Greensboro Daily Photo

The Well Rooted Farm

Today, we're sharing another photo of Saturday's Corner Market. It is an important community resource, worth sharing a second day. As mentioned yesterday, the market has moved from the corner of Elam and Market to West Market Street. The new location, in the parking lot of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, appears to be a great change. The Well Rooted Farm is located in Madison, NC, faithfully set sup at the Corner Market.  They regularly posts on their Facebook page and they have been advertising the new location.

As you can see from the above photo, The Well Rooted Farm has lovely bouquets of flowers and lots of yummy, fresh vegetables. They are especially known for their bouquets. Just look how lovely those flowers are.  The farmers at Well Rooted are members of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, a key floriculture organization. Saturday, Well Rooted had a corner space and it was one of the first seen when entering from Kensington Road. 

We hope your week is off to a great start. This is the first week of August. First Friday is this week and the Corner Market will be back on Saturday, both opportunities to have fun outdoors!

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Now Hosting the Corner Market

The Saturday morning Corner Market had long outgrown its location at Walker and Elam. Yesterday, was the inaugural day in its new location, the parking lot of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church at 2105 West Market Street.  Hopefully, this relocation will be a good one not only for the market, but also for St. Andrew's. Perhaps they will be able to find tie-in events and maybe even gain more members who learn about it through the market. The aisles at the market are spacious and the parking lot even accommodates off-street parking. Also, market breakdown at the Elam/Walker location was hurried as Sticks and Stones needed their parking lot back in time to open. For being the first week on Market Street,  it was very well attended.  The aisles are wide and there is room for growth. There is also room for lines if people need to cue up for bread or produce. If they need a new name since they are no longer on "the corner", we suggest "Market on Market".

Yesterday was the farmers market, today it is church. Again, the parking lot will be full, only today with cars of congregants. St. Andrew's began in 1893 with three women founding an ecumenical Sunday school. Over the last 128 years, the church  has grown and relocated several times. They have a very informative history online (see here). If you are looking for a caring, accepting, liberal Christian church, St. Andrew's would be a great choice. Just look at how lovely and visible the church is from the parking lot. If you think the building is lovely, you should meet the members. Happy Sunday!

West Gate City Boulevard at Dillard Street

Today's photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. As hot as it has been, it is hard to believe how rainy it was mid-July. The photo was taken on West Gate City Boulevard at Dillard Street, between the Glenwood and Warnersville neighborhoods. West Gate City is formerly Lee Street. Dillard Street is likely named after the Dillard family, as in Dillard Paper Company. The DPC was incorporated in 1926 with its origins here in Greensboro. There is usually an interesting history as to how a street gets its name and why Dillard Street has its name, but we don't know the answer. Do you? 

We like the symmetry of this photo with the dark car on the leftt in front of a light wall and, on the right, a light car in front of a dark wall. The hydrangeas in the misddle add to the visual interest. Those are the kind of things one sits around and thinks about from inside a building when it is too rainy to go anywhere. We hope you have a great Saturday, today. Head to one of the farmers markets or find something fun to do, especially if it is outside! Greensboro is so beautiful, even in the rain seeing nothing more than a street scene.

Happy Saturday!

Reflecting on Greensboro and the Transient Nature of Trains

Happy Friday, we're moving into the weekend, Greensboro! Today's photo is of an eastbound train strolling towards downtown Greensboro. It is on the track behind Oden Brewing Company on Gate City Boulevard. On the other side of the tracks, Oakland Avenue parallels the train. You can hear the trains as they push through several times a day. Here is a list of passenger trains coming through Greensboro. Of course there are freight trains passing through, too.

If you get a hankering to go somewhere by train this weekend, head down to the J Douglas Galyon Depot on East Washington Street and see where your adventure will take you. The station was renovated in 2005 and it is quite attractive. If you want to read more about the freight transportation through Greensboro, see here. It plays a key role in the Piedmont Triad region. In his piece for "27 Views of Greensboro", Ed Cone reminds us that "chunks of our past keep disappearing" (p. 59). While our textile mills are gone, the trains still come through taking something from Point A to Point B, through Greensboro. Cone posits that perhaps transience is our most enduring trait. In your eyes, what is Greensboro's most enduring trait? What could be more fun than to ponder that thought while passing through Greensboro on a train. If you aren't going on a train this weekend, it is something to consider while standing at the fence along Gate City Boulevard.

