This curb market is in Morehead City, North Carolina, but there are curb markets in Atlanta, Georgia; Greensboro and Hendersonville, N.C.; and in Lakeland, Florida. I never knew any other city or town had an institution called a curb market until I googled the term a few minutes ago. Years ago, I looked around in the Sweet Auburn market in Atlanta, when I was there on business, but I didn't know it was also called a "curb market."
In my experience of the world, there was always a curb market. It's another name for a farmers' market. The one in Morehead was just over a block — a couple of hundred meters — from our house. Local farmers brought vegetables, fruit, eggs, and meats there on Saturday mornings to sell to the people in the town.
The Morehead Curb Market is still going strong in 2014. My mother's sister is one of the people who keep it going. Some of the most typical local produce is Bogue Sound watermelons (very sweet), paper-shell pecans (very nutty and easy to shell), cabbages, collard greens, pole beans, and tomatoes. The tomatoes love the sandy soil here, and the hot summer temperatures, which are moderated by the constant sea breeze.
I wish it were summer right now, but it's not. The market doesn't open for the season until May 3, so I've missed it. My aunt and her daughter are busy preparing for the opening, painting tables and stands that the produce is displayed on. We went down and visited with them today at noontime, while they worked.
The Curb Market is located in The Promise Land, one of Morehead City's most distinctive and picturesque neighborhoods. A neighborhood preservation society was formed a few years ago, and last year the first Promise Land festival was held and the first Promise Land book was published.
The sandy, well-drained soil of Morehead City is perfect for plants like this prickly pear cactus.
The Promise Landers descended from whalers who used to live in a village on the sandy barrier island named Shackleford Banks, until a storm nearly washed the village away in 1900. At that point, they moved all their belongings, including their little frame houses, to the mainland by barge and boat, and they settled in a waterfront neighborhood in Morehead City. I grew up there.
Would you say that the outdoor market on the avenue de Saxe — and others like it in Paris — is a curb market, or does it have to have a permanent shelter to be one?
ReplyDeleteWill you be able to fit into your suitcase all that you bring back to France?
I'm not sure if all the curb markets are covered. The one in Atlanta is indoors, in a brick market hall. The one is Morehead -- well you see that in my photos.
DeleteI'm starting to pack today for the return trip. I hope I will be able to carry all that I've "acquired" here in Carteret County. I may well have to leave some things behind, but I hope not. I've bought fewer clothing items this year than in the past.
Shelled pecans for $7.50, such a bargain. Here in
ReplyDeleteTexas we pay $11.95 for ones right from the grower.
Sheila, there are a lot of pecan trees in Carteret County, NC. My mother had a big pecan tree in the back yard when she still lived in her old house — the house I grew up in. They were paper-shells, very easy to crack open. The house and the tree are still there, but MA sold it 8 years ago and moved into a retirement apartment. I so wish I could have a pecan tree in France, but I've been told that it doesn't get hot enough there in summertime for the tree to produce nuts.
Deletethere is a curb market here in Hendersonville (that says its the oldest continuous one) and it's open all year.......tues, thurs & sat, some crafts too, lots of jams, jellies & pickles.......there's a "cake lady" , and a "daylilly guy"....along with local produce (now even including various goat cheeses)
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda, is the curb market in Hendersonville a covered market or an open-air market. I guess it must be covered if it's open all year. I've never been to Hendersonville that I can remember.
DeleteI love pecan nuts. I never knew they even existed before blogger friends Bob and Pat who live near Atlanta brought me a pound when they were visiting Brussels in 2010 or was it 2011? :) Have been a big fan of pecan nuts ever since. Nowadays we can get them in small bags at our local supermarket. But they are really expensive. And you are right: I don't think the trees would thrive in our climate.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of your stay and have a safe trip back to the old Continent! Martine
Martine, hi, pecans are just about the tastiest nuts you can find. And yes, they are so expensive in France too. They have some pecan tree groves in the southwest of France, I think, and probably in Spain and Morocco, where the summers are hotter. Thanks for the good wishes.
DeleteIn Louisville years ago we had The Haymarket http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_(Louisville). It's long gone, but I remember going there for bushels of apples in the fall. Here in Anniston we have a small covered market called the Farmer's market. There is a much larger outdoor one in Jacksonville near the college.
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteyes, covered market here....I found the Scotts sauce that you mentioned today at Harris Teeter and now I need to know what to do with it???? use it as a basting sauce , dipping sauce?? looks very thin for a bbq sauce
Use it as a basting sauce, and the serve some at the table.
ReplyDeleteThis is a first! Never before have I even read about a "curb market"! In England they have had covered markets like the white one in "The Promise Land" and I've seen a couple in Pennsylvania but not with that name. Great prices! You must be taking a lot of pecans home with you. Too bad you will miss the grand opening.
ReplyDeleteMary in Oregon
I have never heard the term, "curb market" either. I love these regional language things. Apparently, in New England, some Old Folks' homes are called, "Odd Fellows" homes. I'm thinking.... maybe... when you're the odd man out, and don't have a mate anymore, you can go there to live?? Who knows. It struck me as funny when I saw one called that recently, but my mom said, "Of course, of course, Odd Fellows, yes... many of them are called that..." ... as if I should certainly be familiar with it *LOL*.
ReplyDeleteJudy - I think the "Odd Fellows" was a social group (like the Elks, Lyons, etc.) that one could join. My family didn't have any friends in the club, nor have I have heard any friends discuss it but I think that is where the connotation may have come from. Mary
DeleteThanks, Mary!
Deletecool had no idea you were from moorehead city i live in winston salem
ReplyDelete