Freshness - The Key to
Roadside Market Success
“People buy sweet corn from
us because they know it’s always
fresh,” says Clarence Shenk. The
Shenks operate a roadside
market on the Old Philadelphia
Pike, near Strasburg. Nearly all
the produce sold at the stand is
grown on Shenk’s 22 acres. He is
convinced that freshness is the
primary reason for the stand’s
success.
Mrs. Shenk is quick to point out
that her husband has been in the
market business since the age of
four, and the experience has
certainly been valuable. He
helped his father tend market
stands in Philadelphia and
Lancaster, selling vegetables and
poultry. Celery was a speciality
at the Lancaster stand.
The present operation started
All the question-asking has ended.
K\ery strong opinion has been heard
and noted.
And non our directors and manage
ment are planning the future based on
the recent findings.
Those findings langed from the friv
olous and funny to the emotional and
serious. The inleniewees told us, not
only about banking here, but about
banking there and e\eivwheie.
“Twenty-two,” one fellow lesponded
when asked his number of children.
Then he grinned e\pansi\ ely, and so
did the questioner. ‘ Paj higher interest
on sewings,” said a woman, who didn't
know our rates are among the highest.
And we breathed easiei upon learn-
in 1958, when the family set up a
card table in the front yard to sell
surplus sweet corn and tomatoes,
grown in a small garden plot.
They owned more land at the
time, but they were renting it to
someone else. In 1961, Shenk
decided they could put the land to
better use by planting it for the
market stand.
The stand now provides the
bulk of the family’s income.
Shenk also drives a school bus,
and there is a chicken house with
10,000 broilers.
“Actually,” Shenk says, “the
stand keeps- us busy from
February till the beginning of
November. In February, we’re
starting the eggplants, peppers
and tomatoes in the greenhouse.
And in November we’ll be selling
| I
Parmers National Bank of Quarryville
Indian corn, gourds, squash and a
lot of pumpkins. Officially, we
close the first of November, but
sometimes we sell neck pum
pkins and squash on into Thank
sgiving.
“Our busy season runs from
the first or second week in July to
the end of October. That’s when
we’re all really going.”
During the season, there’s
usually at least one person ten
ding the stand from 8:30 in the
morning until eight or nine in the
evening. Shenk employs one girl
to watch the stand, which is open
Monday through Saturday.
A busy Saturday might keep
three people busy at the stand,
with Shenk and his son, Jack,
running constantly to the field for
corn. Some Saturday’s they
I I J
I j:
i * %
ing that a complaint about drivc-in
services concerned another drive-in
window—not ours.
Before some actual changes are in
stituted by Farmers National Bank of
Quarryville, we’re making a pledge
about the future:
To be a little better, a little faster
than before. To remember that people's
lives sometimes depend on their fi
nances, and so to willingly advise
when requested
To realize that jesterday’s banking
won’t always do for today, but to build
on the best policies of the past
In even wa\, to put ourselves in
\our shoes Because we think jou want
us there.
Banking the way you’d do it.
Member, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Clarence M. Shenk and son, Jack, tied up their tomatoes
recently, getting ready for a busy summer at the family's
roadside market.
might sell as much as 300 dozen
ears of sweet corn.
Corn is the biggest crop, and
takes about 16 acres. String
r 4
, i
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 1,1972
beans, limas, and sugar peas are
also important. Other crops
grown on the farm are tomatoes,
peppers, egg plants, cucumbers,
canteloupes, watermelons,
pumpkins, squash and gourds.
The gourds are washed and
shellaced, and many of them are
sold wholesale to other markets.
Shenk buys a few things from
other growers, but never handles
produce shipped in from the
South or West. He buys peaches
from York County, and apples
and potatoes locally. Everything
else is grown on the farm
Most of Shenk’s business comes
from local people His market, he
feels, has a reputation for
freshness and quality and the
news has been spread by satisfied
customers. He never advertises.
Tourists might account for 20
per cent of Shenk’s volume. Quite
often, they’ll stop on their way
home and stock up on produce
Normally, these are one-time
customers, but many of them do
stop back on subsequent visits to
the County Gourds, Indian corn
and pumpkins are big tourist
items m the fall
On prices, Shenk feels that he
might be a bit lower than local
supermarkets In season,
however, a housewife is likely to
pay about the same for corn,
whether she buys at Shenks or
her grocer’s
“She comes here because our
corn is fresher,” Shenk con-
cludes
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724, 28, 32, 36 and 40 foot
models.
FARM WAGON GEAR
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METER
FEED CARTS
16 bushel capacity
Galvanized construction
We are the manufac
turers of the Air-O-Matic
ventilation equipment,
egg carts and poultry
house cleanout equip
ment. Call us for the
name of the dealer in
your area.
ZIMMERMAN
MFG. CORF.
VoganvUle Road, R 1
New Holland, Pa. 17557
Phone 717-354-9611
George M. Zimmerman
11