| Homepage | Poor Farmer's Produce | Gifts & Souvenirs | Plants | Joyce's Homemade Fudge & Pie's |
The Days Of Small Beginnings
Zec. 4:10 instructs us not to despise "the day of small beginnings." When we despise something, we take it lightly; we disregard it and count it as nothing. When we are believing God for something "big", we need to remember that great things start small. We need to appreciate "the day of small beginnings," because the little things will grow if we recognize them, appreciate them, and honor them as gift's from God and indicators of greater things to come.
The Poor Farmer, Ronnie Greene; began farming at a very early age. He was 10 years old when he had the idea to build a chicken house, raise chickens, and sell them to a local restaurant that was owned by his parents in Chesterfield, Virginia. Even at this age he was full of wisdom and many ideas. While Ronnie was in college he moved to Patrick County and settled in the Laurel Fork community with his parents, and began dairy farming, and later went into vegetable farming. Vegetable farming is something he enjoyed with all his heart, and over the years he had many hired hands helping him.
In the early 80's The Poor Farmer, Ronnie Greene; was growing acres & acres of vegetables on a farm in the Ballard area of Patrick County. In the fall of 1982 Ronnie ask Wilodean McAlexander, who at that time ran Meadows of Dan Food Market, if he could set up beside the food market and sell his home grown produce; she was very kind and allowed him to do this. Ronnie and his son Jason began to sell his home grown mountain produce off the back of a wagon that first season in 1982. The next season in 1983 they thought they had hit the top, they built a shed on top of a truck bed, and began to sell his home grown produce along with lots of local honey and canfoods. This little vegetable farm stand was a success. The tourists coming to the mountain and off the Blue Ridge Parkway found the Poor Farmer's little produce stand and responded so well to it, that his customer's were taking up most of the parking space in the parking lot. He knew then that his little business could not stay where it was for much longer.
In the fall of 1983 Ronnie was still farming and selling his home grown produce between the Car Care Center and Meadows of Dan Food Market. He looked across the road one day, and he saw an old gulf service station that my uncle Doug Puckett used to run with a sign in the front of it that said, "For Lease". Little did he know that in a couple of months he would have a new location to sell his home grown mountain produce. In January 1984 the Poor Farmer made arrangements to get the property leased, but not in his name. The Poor Farmer spent two months remodeling this old service station with it's two service bays until you couldn't tell it was once a service station; the old run down service station now looked like a little country store! The local residents in the community were amazed at the transformation the Poor Farmer had made in an old run down service station. He got his ideas from traveling and studying other unique structures over the years. Ronnie remembers one of the local resident's, who at that time was a teacher at Meadows of Dan elementary school, Ruth Jean Bolt; she came by the little country store one day and complimented him on his unique way of building. The grand opening was the spring of 1984.
In 1985 Ronnie purchased some land in the Vesta area about 5 miles from the other store in Meadows of Dan, and immediately started farming on his new mountain property which to this day yields the best home grown mountain cabbage you will find anywhere! He then built a larger & more unique country store in the Vesta area and called it "Poor Farmer's Farm". Ronnie sold his home grown mountain produce at both store locations, and people would come from miles away just to buy the Poor Farmer's produce along with other unique food items he had added, and the best part about it; his customer's had two great locations to visit. Over the years, Ronnie added many different gifts, souvenirs, and food items to both stores. All his customer's loved the old fashion country store atmosphere while they browsed through all the unique items that represented days gone by.
Unfortunately, Ronnie is now no longer affiliated with the store he helped start in Meadows of Dan, but many of our customer's think we are because the names are so similar. But there is one thing that will never change, Ronnie Greene will always be known as the Poor Farmer.
As Ronnie looks back to the days of small beginnings, he realizes that great things start small, and he honors and appreciates them as gift's from God and indicators of greater things to come.
Mr. & Mrs. Poor Farmer, Ronnie & Joyce Greene, welcome you to come visit their farm, and browse through their old fashion country store located in the Vesta area near Lover's Leap lookoff and the Fred Clifton Park!
Article written after Ronnie and I married in 1999.
Poor Farmer's Farm
5 mile's east on U.S. Rt. 58 from Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 177.7
1/2 mile from Lover's Leap Lookoff
Vesta, Virginia 24177
Phone:276-952-2560
E-mail Mr. & Mrs. Poor Farmer
Yall' Come Now Ya Hear!