Purple Green Beans
Patsy Arnold Martin
I moved to Bedford the week of Christmas in 1984.
We had been living in Kansas where Tony was taking a yearlong internship at a place called the Land Institute, where he studied alternative agriculture. When the internship ended, Tony didn't have a job. So, we were left asking “What are we going to do now?” About that very moment, my parents who were living in Egypt at the time, called to tell us a tree had fallen on their farmhouse in Bedford County, and they needed somebody to live there. They asked, “Would you go there?” We thought, “Oh, we'll go there for a few months.” Tony can use their farm to try out some of the things he had learned.” This was early December 1984.
There we were in our early 30s, with a four-year-old. We decided that we would try to be part of the Bedford farmer's market. Tony really studied about it. He'd learned that the best way to be successful in a farmer's market is to either grow things that come in really early before all the other farmers or to grow unusual items. So, he tried both. He grew an early spring mix with every color of lettuce that you can imagine, and he even grew purple “green beans.” They were beautiful “purple green beans” or “snaps” as my neighbor calls them. This was spring of 1985…in Bedford.
My job was to take this harvest to the market while Tony stayed home with our daughter. I made a beautiful display of all the different colors of lettuce and the highlight was those purple green beans. As an elementary school teacher, I made really nice posters about everything. I went early and set up my display and I waited for customers. And waited. And I waited. And I started hearing little conversations. “What do you think that is? I don't know. I’m not going over there.” Finally, one brave soul came up and asked, "What are those things?" I said, “They are like green beans, but they're purple.” He asked if he could take one home to his wife. I said, “They're only 30 cents a pound.” And he said, “I don't think so.” He turned and laughed. And later someone said something about why I put organic on the poster. I explained because all of these vegetables were grown organically, and he said, “You should have moved to Floyd County.”
So, the point of my story is that it is surprising we have stayed here so long after that welcome, but we are still in Bedford nearly 40 years later. I’m pretty sure I could sell purple green beans today. They would sell right away. Maybe Bedford is catching up.
Patsy Arnold Martin moved to Bedford in December 1984. She was an educator with Bedford County Schools, and a conference planner for a national organization and is now retired. She lives on College Street with her husband Tony and she loves spending time with her grandchildren who live in Georgia and Massachusetts.