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The West Side Market: Traveling to and within Cleveland's diverse culture through food; a plea to support your local farmer's market

Produce Hall

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My Mom When I was little, I looked forward to Saturdays; I would yearn for them every weekday and feel fulfilled every Sunday morning. Saturday's were field trip days in my house. They were always led by my mom, because my dad traveled for work throughout the week. Every Saturday my mom would take us to a different place in Cleveland. Whether it be Patterson's Fruit Farm, though we preferred Eddie's Fruit Farm, the Cleveland Zoo, the Cleveland Museum of Art, or the Wolstein Center's hidden playground, nothing compared to the West Side Market. When we arrived at the West Side Market's front doors which leads you right into the hallway lined with produce vendors, my mom would give my sister, brother and I each five dollars. She'd say, "get something that you want to use in a recipe this week." My sister was the smartest, she'd wait until we got into the market hall and buy a meatball or goat cheese, something different every week. My brother and I ALWAYS got the same things. He got lemons to make lemonade, and I got raspberries that wouldn't last me through the car ride home. All that remained was the red stained finger prints on our beat up Volvo station wagon seats. But, this was our tradition. And it's all because of my mom.

Here's a Q&A that I had with my mom about her perspective of the West Side Market and why she always took us there.

How did you find out about the West Side Market?
When me and dad moved back here from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho I was unfamiliar with the area. I had been here to visit dad's parents when we were first married, since he grew up here, but other than that I didn't know much about Cleveland. However, Granny (my dad's mom) had been going there for years, and I think she showed me it for the first time. She knew the places to get the best before anyone else.

What was the first time you went there like?
Oh god, I barely remember, it was about 26 years ago, I suppose. Well, my first times going there I remember feeling like this, this is a special place. Growing up, we rarely had fresh fruit or vegetables, they were almost always from a can. I just remember being surrounded by all this produce and fresh meat and cheeses and just being like holy crapola. I loved going to the meat vendors because they had all the Italian sausage and food that I grew up with but it was better, fresher, stuff that I didn't know I dreamed about having until I got older and more exposed to it in college. I loved the atmosphere, I loved seeing so many different faces and people. You know me, I loved talking to everybody, all the vendors.

What was the area like back then?
Mia, it wasn't that long ago!
Back then, I know a lot of people didn't want to go there because everyone saw it as a run down area of Cleveland. But it never bothered me, I knew I was gonna be fine if I was just there for the day. I never had a problem being down there, it was only when I had kids that I got that paranoid feeling just because I had three energetic kids I had to keep track of.

What made you want to take us there so often?
Well, I saw it as an opportunity to see what Cleveland is. I knew as a parent that I didn't want to raise kids that had never been around people and who weren't comfortable with others, no matter who they were. I loved the West Side Market because of the diversity, all the different cultures, different food, how it changed depending on the time of year. It was exposure for you guys. It was a place that I felt comfortable and made me happy, and I wanted that for you all as well. I wanted you guys to experience different ways of live, and I wanted you to learn happiness through interactions with your community and through human interactions. I hated having you guys cooped up in this house like chickens. I always made sure you guys were playing outside or learning or doing anything other than watching TV or playing video games. When I grew up my mom opened the door for me and my sisters like dogs, and we'd run out the door to the creek behind my house and be outside all day and only come back when we were hungry. I saw a lot of people raise kids inside, and I never wanted to have the outside world limit you or make you afraid.

What was it like having three little kids running around the market?
You guys weren't that difficult, I was lucky to have Gay (my dad's old nanny who looked after us when we were kids) to help me. She LOVED going to the West Side Market. I liked getting her outside the house and getting to spend time with all of you. She usually helped with your brother and sister, but you were so young for the majority of the trips that you were too scared and stuck around me and sucked your thumb. But it wasn't that hard because everything you guys saw stimulated you. I knew you guys enjoyed it because your eyes would light up as soon as we'd walk in. Yeah, it was only when we first walked in that you guys were a handful because you'd sprint off to wherever you wanted to spend your five dollars. But Emma and Christian (my brother and sister) would always find me if they needed help, or more money. But if you got lost you would just sit down and cry, so it was never hard to find you.

What were the best experiences you had at the market?
Well, I loved getting to see the market through your eyes. Every time we went to a different stand you guys would stick your chubby little faces up on the glass and smudge the food cases. But you all would just stare at everything like it was all amazing. We were lucky to have a place like this to go to and spend the day. You guys loved to see what Gay bought though too. She'd always buy the pigs feet from the butcher, and you guys would watch them get wrapped up in the paper and watch them tie it up with string. I liked taking you guys there because it kept you guys distracted, I could relax, and spend time in a place that I loved.
I think it's just a special place for everyone, but especially for kids. That's why I always pushed to take my students on field trips there when I was still teaching. I do miss going to places like that with kids now that I don't teach for my job anymore.

Why do you think places like the West Side Market deserve to be supported our communities?
Like I said before, I just think that they are places to get to know your city and to everyone that inhabits it. It's a place to experience culture and it's like traveling but you're only going downtown. When I started working at Ruffing though, and I became exposed to green energy and environmental conservation and respecting your earth, I just saw that the West Side Market embodied all of that. It's local products, family businesses, small businesses. It's work that's saving our community and preserving a better and more sustainable way of life. I never saw it as a grocery store, it was never Heinen's for me. It was always a place that we made memories and enjoyed ourselves and our experiences. And we got to get food from the people that grew it themselves. Buying the food and taking it home was just like a souvenir, it was just the result of something wholesome, something that was just special.