A 26 foot tall gingerbread man watches over Smithville, a reminder of the record the city holds for world's largest gingerbread man
This past Thursday I drove an hour east of Austin to see what was going on outside of the city, where the highway stretches and the pecan trees climb the skies. My destination: Smithville, Texas. With a population that hovers around 3,800, Smithville boasts a tightly knit community. It is the kind of place where a person can cross the tree-lined streets without checking for cars, but you can’t eat out until the Backdoor Cafe opens back up at 6 p.m. for dinner service. A sad fact, since I have to leave by 5.
It is not long after I arrive that someone calls me over and asks what they can help me with, mine being the one unfamiliar face among the half dozen people milling about and chatting. I state my purpose, and Ed Yeisley of Diamond Y Farm gently leads me over to another stall and pronounces, “You are in luck. This is our market manager!”
Market Manager Eileen Niswander's pecans
Eileen Niswander is not only the market manager, overseeing two (in the near future, three) markets in the Elgin/Smithville area, but she also sells pecans and pecan products from her own farm, Yegua Creek Farms. Located in Elgin, Texas, her pecans are grown in the orchards, then sanitized, cracked and transformed into a variety of treats in the Niswander’s commercial kitchen. The Niswanders bake 35 kinds of bread, cookies, flavored pecans and tea breads to bring to markets and festivals around Texas. What really catches my eye are the Champagne Pecans, made with egg whites, sugar, pecans, ginger, cinnamon, salt and champagne. It takes a strong will not to buy up the whole lot.
Eileen tells me that this market is modest in comparison to the Elgin Saturday market, which features many more of the 39 participating farms, all of whom must adhere to their strict growers-only policy. But what this market lacks in options, it makes up for in small town charm. With each passer by, a friendly hand goes up in greeting. There are no strangers here, and the biggest choice the market-goers must make is which friend to buy turnips from this time around.
Asparagus from Diamond Y Farm
Diamond Y Farm, one of the three farms present at the market, is the work of Ed and Charlotte Yeisley who are retired but hardly taking it easy. Five years ago, they began selling vegetables at the River Valley Farmers Markets, and have since moved into egg production.
The Yeisley's free-range brown eggs
They are extremely proud of their brown eggs, which are some of the biggest I have seen. The Yeisleys focus on organic and healthy practices, and as such their chickens are free-range vegetarians who have never touched antibiotics or hormones. I look at the unblemished eggs longingly, knowing that my fridge is already full of organic eggs from Vital Farms. It is a good predicament to find myself in. The vegetables are freshly picked and hard to walk away from as well. Chives, radishes, green onions, turnips, asparagus. I promise to visit the Elgin market in a few weeks to stock up.
Kathy Karisch shows off her garden harvest
The next and final vendor does not technically qualify as a farmer, although her harvest is rich. I dub this stand Kathy and Ernest Karisch’s Backyard Farm, though it is, in reality, an extremely fruitful garden. Like the Yeisleys, the Karischs are retired but working hard to bring Smithville and Elgin residents healthy and fresh vegetables. From sweet and juicy oranges to hearty collard greens, the Karisch’s yield does not necessarily look like the work of a backyard operation.
I am reluctant to say goodbye and move on from Smithville, but with only three farm stands to visit at this market, my work is quickly done. After a brief stroll down Main Street and a look through the Railroad Museum, I wave goodbye to the Yeisleys who pass by in their truck and I head back to Austin just as the sun begins to set.
Pass Your Plate 