An Apple a Day...

Tower Grove South resident Bernard Haggerty Sr., left, enjoys trade talk with Bernard Haggerty Jr., a Soulard resident and a practicing piano tuner. Bernard Sr., well known in music circles in New York and New Jersey prior to retirement, can talk for hours about his career and the personalities with whom he worked. He taught his son to use his sense of hearing to tune a piano in order to bring out the best in the instrument. (People Productions photo by Clark Rowley)

"Soulard Market is a genuine urban experience," observes Dorathea Davis, a 20-year plus Soulard resident and market shopper. "The atmosphere is invigorating. Your fellow shoppers are from absolutely everywhere, and I always enjoy bumping into old friends," she says. Dorathea, a former state representative for the 63rd District, now works for the Collector of Revenue, City of St. Louis.

Michelle Duffe seconds these thoughts. "I call my Soulard shopping trips my mini-world tours," she explains. "There are so many foreign languages and foreign people there, along with friends and neighbors," she adds. Michelle, born and raised in Minnesota and now a resident of the Shaw neighborhood, has been shopping at the market since 1971. "I am on my second shopping cart," she reveals. "My first cart eventually died, so I had to buy another."

Gina Ryan, originally from New Jersey, agrees that "it is a great shopping experience, close and convenient. I can buy a variety of things quickly and at reasonable prices, and I run into all sorts of interesting people." She also lives in the Shaw neighborhood.

"I like the fact that you can get fresh produce from real farmers, from people who actually grow that produce," explains Soulard resident Mary Linden. "That is a fabulous thing. You cannot get that freshness from the grocery store," she observes. Also, "you can pick what you want, and you can buy small portions, if you want," she remarks.

Michelle Duffe, a Shaw resident, loves to take her grandson, Jonathan Duffe, on shopping trips to the Soulard Market. (People Productions photo by Clark Rowley)

Mary, like many others, is a devotee of the farm booths. Some vendors, the re-sellers, offer produce grown by others. Additional booths deal in non-farm products, such as sweatshirts, scents, carpet remnants and other non-edibles. And then there are the flower sellers.

Soulard resident Dave Margolis, originally from Long Island, says that "I love the intense crowds, that everybody is in a good mood and the general excitement at the market. Some people really put on a show," he observes. Dave has been shopping at the market since he moved to Soulard from a loft on Washington Avenue about two years ago.

Teacher Tom Keay, a resident of Lafayette Square for 30 years, appreciates the flowers. "I love the fresh flowers, the people, the ability to buy produce which is not all wrapped up in plastic, the fact that it is not a supermarket," Tom remarks. He teaches international politics at a St. Louis public high school.

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