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If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Watertown |
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"See you Tuesday, at the Fair" has been the clarion call for fresh produce to the residents
and neighbors of Watertown Wisconsin since it opened in the 1850s, over 150 years ago.
Today's fair, recently renamed The Watertown Farmers' Market, makes Tuesdays in
Watertown better than ever.
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"The earliest recorded information on it is from the early 1850s when a guy named
Leopold Kadish formed it," explains Randy Roeseler , executive director of the
Watertown area Chamber of Commerce. "It was called a 'cattle fair' and basically
farmers brought in different kinds of livestock and sold it for an auction simply for a
price. And then they brought in garden hoes and gradually people brought in handicraft
and it just kept developing over the years. Today there's no livestock sold at it. A lot of
handicraft. A lot of home-grown vegetables and produce."
"And that's the thing with farmers' markets", suggests Andi Merfeld , market manager.
"It's ever evolving. In the spring you get perennials, gorgeous flowers and annuals. And
now we're into the vegetable season with lots of vendors selling sweet corn. Later in the
fall, pumpkins and gourds will be sold."
And customers love it. Here's a sampling of what we heard Tuesday morning August 14,
2007.
"It's just a great atmosphere," says Laurie, a young mother from the area. "I bring my
son, usually one or two ? I've got three kids. The local vendors are awesome, the
weather's usually perfect. This guy down here we get tomatoes from specifically. And
every week we get popcorn from this guy over here. Needless to say, it's very yummy - sweet and salty and perfect and I can park across the street so when we're done I can go
shopping.
Retired English teacher David Hertel tells us "They have sweet corn, and I bought that for
supper. And they have red beets, which I'll probably buy some for something special. And
they have, of course, lots of tomatoes and flowers. Any kind of fresh vegetables you like."
"It's amazing how many people are down here," exudes Chef Augie Magestro "And the vendors, how many varieties they have. Fantastic!"
Over the 150-year history, the market has seen many changes. Most recently, the fair
changed location — from downtown to Riverside Park. "The biggest thing that grew the
fair was moving it to Riverside Park," says Randy. "First of all it is a beautiful setting,
still along the river. And plenty of parking for the vendors and plenty of parking and
driving access for the shoppers. It's a little strange to some people that our (market) is on
Tuesday, but that was the day that it started way back when and it stayed that way."
The growers are equally enthusiastic. Glen Hoekstra owns and operates a 170 acre family fruit and vegetable farm near Fox Lake Wisconsin, about 35 miles from Watertown and
looks forward to the market every week.
It's amazing how many people are down here. And the vendors, how many varieties they have. Fantastic!
"Oh yeah, we got the favorites, yep. There's one gal. She's comin' to buy anywhere from
5 pounds to 10 pounds of tomatoes every week and she's been buying from me for 10 to
15 years or better and she's gotten to the point now she says 'thank you for growing this
produce. Thank you for bringing it to us.' And she's even gotten to the point now where
she has to give me a hug. But she's a sweetheart, and there's more people like that."
Jo Ann Gimler and her husband Dick own a family farm a mile east of Watertown. While primarily a dairy farm, they have served the Watertown area for 46 years with their small
vegetable garden and sweet corn.
"I usually have an older clientele because we've been there so long. The people who are
retired have known us forever, and they've gone to school with my children. Now they're
married, and their children come to visit and buy stuff from us. It's a unique thing. They
look for you every year."
What makes the Watertown Farmers' Market special is that in addition to the fresh
produce and dependable long-established vendors, there is entertainment and special
events.
"Three times this summer we've done programs," explains Andi. "In June we did a
dairyland promotion geared more toward children. In July we had a chef come out and he
made different kinds of salsa, and now we had Augie the chef come out and do a cooking
show."
Over 50 fans gravitate to the tables and chairs set up for Chef Augie Magesto, from Watertown. Dressed in his chef's waistcoat and full of
energy and enthusiasm, Augie prepares a special taste treat with ingredients right from
the market's vendors.
"Today we start with the turkey club wrap — the Italian Turkey Wrap. It has turkey,
cheese, ham, pepperoni, the lettuce, tomatoes, Italian dressing wrapped in tortilla shells.
The roasted bell peppers ? that's the big thing. I love every pepper you can pick up — chili
peppers, hot peppers, banana peppers, jalape?o peppers, habaneras peppers, sweet
peppers — every kind of pepper I toast. And that gives it a wonderful flavor. 'Course the
pepper, tomatoes, the onions come right here from the market. A lot of great stuff here.
Freshness is everything!"
It's an addicting thing meeting with the people and selling to the people and getting
to know the people that are out in the farmers' markets.
You can almost taste the freshness. And the guests all congregate around Augie after his
demonstration to ask about other recipes. It's that personal touch — that opportunity to
meet and talk with the food experts and growers that make coming back week after week
so addictive.
"I like what I do in the summertime," says grower Glen Hoekstra. "It's when I feel the
best. It's an addicting thing meeting with the people and selling to the people and getting
to know the people that are out in the farmers' markets. And it's surprising how many
familiar faces you see over the years. And they come to know you and love you too
'cause at some of the farmers' markets they go 'oh there's my tomato guy' or 'There's
my melon man'."
Glen's cantaloupes are something to savor. We tasted them right out of
the ground during our visit and we've never tasted anything quite so juicy and delicious.
"Watertown is a very friendly close-knit community," says Joann Gimler. "Every year we
say 'this is the last year' and every year Dick gets out the seed catalogue and starts
ordering corn and pepper plants, so, you're into another year." They know the customers
of the Watertown Farmers' market would miss them, and the Gimlers would miss it, too.
That's the value of a small community with a rich history and tradition.
Randy Roeseler notices the closeness between vendors "They definitely protect each
other. They also care. The ones that have been coming for years know each other and
when some of them have been sick or people have passed away, we are notified. They
have friendships between each other that far supersede buying or selling."
Randy also observes the closeness between vendors and customers. "As they develop those
friendships even if the tomatoes are a little cheaper down the road, they'll come to the
first booth because they know the person."
"He's just so friendly," expresses Laurie. "I don't even know his name but he's over
there in the purple van and he's just the nicest guy and he gives out free samples which is
always a perk, so I buy a lot and he's always got really fresh produce. So it's great."
I like to put the money in the hands of the people who've taken the
time and effort to grow it.
And David chimes in too. "It's fresher, and you know who's grown it and in many cases
you know the people. I like to put the money in the hands of the people who've taken the
time and effort to grow it."
Is Watertown all it is stacked up to be? We thought Randy summed it up pretty well.
"It's just a charming situation and it varies all through the year. In spring there's a lot of
budding plants and tractors are coming out after months of being stuck indoors. And in
summer it's fresh produce and in autumn it's just a blitz of color and all the typical
gourds and pumpkin arrangements."
Watertown is about 50 miles west of Milwaukee on Highway 16. The Farmers' Market is
open every Tuesday from 7:30 to noon. You'll see Glen and Joanne and Augie and most
of the loyal customers we met while we were there. 150 years in the making and still
going strong. Well established, definitely fun and worth the trip to Riverside Park,
Watertown, Wisonsin.
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