(This article first appeared in the September print edition of the Hendersonian.)
This growing season marked Year One at Henderson Farmers Market for the team at Wedding Family Farms (Dessa Bray, Chris Bray and Rachel Bray), but the story of their family farm goes back a lot farther than just one summer of growing and selling the fruits of their labors.
It was the mid-1960s when military veteran Herbert “Tiny” Wedding (Dessa’s father and Chris and Rachel’s papaw) decided to leave “town life” behind and build a small farm.
Following a long-time dream to recapture the rural experience and a “simpler life,” Tiny and his wife Betty Thomas Wedding bought 21 acres of Henderson County farmland off U.S. 41-Alternate.
He even bought some decommissioned barracks at Camp Breckinridge where he’d trained for his service in the Korean War, hauled them back to Henderson County and upcycled them into structures for the farm.
“That’s what he used to build their house,” said Dessa, recalling the hours and days spent “pulling nails and cleaning brick” from the salvaged materials. The home and barn remain on the farm.
“This farm not only was built with my grandfather’s history in mind but with countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears,” Rachel writes in a FB post telling the farm’s story. “My uncles and mother worked as young children helping to clean the bricks that would literally build their family home. My grandparents not only instilled in us a strong work ethic but they fully demonstrated it for their family.”
It was a big dream fulfilled.
Fast forward six decades and a new dream has taken root and is coming to be. Dessa’s branch of the family was able to acquire the farm following Betty’s death in 2022 and put it to work again.
Dessa and Rachel are teachers in the Henderson County school system and have the farm to occupy time off and summer months.
It’s a good environment for Dessa’s granddaughters Dessa Alexander and Marissa Gibson, who are heavily involved in 4-H programs, especially in showing chickens and rabbits but also in art and country hams.
Chris, whose background is in information technology, has been diagnosed with lupus and because of that, they have all become highly motivated by the concept of healthier food and knowing the source of it by growing their own.
“So we planted a big garden,” he said, noting that the surplus has supplied their Farmers Market enterprise. “It’s a way to earn extra money.”
“We have a lot of chickens, so we have a lot of eggs,” Dessa said, with Chris explaining that eggs are good source of the protein he needs for the condition that has him undergoing dialysis three times a week.
The time required for those treatments has limited the amount of IT work he can take on so fulfilling the tasks associated with running the farm help him in that way.
With nutrition front of mind, the farmers grow many types of vegetables (including tomatoes, squash, eggplant, zucchini, okra), microgreens and are planning to add mushrooms in the near future.
“Microgreens are 30 to 40% higher in nutrition than full-grown greens,” Chris said. They’ve been popular this year at the market, he said.
They’re also considering the idea of offering a Community Supported Agriculture program in which customers receive a package of seasonally available produce at regular intervals.
As time allows Chris also makes woodcrafts for the market, including fan trellis and quirky feeders for chickens and squirrels. They’ve also replanted many of Betty’s favorite flowers at the farm.
The story of the farm was just the beginning when “Tiny” and Betty moved to the country, though they both continued with “public” work (he at the post office and she with the telephone company).
“Family meant everything to them,” Rachel said. “The farm was a safe haven for our family, a place where you could go if you needed help, to celebrate, to practice some of our family traditions and to host many of our family gatherings. Countless holidays and family events have been centered at the farm and will continue to take place.”
It was there that “Tiny” taught them to drive, how to grow a garden and even how to raise a few animals.
“This farm holds so many memories for my family and countless friends (that it) has its own legacy,” she said. “We have planned on carrying on this tradition of family and the farm. The next generations will continue to build upon their great love and purpose.”
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The Henderson Farmers Market is open for the season from the first of May until the last of October on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Growers and producers set up from 8 a.m. to noon (as long as supplies last). The market location is the Cates-Porter Farmers Market Pavilion at Henderson County Fairgrounds located on Sam Ball Way at Airline Road. Follow the Henderson Farmers Market Facebook page for updates about what’s available at the market and news about special activities that take place on select Saturdays during market season.
