< Back to Oral History project: Downtown Greenwood Farmers’ Market
ORAL HISTORY
Hallie Streater
Hallie Streater was born one of twelve children on a farm in Black Hawk, Mississippi. Her father owned 460 acres of land that, as far as Hallie knows, has been in the family for generations. They raised cotton. To raise the family, they milked a cow, slaughtered hogs, tended a garden, canned vegetables, and dried fruit.
When Hallie married, she and her husband, Walter, bought some acreage down the road from her family’s property and set up house—and, of course, a garden. They raise everything from chickens to sweet potatoes, greens to okra.
For twenty years, Hallie worked at in a factory in Greenwood. She would sell produce on the side to supplement her income, delivering vegetables to people in town or letting friends come by her house. The factory closed in 2002, and Hallie turned to farming full time.
When the Downtown Greenwood Farmers’ Market opened in 2008, Hallie didn’t have any interest in taking part. She didn’t really see the value in it. But halfway through the first season, she decided to give it a whirl. She got hooked. As it turns out, it’s easier for people to come to her.
Hallie still delivers, though. On the rare occasion she doesn’t sell out at the Market, she’ll drive through town, stopping at people’s homes or when someone recognizes her truck and flags her down. When the Farmers’ Market closes at the season’s end, Hallie keeps going because she keeps growing. She sets up under a tree in front of Delta Feed Co. and continues to share her farm’s bounty with the people of Greenwood.
