Urban Farming by Chestnut Street Bridge: How One Woman’s Passion Is Transforming the Community

Montford Farmers: Bea McGahee, Larry Mahr, Norman McGahee, Aicha Mahr (L-R)

Montford in Asheville, North Carolina

by Hilary Drake
Montford
August 30th, 2010

Excerpt:

In March 2009, with Mrs. Hamilton’s go-ahead, E.V. began manually transforming the land. Once the trash was cleared, she began by buzzing everything down with a weed-eater, then digging out all of the unwanted seedlings by hand. She hand-dug rows for spring planting by May 1. The first full garden season brought strong yields of watermelon, cantaloupe, hot peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, squash, winter squash, corn, eggplant, cucumber, lima beans, green beans, tomatoes, garlic, spinach, turnips, lettuce, chard, kale, and potatoes.

Late that summer, after a smooth first season with strong yields and only minor glitches, tragedy struck at the garden’s edge. Amidst all of this new life and growth, Angela Hart was murdered in an act of domestic violence on Mrs. Hamilton’s property adjacent to the garden.

This day marked a very real, heart-wrenching reminder that in Montford, and in all neighborhoods, immense pain and cruelty somehow manage to co-exist alongside beauty and possibility. E.V. was in the garden harvesting tomatoes, and most Elizabeth Place neighbors were home, powerlessly witnessing more than they ever imagined possible.

Reflecting back to last summer, E.V. acknowledges that Mrs. Hamilton could have very easily chosen to shut the project down at the time of the murder. But she didn’t. Instead, together, they planted roses at the actual site of the crime and a memorial apple tree tagged “In Honor of Angela Hart” in the center of their garden space.

Read the complete article here.