Many have asked why is there a tomato in the Crow's Nest? Well, on this very property where the store is located, back in the 1970's there were 20,000 tomato plants.
It was a project called "West Virginia Best". They were Centennial 63 plants. These tomatoes, after many hours of work from my grandfather, father, uncles & mother, were shipped to New York and destroyed. Never made sense to my grandfather to waste food in those days for study purposes, when they could have been used to feed many individuals.
My mother and grandfather picking tomatoes & other veggies:
My grandfather took pride in his hard work. He enjoyed talking to customer and giving them tips. He would always throw in a few "extras".
I always enjoyed loading up the trucks and heading down to the market on the courthouse square. No cell phones, no calculator, no computer...... just an old scale, a peanut can for cash & fresh veggies. I can still hear them coins hitting that metal container.
Hard work never hurt anyone. I would not have changed anything from back then. My grandfather & two of my uncles have passed on but my mother (SFS Farms) & her one brother continue to raise, sell & enjoy many heirloom tomatoes from back then that we have saved the seeds from for many, many years. 🍅