A Legacy Beyond Saturday Morning

Decorative lacquered pumpkins, gourds and squash are back from County Line Plants & Produce

A Legacy Beyond Saturday Morning

Reaching mid-October each season means we begin to say goodbye to some vendors for the winter.

Alsum Sweet Corn and Don's Produce have now both wrapped up for the winter and look forward to joining us again in 2023.

This coming weekend though, we mark the endgame & retirement of long time market vendors JenEhr Family Farm, who helped found the WCM all the way back in 2005. Below we have a nice sendoff for them written up by another market founder and long-time supporter Barry Orton.

In addition to the kind words of Barry, we'd like to give our thanks to Paul & Kay of JenEhr for their years of work and service to not just the WCM, but the local food scene. We'll miss them greatly and wish them nothing but the best in their retirement.

While we talk of endings, this past weekend marked the return of Wetherby Cranberry Co. with their fresh Warrens-grown cranberries and the very tasty dried cranberries, perfect for baking, snacking or tossing into your morning oatmeal.

These colder days and nights might have us thinking of wrapping up our gardens for the year, but it is the perfect time to plant your garlic for the 2023 growing season, and Urban Gourmet has you covered with seed garlic (pictured).

We've just a handful of markets to go in the 2022 season, but we're looking forward to each and every one, even if more layers are needed.

There's plenty left to enjoy in the late season, from decorative options for fall to tasty seasonal favorites.

So join us for the endings, the returns and the new beginnings all in one place.

See you at market!

Ben Zimmerman

Market Manager

manager.wcm@gmail.com

P.S. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

A Farewell to JenEhr Family Farm

This will be JenEhr Family Farm’s last market of the season, and, in fact, their last market ever. Kay Jensen and Paul Ehrhardt, the Jen and Ehr of JenEhr, are retiring after 27 seasons of farming, and 18 years of vending at the Westside Community Market. The entire Westside Market community owes Paul and Kay a great deal of thanks: JenEhr was one of the original five co-founders of the Westside Community Market back in 2005, and Kay served on the Board and as Treasurer.

When the Hilldale Market was moved to make room for condos, and became no longer viable for most vendors, a nearby alternative was quickly organized at the Department of Transportation parking lot at Segoe and Sheboygan. JenEhr was joined by co-incorporators Cam Ramsey of Madison Sourdough, Dan Deneen of Black Earth Valley Farms, Dick and Vivian Green of Pleasant Springs Orchard, and local customer Barry Orton, a UW professor who simply wanted continued easy access to JenEhr’s sweet corn, Madison Sourdough’s croissants, Black Earth Valley’s tomatoes, and Pleasant Springs Orchard's apples and cider.

Readers of this newsletter know that they too continue to have easy access to these local artisan foods, and a great many more, thanks in part to the work of Kay Jensen and Paul Ehrhardt. We wish them good health and a joyous retirement.

-Barry Orton

Market Notices: October 15th

Swing by the Info Tent and pick up a free Westside Community Market yard sign, or grab one set out in the aisle.

Ernie's African Kick Sauce will join us this weekend as a daily vendor.

ParKelm Farm will be absent from the market Saturday, October 22nd.

Alsum Sweet Corn, Door County Fruit Market & Don's Produce have finished vending for the 2022 season. They thank everyone for a great year and will be back with us again in 2023.

Flyte Family Farm has finished vending for the 2022 season. They wish to thank all their customers this year and look forward to seeing you all again in 2023. If you're up in the Coloma area this fall, check out their many on farm offerings, including a great corn maze!

Market on the Move in 2023

We've got some big news to share regarding the 2023 market season. Many of you have already seen the news that UW Health is planning on building a new clinic in part of the market occupied lots starting next year.

With construction slated to begin next spring, we're happy to announce we'll be relocating to the MG&E Innovation Center inside University Research Park in 2023. Located about 1.5 miles south of our current location, the new market site will offer room for our vendors, along with ample parking space for our shoppers, as well as a shaded picnic area for everyone to relax and enjoy their market goods while listening to music and taking in those great market mornings.

We'll have more details to come later in the summer, but rest assured that the WCM will remain a great fixture of the west side community for years to come. For the remainder of 2022, you can find us each and every week at 750 University Row into early November.