Many of you may not know this, but we have a true, honest-to-goodness old-fashioned multi-generational Virginia farmer in the Relay family. Ronnie Crickenburger and his wife, Roxie, from Meadow Run Farm, are not out at the City Market every week, they don't get stories written about them in Flavor, Edible Blue Ridge or Albemarle Magazine (some of our favorite publications over here at Relay), but like most farmers, they are up before the sun and work 'till it goes down just so we can have fresh Virginia produce on our tables.
I believe that all of farmers are heros, but some are more "un-sung" than others--Ronnie and Roxie are the perfect example. Ronnie's grand-daddy and his grand-daddy before that have been farming in this region for years--he knows the land, he knows his crops and he knows the community. Ronnie's knowledge about the land doesn't come from books or the internet, it comes from the wisdom passed down from generation to generation of trial and error, old-fashioned farming. One of our customers once asked how to know when her rhubarb was ready to harvest--I called Ronnie immediately. He rambled on for a good 15 minutes telling me all about how "now, ya got yur green varieties and yur red varieties...if it's the red variety ya gotta wait till it gets good an red but don't wait too long, ya dont want it to get spongy on ya"
Ronnie runs both Meadow Run Farm and Fishersville Farm Market, which means, if Ronnie doesn't grow it himself, he has a friend in the area who does, he always finds whatever we need and always keeps prices more than fair. Did I mention that he picks fresh for Relay in the morning and drives over the mountain in the afternoon, EVERY SINGLE DAY. 
While he's picking and driving the freshest produce over here, Roxie is taking care of her kids on her daily school bus route. She is by far one of the sweetest, most gentle women I've ever met--I'm sure all of her kids love her. Once both Ronnie and Roxie get back to the farm they gather up all of their grandkids who are around for the day and work the land until the sun starts to set. On top of all that, Ronnie works odd hours several days a week at Wal-Mart in Waynesboro.
These are people who haven't forgotten what it means to work hard for what you love, to put family first and to work together for the community and for the land. They are more than heros in my book.
Here are some photos of the farm and the family:
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