A family tradition: Curb Market set to hold 100th anniversary celebration

One thing has remained constant over the past century at the Curb Market in Hendersonville: family.

No one knows that better than Shannon Ball, who is carrying on his family's legacy at the Curb Market. His great grandparents were vendors there when it first opened along King Street back in 1924.

"Everything you see right here, I grew," Ball said on May 14 while standing in front of his table full of a variety of flowers. "We still go by the strict tradition of the Curb Market, and that is you only sell what you grow."

The Curb Market, 221 N. Church St., turns 100 years old on June 1, and it is holding a celebration for all of the community. There will be a barbecue lunch for purchase, along with a 50-50 raffle, games for the children, a silent auction and several guest speakers, including Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk, Congressman Chuck Edwards, state Sen. Tim Moffitt and State Rep. Jennifer Balcom.

Frank Fitzsimmons III, whose great grandfather, Frank Fitzsimmons Sr., started the Curb Market in 1924, will also present a history of the market. Leslie Zarnowski, the director of the market, said plans have been coming together for the 100th celebration, and everyone from customers to vendors are excited.

"It's finally here. We've been getting our vendors excited. Members of one of the performing bands are also former vendors," she said. "There will be vintage cars and trucks and an old-fashioned ice cream maker. It's going to be a lot of fun."

A family tradition

Ball said his great grandparents were Ben and Nancy Justice, and they were two of the original vendors when the market was on King Street.

"It started out on the street," Ball said. "Then they moved into this building, which was originally a wood-framed building. This building here was built in 1954."

Ball said his great grandparents worked in the building, and then their children also worked there.

"Then my mother and my aunt sold flowers and stock here. Then it was me, and my daughter, Katie (Moffitt). And right here, she is the future," Ball said, as he was holding his granddaughter.

Four more generations of vendors

Just a few steps away from Ball's table near the back side of the Curb Market is the table operated by Megan Dolan. She was selling goods on May 14 along with her mother, Myra Dolan and her grandmother, Juanita Case, 91.

"Grandma's husband's aunt started here, so I'm fourth generation. We were the first family in here to sell jewelry," Megan Dolan said.

The family also sells a large variety of home-made jellies.

"We sell the jellies for our neighbor. She's been making the jellies for 22 years, and we've been selling them here all that time," Megan Dolan said.

Case has seen many families come and go through the Curb Market and said there was one major difference today.

"It was a lot busier back then, I remember," Case said.

A tradition that hasn't changed

Families who are vendors at the Curb Market still do something that families have been doing since it first opened. Cindy Hudgins said she's been coming to the market since she was 6 years old.

"I'd come here with my parents. I'd be under the table while they sold their goods," she said.

It's a tradition that has been carried on through most of the Curb Market families, she said.

"My parents had greenhouses. They sold plants, vegetables, those sorts of things. Then, I got my own booth when I was 20. I do natural floral arrangements, Christmas wreaths and other things," she said.

Hudgins' father, Ralph King, said he, too, was brought into the market when he was a kid, with his parents selling goods.

"I've been coming now for 84 years," he said. "They brought me in and put me behind the table like a lot of people did back then... even babies were behind the tables. Back then, everyone knew everyone. We were a small town. Nowadays, you hardly know anyone you see downtown anymore."

A wide variety of goods

Regina Bishop said she's been selling goods since 1980, and said her table was one of the popular stops.

"I used to make home-made bread and sourdough rolls. I'd make hot apple pies and cinnamon rolls. I used to bake all the time," she said.

At one time, the market sold live chickens, but they're not sold there anymore," Margaret Saltz said.

"I'm a fifth generation apple grower, and my daughter is a sixth generation," Saltz said.

Like many other families, Sheila Henderson Williams and Liz Henderson said their parents sold goods at the market and also their grandparents.

"Mom came and sold here for several years," Liz Henderson said.

Williams said they could potentially have four generations of curb market sellers.

"My son is into farming, and I have a grandson who loves this. We need someone to take over," she said.

More: Beyond the Banks: The Curb Market, a Henderson County tradition for 95 years

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Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Hendersonville's Curb Market turning 100, celebration planned