Today, the Department of Public Works painted the carrots on the street to mark the way to Sixth and Columbia streets, the outdoor location of the Hudson Farmers' Market.
The carrots are a tradition almost as old as the market itself. An allusion to the old carrot and stick metaphor, the carrots, meant to entice and guide people to the Hudson Farmers' Market, were the brainchild of my dear friend Norman Posner. With Milt Meisner, Posner established the market in 1997 to support small farms and start-ups that had no other outlets to sell their produce. The carrot idea came a year or so after HFM got started, and DPW has been faithfully painting the bright orange root vegetables on the pavement every year since, in preparation for the market opening outdoors in the lot at the corner of Sixth and Columbia streets.
Don't let the arrival of the carrots mislead you. This coming Saturday, the market will still be in its winter quarters at the Elks Lodge on Harry Howard Avenue. The market returns to its outdoor location on Saturday, April 20.
COPYRIGHT 2024 CAROLE OSTERINK
Former longtime mayor Richard Scalera sent me this email, informing me that the carrots were his idea:
ReplyDeleteWhile I worked closely with Norm and others, getting the Market up and running the carrots were my idea. In fact, while working at the Hudson Correctional Facility I had inmates on my crew make the decals and I gave them to Charlie Butterworth for spraying on the road. On a separate note, Charlie thought it was not appropriate and it took some persuasion on my part to have him agree, Only the first year though.......he was fine with them thereafter
Good to know that DPW has time to paint carrots, but it doesn't have time to put a temporary asphalt patch on the cratered sidewalk on the west side of Front Street near the train station. DPW ought to re-evaluate its priorities.
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