“When a wise old man wants to learn something, he always goes to a wise old woman.” ~ Joseph Campbell
Fannin’s
all the Fannins
Yesterday was a day filled with running into our people, some of whom we hadn’t seen in a really long time. We got to West Liberty a little early for Shero’s hair cut with Mona (below), so we made Fannin’s Vegetable Farm and Market our first stop. That’s where we ran into the majority of our people we hadn’t seen in a long time. Sarah Fannin (in the apron and hat) is Morgan County’s UK Extension Service Director, and she was kind enough to allow me to interview her for my thesis. Her story was one of the most compelling interviews, and we plan to talk more about farmers and rural people affected by the tornado. Farmers and their animals are nearly always overlooked when natural disasters strike, and that’s significant because Morgan County is a predominantly agricultural area. The 2012 EF-3 was devastating to the farming sector of the community. Plus, Sarah’s story in general is extremely interesting, from growing up in Morgan County, to coming back (from Lexington) to run the family farm when her dad got sick, to opening and running the highly successful Fannin’s Market that is a model for Farm-to-Table businesses in rural Appalachia. I could go on, but I’ll save it for the next article I’ll write. Anyway, not only did we run into Sarah but also her sister Robin (red shirt) and Meg Adkins (red hair), whom you’ve met multiple times in the outhouse, first in 2016, and whose parents and sister I also interviewed for the thesis back in September 2024. Robin and Meg often come from Lexington on the weekends to lend a hand at the market, especially since Robin and Sarah’s mother passed not long ago. Robin was her primary caregiver, so the farm and market are a good diversion for what she’s going through (caregiving is not for the faint of heart).
Fannin helper
Speaking of diversions and helpers, who should we run into the second time we stopped at Fannin’s – yes, we stopped a second time because we decided we needed more of their incredible hanging baskets – none other than Donna McClure Steele. You first met Donna back in 2015. Me and this ‘ol gal go way back, and I can say with confidence that she’s one of the hardest-working people I have ever known. She has basically worked her entire life. For decades, she helped Janet Franklin at the Freezer Fresh and made candy for the Sorghum Festival (Janet made the best fudge and potato rolls you ever put in your mouth), and she worked at Bank of the Mountains with Hero for 41 years (dad wasn’t there 41 years, but Donna was). Before she retired from the bank, she had started another business making balloon sculptures. They were incredible, and for a few years, you never saw an event in Morgan County that didn’t have one of Donna’s creations. Then, suddenly, she developed an allergy to the balloons (the formaldehyde in them, to be exact). Sadly, she has had to give up the business. Now, she helps her daughter with babysitting her two grandchildren and lends a hand to Sarah at the market from time to time. She’ll get into something else creative, though, I have no doubt. It might not be balloons, but it’ll be something creative and successful.
everybody who’s not a Fannin
We also saw others who weren’t Fannin’s or at Fannin’s Market, like Aunt Jill, who didn’t get to see Buddy and Scrappy, but did get some of her favorite chocolates. Mona did an exceptional job cutting Shero’s hair, as she always does, and we had a chance to see her new shop over at Index. It’s nice and spacious and she has it decorated so cute with antiques. Plus, she now has room for a massage therapist and mani/pedi person. Her business is doing really, really great and has a lot to offer those in Morgan County. Her mom, Dixie, Shero’s oldest best friend who was also a stylist, would be incredibly proud of how well Mona is doing. And finally, at Hero’s graveside, we ran into the wife of one of Hero’s old friends (Larry Lacy) and one of Shero’s church choir buddies, Janie Lacy. They had the chance to catch up a good while, until Janie’s 91-year-old mother, for whom she is also a caregiver, had to find a bathroom – at 91, hitting the woods for a squat is not a real option. Anyway, by the time we left, Shero and Janie had made plans to attend church together down in Lexington, where Janie is also living now. It was a grand day of visiting all around. The worst part of the day was missing the family. They were on one side of the county when we were on the other, and we just kept missing each other. Other than that, it was a perfect day to pay our respects to the ancestors.
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