ANNA MONICA / L’Observateur / October 11, 2000

It’s fall, finally, when the leaves change color (change in other places, that is, but not here). But, we have heard of it. This month the predominant color is,of course, orange. Orange is the Halloween color, a popular fall color and thecolor of pumpkins – lots of pumpkins. I am not a Halloween person, but I dolike the fall with the promise of a changing season and I really do like pumpkins.

This year, though, according to Harold Bailey, we won’t see as many pumpkins because of the dry summer we had. And he should know. Bailey has been afarmer just about all his life and certainly, since the 60s. According to him,each Halloween someone from a paper wants to take his picture with all the pumpkins he grows, but he has been reluctant about it. I got him to talk tome by promising not to try taking a picture! Some of the land Bailey farms is rented and the rest is family property. Anative of Cravasse, he lives in LaPlace. His wife is the former RobertaPerilloux of LaPlace, and their children are daughter Shellie Hymel of Montz and son Jamey. Mom, Victorine Bailey, who will be 88 years old in November,still lives in Cravasse.

Since 1965 Harold Bailey has sold produce along the Airline Highway in LaPlace. First he sold from the back of a truck and then built a stand to sellthe fruits and vegetables, growing most of the vegetables himself. Cabbage,tomatoes, cucumbers, mustard and turnips are among the most common, popular vegetables he grows and sells with an emphasis on tomatoes and cucumbers in the spring and cabbage and cauliflower in the winter. Much ofthe fruit he sells comes from outside growers, but Bailey does have a few orange and kumquat trees.

Harold Bailey is a familiar sight at his produce stand at all times of the day. Idon’t ever remember his not being there. So, it was surprising to find outthat he not only works at the stand, but he works the farm, too, only at different hours. He gets some work done at home very early in the morning,goes to the stand on the highway and upon leaving there, goes home to do more work. At this time he also has more hay to bale and will probably bedoing that for at least a month.

You can find Nathan Cambre of LaPlace at the produce stand just about all the time, too. Always pleased to get to help the customers, Nathan has akeen interest in its success as well. Fortunately, there is plenty of spacearound the stand to safely park a car off the highway. After all these years,local people know fruit and vegetables are there for sale and passersby stop in, too.

With farming and selling, pulling what most of us would call “double duty” isn’t too difficult, Bailey feels, because he likes to work and appreciates the fact that he has been able to make a living from his work. “Jamey was good help,”his dad says, but since finishing college he no longer works at the stand.

Still, the Bailey farming tradition continues with the changing seasons. And,by the way, Bailey does have pumpkins, along with bales of hay. I asked himto save some for me until I get a wheelbarrow. I want the look of fall in myyard. So far I only have falling leaves, but I would prefer pumpkins and amreally glad that Bailey keeps farming them.

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