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Since the town of Halifax opened its farmers market in 2008, one might think of its evolution as a rising tree with each year seeing the onset of new limbs and fuller leaves.
Looking at it in that light, Denise Barksdale stood as its stalwart trunk. Stepping down as the market manager this coming season, she dedicated over a decade and a half of her life to supporting its growth as the market’s roots spread across the town of Halifax and into the greater county. Today, those roots touch the lives of farmers, vendors and children alike who find in the market a place to flourish and grow.
As Bill McCaleb, master gardener coordinator at the local Virginia Cooperative Extension office put it, “Denise Barksdale puts her heart and soul into the market.”
Barksdale moved to the area in 2000 managing the A&N athletic clothing store. Upon its closing, she would apply and get hired for an administration job with the town of Halifax in 2008, the same year the town opened the farmers market.
Originally, the market was solely set up out front of the closed Farmers Foods grocery store purchased by the town. In 2008 when Barksdale first volunteered at the market and into 2009 when Barksdale began co-managing the market, she explained, “We started with no heat, no AC. There were makeshift walls. To say we have grown by leaps and bounds is an understatement.”
The first two years, Barksdale explained that the focus was getting the outside up and running. Reaching out to farmers, gardeners and others to get involved took a lot of effort in those early years. By year three of its inception, Barksdale was managing the market solo and she recalled that they kept getting requests from local crafters and vendors.
Bringing the inside together has been a long, continuous and involved process over the years which required multiple hands.
One of the walls was built by the combined efforts of local volunteers and donations from Huber Engineered Woods. Viny Ruotolo Sarnataro would build another wall with the construction of his business Viny’s Italian Restaurant which now connects with the farmers market.
Barksdale’s husband and the town played parts in the heating and finally in the summer of 2023 after many an industrial fan was worn out, air conditioning came in via American Rescue Plan Act funds in the pandemic era.
From all the tasks of renovating the building in the past and the ongoing beautification that continues today — vendor led floor painting and murals — Barksdale has always been at the center of it all, working with people to help facilitate it.
Barksdale credits her parents with instilling in her the desire to help. Raised in Henry County, her father was a truck driver and her mother a factory worker.
“We also farmed when I was growing up, but not large scale,” she explained to The Gazette.
Barksdale also credits her many formative years working in the public eye in retail with helping her navigate the challenges at the Halifax Farmer’s Market and ultimately guide it to its blossoming.
Today, the market hosts nine farms, primarily outside, and 13 small businesses inside two of which, Lotion, Potions & More in Downtown Halifax and GTS Farms in Vernon Hill, outgrew of the market and went on to brick and mortar establishments.
Whereas in the early years Barksdale was soliciting local involvement, today the market has a waitlist of vendors and crafters.
In addition, and maybe most importantly, Barksdale’s work through the market often touches the lives of kids. From the Youth Entrepreneurs events now offered every month, to the litany of other events and activities often with kids and families in mind, Barksdale has positioned the market into a venue where kids can both enjoy and learn about important pursuits like starting a business.
“We have to work with our youth,” Barksdale explained. “They are our future.”
With her dedicated work serving to advance the status of the market in the eyes of community over sixteen years, concordantly, Barksdale also made her mark in other lanes of her life, progressing from an admin for the town of Halifax to assistant town manager of Halifax. In doing so, she’s earned the right now to step back as the Farmers Market Manager. Barksdale explained, “I’ll still be involved with it, but I’m passing the torch.” She would go on to detail how she ultimately needs more time with her family considering all she has going on in her professional and personal life.
Left to carry that torch will be Shannon Grube. Along with being involved as a vendor with the market for over four years, Barksdale has described her as her “right hand.”
“I know the market will be in good hands,” Barksdale explained. “She has proven herself dedicated to the market and vendors. She has always been open to listen and help however she can.”
With Grube taking the reins as the market season begins, likely new challenges and hurdles await her and will have to be navigated.
But make no mistake, the market Grube inherits is nothing short of thriving, a testament to the imprint Barksdale has made.
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