Cultivating life
story by Kelsey Kimberlin
Sitting on the porch swing, Susan Hutcherson relishes a quiet moment. She owns and operates Hutcherson Family Farm Produce. She's also the woman who keeps the wheels turning daily for the business and her family.
Her husband, Bobby, is at his day job, working on roads for Franklin County. Lincoln, her 24-year-old son, is getting some sleep before his second shift at the factory begins.
Because the farmers market season is drawing to a close, Susan and the boys are like "ships passing in the night," she says. "We might only see each other for a few minutes before we're off to bed or work."
During the day, Susan sits with her mother who’s on the mend after breaking four ribs in a fall a few weeks ago. Sarah Edith Martin, as Susan introduces her every time, but refers to as Mama in conversation, lives just on the other side of Susan and Bobby’s 20-acre farm.
Susan’s brother, Bev Martin, and his wife, Chris, are just leaving after taking their turn sitting with Mama. Someone has to be with her at all times. Susan's sister, Sheila Ashley, will pop by in a little while when she gets home from work. She’s the youngest of the siblings and lives next door to Mama.
This is life for Susan: The steady comings and goings of family. All of them intertwined with each other’s everyday normalcies. All of them relying on one another in some way to support each other physically, financially or emotionally.
While the family rarely gets to sit down and talk about anything besides business, Susan says, "Once December and January hit and we get into off-season, we'll make up for the lost time."
The bond the family shares is what drives them. The success of the farm depends on this. Everyone pitches in and everyone has a job to do.
Susan's sister helps grade tomatoes. Her son helps work the Franklin County Farmers Market on Saturdays. Her husband does most of the brute labor from seeding to planting to loading the trucks for deliveries. Susan takes care of everything else.
And life moves on. For Susan, it's comforting to know someone is about to walk in the door. To know the people next door aren't just neighbors; they are family. And to know they share in the everyday burdens and blessings of a life well lived.
Shoppers at the farmers market can choose from a variety of produce Susan and her husband, Bobby, 61, grow on their 20-acre farm in East Frankfort.
Susan's mother, Sarah Edith Martin, 89, fell recently, breaking four ribs and now requires round-the-clock care. While it's been difficult for Sarah to let her daughter become her caretaker, she knows she's in good hands.
As she selects produce, Shirley Miller (left) shares a laugh with Susan at the Hutchinson family's stand at the farmers market.
Susan touches her mother's forehead to see if she is running a fever. Sarah's need for around-the-clock care has caused a role reversal for the two women.
Being a business owner, wife and caretaker is stressful for Susan, but she wouldn't have it any other way. "Well, you know, it's just what you do when your family needs you," she says.
To Susan, her dog Dudley is just another member of the family, so much so that he helps her sell produce from the family business at the farmers market.
For Nancy Osborne, 61, and Trent Ripley, 57, shopping at Susan's produce stand at the farmers market is more like seeing an old friend than shopping for groceries. Susan makes a point of getting to know the people in her community and especially those who buy produce from her.