Happy Friday! It is seven more days until First Friday, but downtown would love to see you today!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Today's photo features an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. Have you seen many butterflies in Greensboro this summer? We have only seen a few prior to this past week. Lately, a few have been visiting the zinnias in our backyard. In 2012, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to make this butterfly the official state butterfly. It is said to be common and found in all 100 counties. If you like butterflies, you have a few options in the Greensboro/Guilford County area. First, there is the R.R. Allen Butterfly Garden and Fountain at the Greensboro Arboretum on 401 Ashland Drive. Additionally, All A Flutter Farms is located off of Highway 68 on Clinard Farms Road, just north of High Point. At this agritourism farm and nursery, you will have the opportunity to learn about these beautiful creatures. See here for All-A-Flutter's website. We all need to do our part to help these pollinators thrive.

We were a little worried earlier in the summer, but, in the end, the zinnias pulled through and attracted the swallowtails! Happy Thursday!

Tobacco: All Rows Lead to the Tobacco Barn!

Tobacco has been such a big part of the history of Greensboro, Guilford County, and North Carolina. Peak production in Greensboro was the 1890s.  P. Lorillard was the nation's oldest tobacco company when they built a manufacturing plant in Greensboro in the mid-twentieth century. Back when we would spend a lot of time in east Greensboro, we remember smelling tobacco being prepared and always tried to guess the flavors being added- chocolate was the easiest to identify. You could smell it from Lorillard all the way over to Dudley High School. In the 1980s, the local tobacco industry really fell on hard times. By 1989, Greensboro passed the most restrictive smoking ordinance in North Carolina.* In the 1990s, it was the state's top cash crop, but Guilford County is not in the top ten tobacco growing counties. 

We don't want to encourage smoking by any means; however, it is important for people to recognize the crop and recognize the role it has played in shaping the local economy. As you can see in the above tobacco field on Highway 150, it grows well in sand. This is a hardy crop that has been well tended. It is always fun to see a crop, pull of the road, and get a few photos. With all of the construction happening locally and land is selling for such a premium, continuing to farm any crop is quite a commitment. Would you recognize a field of tobacco? Study this one and then keep your eye out. This week, we've got you seeking out a new bakery, searching for purple LED lights, and now tobacco fields. Stick with Greensboro Daily Photo and we will lead you to interesting places!

Happy Wednesday. What will tomorrow bring?

 

*reference here and and here for more information.

Augustino Gusto Bakery: Inside the European Bakery

We had such a great response to yesterday's post of the exterior of Augustino Gusto Bakery, we thought we'd add in interview. The bakery is small, but they pack so much goodness into the small space. It is hard to fathom how they bake so many different items. They make everything from scratch and bake it in house. We'd love to see their grocery list! The bakery is located at 2508 New Garden Road East, behind the BP station and just north of the Greensboro Science Center. Augustino Gusto has only been open since March 2020, but in the last year and four months they have amassed quite a following. Remember, they are only open on Wednesdays from 9:30 am- 5:00 pm, but the good news is that's tomorrow.

If you cannot make it out to the bakery, they also set up at the Greensboro Farmers Market on Yanceyville.

Augustino Gusto: European Artisan Bakery

Augustino Gusto Bakery is located at 2508 East Guilford College Road, right behind the BP Station Perhaps because they are only open two days a week (Wed. and Sat.), but they are extremely busy when open. The above photo shows the line at 11:00 am on Saturday. And by 11:00 am, they had sold out of almond croissant, kalamata olive bread, sauerkraut rolls, and more. On Saturday, we arrived at 9:05 not realizing that they didn't open until 9:30. There was already a couple waiting in line and, as we were leaving to run some errands, they told us not to get back too late as things sell out quickly. 

Something we noticed while waiting in line is how people talked to each other. Perhaps it is a southern trait, but people were talking as if they were old friends. The man in front of us built custom homes, used to live in Hilton Head, and has traveled extensively. The woman in front of him used to live in Savannah. So, this line was filled with people from all walks of life, but they had one thing in common. They tried this bakery and became loyal customers. While it may look like a house on the outside, on the inside, the sights and smells are exactly those of a European bakery. Saturday, they added a ricotta pie, so there is always something new and interesting to try.

Happy Monday, start planning ahead to visit Augustino Gusto Bakery on Wednesday to support a local business and to have some authentic European pastries. Two. More. Days.