Farmers Market celebrates 30 years

BONNERS FERRY — It began as the idea of three men; Boundary County Extension Agent Ben Studer and two Forest Service officials, Bob Klarich, a garlic grower, and Tad Plank, who began a nursery. In June, 1980, the county's Farmer's Market opened for the first time with a handful of vendors.

Now, 30-years later, people flock to the city parking lot every Saturday morning through the summer months to visit, buy plants, baked goods and locally-produced crafts offered by anywhere from 21 to 30 vendors and 100 members.

Last Saturday was no different; the weather was perfect, tents filled the parking lot and vendors greeted hundreds of visitors, some who attend regularly, a few familiar faces in town to visit and many just passersby stopping to see what our county could offer.

Marsha Semar, one of the county's most recognized organic Master Gardeners and owner of Marsha's Cottage Garden, began selling at the Farmer's Market the year it opened, though she said her visits were sporadic.

“I was raising a family and raising a garden, and I came occasionally to sell whatever surplus I had,” she said in between greeting customers.

In 1988, she joined the market board, a position she held for several years.

“I did it for several years because not many people were interested,” she said. “I stepped aside when others began taking an interest, bringing in new ideas.”

Still, she can be found at the market every Saturday, offering plant starts, seeds, herbs and spices and other products she grows as well as a few she makes. People who stop by go away with a lot more than what they can buy at her stand.

“It's a social event,” she said. “You come down here to be conversational. We talk to lots of people.”

She passes along garden tips and tricks right along with the products she sells, catches up with old friends and makes new friends every week.

She also catches up on the news with the regular vendors.

“When we started, it was vendors helping vendors,” she said. “It still is, and that's our strength.”

Master gardener Sora Huff, who spent many years working as a Forest Service hydrologist before deciding she “wanted to do something from her heart and buried herself in her garden,” has been active in the Farmers Market for 12 years. She, too served on the board helping manage the event for many years before “retiring” last year.

“When I began, there were maybe three to five vendors a week,” she said. “It has really grown. I represented the Farmer's Market through the downtown renovation project, and I think it's really helped both the city and the market.”

The beauty of the market, she said, is that it's become a business incubator for Boundary County.

“We require that members get all the required permits required by the state to operate a business,” she said,” and the market teaches people how to start and run a small business. A lot of our members started out with the Farmer's Market, and they're now running businesses in their homes. A few of them even have businesses here in town.”

In addition to being a regular at the market, she also runs Paradise Valley Organics from her home on Coyote Way; which offers “Community Supported Agriculture,” in which members who join and pay a fee get a share of home-grown fruits and vegetables, organic breads, flowers and free range eggs.

“We have eight people in 30 families participating this year,” she said.

If you'd like to find out more, call (208) 267-7987.