About the Farmer

Norris Bolling’s black raspberries have a story to tell, and it’s a story that in many ways echoes Norris’ own story.  The berries, gathered from a hillside near Rocky Fork in Wise County, grow from ground that is slowly finding a little bit of new life after being strip-mined until the mid-1990s.  “These are about the only thing that’ll grow from a strip site,” explained Norris, a former coal miner himself, leaning against his truck at the Norton Farmers Market.  These berries grow wild; Norris suspects that birds or bears, having eaten the berries elsewhere, scattered the seeds on the once-bare ground which is now dotted with bushes but little else. 

“You have to pretty much get out there at the break of daylight to get the picking done before it’s so hot,” Norris said.  The same goes for all the other produce Norris grows, working as a team with his lifelong friend David Wampler and David’s wife, Donna, on five separate plots near their respective homes, a piecemeal farm that has been Norris’ focus since he retired from a long career of mining and logging.  The three grow most of the standard produce, including about a thousand tomato plants, an acre of corn, an acre of beans, hundreds of pounds of potatoes, plus squash, cucumbers, beets, peppers, and onions, in addition to the wild berries, which tend to ripen during a short lull between the busiest times in the gardens.

“It’s seven-days-a-week work, most of the time working all day and past dark,” Norris said. But the trio enjoy the work, and one another’s company, tremendously.  “Me and him’s been friends so many years—“ Norris began, gesturing to David.  “They get called brothers all the time,” Donna concluded.   Eyes twinkling, Norris told a favorite story about their friendship.  “David’s had bypass surgery and valve replacement, so come hunting season, we’ll be up in a tree stand in the quiet and I can hear that titanium ticking away.”   Their enjoyment in taking on a project together translates to good things for shoppers at the Norton Farmers Market.   Norris, David, and Donna have transformed a hobby into a small business, albeit one that doesn’t earn them a significant income.  “We make a few extra bucks,” they agreed. 

They also farm in order to feed themselves, a practice that David sees as just simple good sense and a wise use of resources.  “Times when I was a kid, you better have a garden,” he said soberly, “or you didn’t eat.”  But growing their own food means more than just fending off hunger; all three members of this farming team look forward to the height of fresh-vegetable season all year.  “When the garden’s up, we’re not meat-eaters,” Donna said.  “Even if there’s meat to have, we don’t eat much of anything but the vegetables we’ve grown.  Take some green beans, some young potatoes, quarter them, throw them in the oven with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, a plate of cornbread—there’s your meal!”

For the most part, Norris and the Wamplers count themselves as very fortunate to have had an uneventful growing season so far, with no sign of any widespread crop failure.  “We’ve got just a little bit of a deer problem,” Norris said.  “They like to eat the zucchini.”  Otherwise, the crops are thriving and Norris is optimistic.  “The tomatoes are just growing by leaps and bounds; they already hit you about here,” he said, holding his hand up to his lower ribs.  “They’ll be six feet high before we know it.”  The three farmers expect the earliest tomatoes around July 15^th, but look forward to September for the “great big ones.”

“Farming is about what you put into it,” Norris said.  “If you just put it all in the ground and expect it to grow without giving it some tender loving care, you’re not going to raise anything.”  Hard work, a lifetime of accumulated knowledge about the quirks of their land, and a reverence for the process of turning earth into food have served these backyard growers and their neighbors well.  Donna, who often cares for her three-year-old granddaughter during the day, wants to see those values passed on to another generation, and hopes that parents of young children will take an active part in seeing to it that they are.  “You won’t find no more enjoyment than if you get your little ones out in the yard, put in a tomato plant, and watch them watch it grow,” she said.  “Nothing will put a smile on your face like that.”

Find Norris, David, and Donna at the Norton Farmers Market at 765 Park Avenue on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7:30.  Learn more at www.nortonfarmersmarket.org.  You can also arrange to buy directly from the farm by calling Norris at 276-393-5902.

Article and pictures by Paige Campbell