Barb and John at the Market

Meet Your Community:
Barb Mulcahy

by Joan Bailey

t was a painting of a country lane running along a farmer’s field that she hung at work where she could see it and share it. When asked by a co-worker why she had chosen it, Barb Mulcahy replied, “One day I’m going to be driving down a road like that on the way to my house.”

Today, it seems safe to say she has lived true to her dream: with her husband John, she is co-owner of Macon River Farm and co-manager of the Saturday Tecumseh Farmer’s Market. Their two-acre organic farm (broken off from a 150-acre farm) produces enough vegetables that John and Barb can feed themselves and sell their surplus at the market.

“We wanted to create a clean, safe haven, free of things we don’t want in our bodies or air. We wanted to contribute to the health of the earth. We wanted to grow for ourselves so we knew where the food was coming from, and we wanted to offer safe, local food in town.”

A native of Detroit, Barb worked for many years in her father’s pharmacy and as a seamstress at Jacobsen’s Department store. She and John gravitated this direction in 1991 because of his job in Ann Arbor. “Tecumseh was in line with our goals. We could find a plot of land for a reasonable amount.”

They moved to the farm in 1997, and started going to the Tecumseh Market in 1998. When a new manager was needed in 2000, the Chamber of Commerce asked if they would be interested. Now the recruiting, organizing, arranging and scheduling of vendors — growers and crafters alike — is their job. Newspaper ads, networking with downtown businesses, flyers around town, and ad design are all part of what they do in addition to working their farm.

Tecumseh Farmer’s Markets Saturdays, May to October 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tecumseh Museum Parking Lot, 302 East Chicago Blvd. For more information, call Barb and John at 517-451-8063 Thursdays, May 10 to September 27 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Southeast City Parking Lot, S. Evans at E. Pottawatamie For more information, call Erika Alyward at 517-423-6000

The Saturday Tecumseh Market has a regular base of vendors from Manchester, Clinton, Britton and Tecumseh, selling everything from seedlings in spring, produce in season, and mums in the fall, to baked goods and crafts all season. A “producer only market,” it requires vendors to grow or make what they sell. Tables are only $5, which makes it a less intimidating prospect for a new person.

“Many vendors have expanded since starting the market,” said Barb. “It’s nice to see someone try the market and be so successful providing local food. Eating seasonally and locally is an unknown concept. People aren’t used to talking to the person growing the food.”

For Barb, the vendors are in many ways what she likes the most about managing the market.

“I love the vendors. It takes a certain kind of person to do this — get up, grow, pick. Most vendors have jobs other than growing, so we set the market to run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It gives them a chance to get more perishable items picked and there that day.”

The market is part of downtown Tecumseh’s Saturday morning, and part of the local economy. “It’s a walking and biking destination. So many make it part of their routine. They stop to get their hot pretzels and then stop by the market.”

Barb and John enjoy managing the market, despite the additional work it gives them in already busy lives. They see it as an asset to the community. “It’s nice for a community to have as a social thing. Friendships are formed and people spend time socializing at the market. We’re bringing something to the community.”

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DESIGNED BY K.KING.