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ORAL HISTORY

Ken Dawson, owner

A native of Farmville, Virginia, Ken Dawson’s family moved around a lot during his childhood years.  However, Ken would spend nearly every summer, starting at a young age, on his grandparents’ farm in Spring Garden, Virginia, which strongly nurtured his love of farming.  Ken engaged with a vibrant community of young people who were living off-the-land in the 1970s and tried his hand at many jobs before settling into farming.  One of Ken’s many contributions to the Carrboro Farmers’ Market was the diversification of products in the mid 1980s, broadening the traditional offerings with eggplants and kales, for example.  Ken was a long-time member of the Carrboro Farmers’ Market board of directors, and has served as President of the Market.