Dayton "Dirt" - July 9, 2010

The long awaited opening of the Owl Barn Market is finally here.

I hope you’ll be able to come to our open house tomorrow to take a look at all the locally grown produce from neighboring farms as our emphasis is and will be to buy local in order to ensure freshness and quality of fresh foods and to help your neighbors – local farmers.

The Owl Barn will have related food goods such as jams and jellies, some baked goods and an assortment of cooking utensils and paraphernalia.

Lisa Merrick will be displaying some of her art work including her well known works of framed pressed flowers from her own garden.

The Owl Barn is a return to the produce market days of the late 1960’s through the mid 1970’s when I sold produce from my garden at my parents’ home in Norton.
A lot has changed since then about the products available and the display of those products.

Again, locally grown fresh produce is the emphasis of the Owl Barn Market and I think it will fill a void as its location of just ¼ mile north of I-76 on Cleveland-Massillon Rd. will be a convenient location for Norton, Barberton, Wadsworth, Copley and Fairlawn residents.

The other void the market will fill will be the freshness of the product. I was appalled by the sweet corn that was being soil in the local grocery store a couple of weeks ago.

The sweet corn of course was not local because of the early season; however, the dried up mess that the store offered as sweet corn I would have been ashamed to sell!
Just make sure you e-mail the nursery or make it known to one of the clerks if there is something we offer not to your liking in case we goof.

Remember, if we don’t have all the produce you are looking for, it may not be available yet as again our emphasis will be on locally grown produce.

Hope to see you soon.

Tom