the past five years in Highland County, we're talking about almost $3 million back into your community," said Davis.
Highland processed wool was on display, ready for weavers or knitters to bring home a bit of the country. Resident Char Sweet played violin over the hum of the 200 or so visitors gathered for the market and its grand opening in The Farmers' Market Pavilion.
The pavilion took more than a year in the making. It was conceived as a way to give vendors a more permanent place to sell their goods than the temporary tents they used to have.
The building had to be designed so it did not take away from the historical authenticity of the old building, which used to be the Monterey High School, erected in 1922.
Mitchell worked behind the scenes to get the paperwork done. The project remained under wraps for months as the money and design slowly coalesced.
After receiving the blessings of the Virginia Department of Historical Resources, the project could begin. The Highland Center building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.
Local laborers, chief among them Tommy Dever and David Glendinning, put the plan into motion, beginning in May.
The center brought in heavy equipment to level the sloping field. Workers poured a concrete foundation and trucks brought in materials to be sorted and assembled. The builders checked and double-checked every detail as the clock wound down toward the ominous deadline of Friday, July 13.
The Rural Development chief gave the official blessing and pronounced it complete, nearly. Some finishing work still needs to be done with the central storage room.
As soon as the official ceremonies were complete, shoppers resumed shopping and vendors resumed, well, vending.
Among the 11 vendors under the new pavilion, Bruce Folks offered cut flowers for sale in one corner. Blue Roof Caterers had its fresh bread and sweet treats for sale in another corner. At the opposite end of the pavilion, Vicky Simmons sold horseradish roots and cabbage and Debora Ellington of Ginseng Mountain Farm and Store carved pieces of lamb marinated in her special sauce, which she offered for sale by the jar.
Dever and Glendinning stood nearby, admiring their work, checking for flaws, and modestly accepting words of praise for their part in the making of the pavilion.
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