Sun Mar 14 2010
This story is the last in a series taking a closer look at the families who sell products at The Franklin County Farmers Market. The market, which has been around since the "70s, is in its 5th season under the Farmers Market Pavilion, where around 30 vendors sell their merchandise.
Richard and Lee Ann Jones might have jokingly named Happy Jack Pumpkin Farm after a stubborn donkey, but their 200-acre farm is no joke.
While the farm grows a variety of produce, depending on the time of year, the pumpkin business is its main focus, according to Richard Jones.
"We grow over 50 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds," Richard Jones said. "We have 16 acres of pumpkins."
But the farm is more than a place to grow vegetables - it's a tourist attraction.
"People come from all over," Richard Jones said. "We've had people from Indiana, Florida, Arizona. It's kind of neat."
Along with fresh produce like potatoes, onions, tomatoes, strawberries, corn, cantaloupe and beans, Happy Jack has an array of exotic animals.
"We have buffalo, llamas, an ostrich, miniature horses, goats, sheep, a Texas longhorn and a Scottish Highlander," Richard Jones said.
"It gives people something to see, something different."
Lee Ann and Richard Jones, who've been married 26 years, opened Happy Jack 13 years ago.
"Tobacco wasn't looking good," Richard Jones said. "We wanted to have something people could come
out and have family fun and spend a little money. We make our living off of it."
The land was passed down through Richard Jones' grandfather, the late Warren Mitchell, who bought it in 1956.
"I've been here in Frankfort and farming pretty much all my life," Richard Jones said.
But even before Happy Jack was on the map, the Jones' were vendors at the Franklin County Farmers Market. Lee Ann Jones is the director.
"We've been doing it about 15 years," Richard Jones said. "It's good that the community has the opportunity to get locally grown stuff. It's a win-win situation."
Happy Jack also uses the minimum amount of insecticides, he added.
The pumpkins have been traveling to the farmers market for about two weeks now, and customers can visit Happy Jack until Thanksgiving.
Between selling at the farmers market and on location at Happy Jack, Richard Jones says they sell thousands of pumpkins every year.
"The seeds go in the ground in the end of June," he said. "I like watching everything grow."
Richard Jones also experiments with different varieties of pumpkins each year.
"I like to experiment to see if they're good," he said. "I like to cook with it. But the best way to tell the flavor is to taste it raw. If it has a sweet flavor, it's good."
After more than a decade in the pumpkin business, Richard Jones says he knows what his customers like. Happy Jack features two miniature houses made entirely of pumpkins " about 350 each, according
to Richard Jones.
"I don't like to grow too many big pumpkins," he said. "You really want to grow pumpkins people can pick up because they like to pick them themselves."
Pumpkin prices range anywhere from 50 cents to $40, he said, and there is always something to pick.
The Jones' two sons, David, 20, and Adam, 16, help.
"I would like to see them do this and make a good living," Richard Jones said. "It's hard to make a living out of agriculture these days, but we're happy where we are."
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