At least once a week I drive over to Center to visit the farmers market held on the courthouse square next to the historic 1885 Shelby County Courthouse (one of the most beautiful and unique in Texas). It's open six days a week and the produce is delicious, usually harvested just that morning, and reasonably priced. I'm a tomatoholic so I make sure I get my fill of fresh tomatoes while the crops are plentiful. Here a local farmer, Royce Johnson, greets a customer. Many elderly people simply drive up in their cars, roll down the window, and one or another member of the Johnson family will provide a drive-through service. Royce's dad was a frequent visitor to my granddad's country store when I was a child. One of the reasons I like this farmers market is because it is required that all produce be grown within the boundaries of the county.
This is watermelon country and there's always lots of these big fellows because so much of the soil in Shelby County is sandy, which is conducive to producing big fat juicy watermelons. Don't you love that Texas emblem on the pickup tailgate? I wish I had one for my truck! The building with the bars on the windows to the left in the background is the old Shelby County Jail. For a personal story concerning the jail, see this post from back in 2010.
What a spread! Lots of green and red tomatoes, several varieties of peas and beans, either to shell yourself or already shelled and washed, squash and zucchini, several varieties of peppers, pickling cucumbers, potatoes, onions, cantaloupe, okra, and homemade salsas, relishes, chow-chows, pickles and jellies.
