Southern Spotlight

mountain scenes.

Down the little drive and up the main road I shiver-walked, a move that resembles the monster mash on fast forward. With the glow of my cabin behind me, I remembered that this is also bear country. Through chattering teeth, I belt out my best, “hey bear, whoa bear,” occasionally merged with lines from Going on a Bear Hunt. Shuffle, chant, chatter, curse, down the road, up the hill and into the cabin of sleeping board members, who hadn’t even locked their door.

I settled in for some coffee, cookies, and also consumed most of the book of Psalms thanks to the Gideons, before someone awoke. I awkwardly explained the situation, snagged the keys to a vehicle and set off to find a ranger in my new pajamas and mountain inspired slippers. Only 90 mins had passed but I’ve managed to maintain my core heat and scared off every bear in Pickens County. The ranger not at all phased by my request let me back into my cabin, offered a lesson in proper door operation and observed that my chances for a hot shower wouldn’t come back around again for another hour. Not a big deal. Wouldn’t want to go out in this climate with a wet head anyway.

The good luck continued when our canned and bottled beverages froze and exploded inside of the refrigerator and our previously balanced budget was thoroughly busted with stacks of six dollar firewood bundles. We’d set out to make this be a memorable event and delivered on that promise.

After returning to the Lowcountry, I shared the stories of our memorable retreat with a close friend who indulged me patiently, paused and offered this valuable insight, “Well, at least you had new pajamas.” Very true and I’ll never leave home without them. AM

James A. Dyal FUNERAL HOME

Full funeral and cremation services. Serving the Lowcountry since 1963. 303 South Main St. Summerville, SC (843) 873-4040 / jamesadyal.com

Dorchester Memory Gardens

Mausoleum • Cremation Gardens • Urn Niches Beautifully landscaped and perpetual care.

11000 Dorchester Rd. Summerville, SC (843) 871-8080 dorchestermemorygardens.com

Lowcountry Monuments

Offering a wide variety of marble, stone, and bronze memorials accepted in all area cemeteries. We can also provide many statuary options for private garden or cemetery display.

11000 Dorchester Rd. Summerville, SC (843) 871-2016 lowcountrymonuments.com

Field of Dreams Picking fresh strawberries at Westbury Farm

Strawberry Fields Forever

The strawberries that come from the fields of Westbury Farms are sweet, but not as sweet as the people behind the scenes, Keri Anne and Jeff Westbury and Billy and Kim Walker by Jessy Devereaux Mitcham

Farm Fun The market has local produce, art, artisan goods, fresh flowers, and more. (Below) Billy and Kim Walker and Kari Anne Westbury

The two teams of husband and wife are selfless people, and everything they do is not for their own success, but for the collective success of the community that surrounds them. The four co-owners have opened Summerville’s newest u-pick farm on one of Summerville’s oldest farms, a landmark of the town that has not been open to the public for years, and there’s a question burning in the minds of many of our local residents, why open the farm to the public now? What changed?

Westbury Farms Strawberries (at Marymeade Market) has entered a new era, and are ecstatic to offer the community to come along for the ride. In a way, the change is slightly reminiscent of the transformation Willy Wonka went through when he ended his own period of solitude by inviting a few lucky winners into his chocolate factory. After years of Marymeade Farms operating as a private working farm, a collaboration between two local farms initiated the opening of the farm gates for all to enjoy; no golden ticket required. Between the u-pick strawberry fields, the outdoor games placed under the refreshing shade of the live oak trees, and the incredible market that is almost 100% stocked with local products, there is something for people of all ages to enjoy. Billy and Kim Walker, the existing owners of the farm and its surrounding acreage, have much in common with the new co-owners, Keri Anne and Jeff Westbury. The four farmers share a few common goals: to provide an escape from the hustle-and-bustle of daily life, and to give families the time and the space to enjoy the company of one another. They also hope being on the farm will help instill an appreciation for agriculture and the farmers themselves; because without them, life as we know it would not exist, and right now they need our support more than ever.

Keri Anne, Jeff, and their six-year-old daughter Avery Anne, are far from strangers to the agricultural community. Jeff comes from a long line of farmers in his family, and although his family’s farm was mainly focused on row crops like corn and soybeans, Westbury was equipped with the skills and knowledge that he learned from the generations of farmers that preceded him. These skills were put to good use, as the couple decided to start their very own u-pick strawberry farm, utilizing the land that surrounded their house in Harleyville. Though Jeff was used to cultivating crops of a much larger scale, they did their research and learned that strawberries don’t need a lot of acreage. They didn’t need much to grow the amount of strawberries needed for the amount of customers they were expecting. They decided to start their business with a single acre dedicated to the berries. Keri Anne and Jeff worked as a team, just the two of them. From the field preparation to the seed planting to the protection they offered the plants from pests and the colder winter months, they did it all.

The couple faced a bit of hesitation at the beginning of their season from the residents of Harleyville, a tight-knit community that were mostly concerned that Keri Anne and Jeff’s new business venture would change that smalltown closeness that they felt with one another. The two entrepreneurs reassured them of their intentions, and all was well. As the weather got warmer and the season came to an end, they came to a very important conclusion. Westbury Farms Strawberries lacked the amount of strawberries they could offer their customers, and another acre was added to the farm. This trend has continued each year, and after every season, they have had to add another acre of land to the Harleyville farm. For a couple of years beginning in 2020, they successfully sold their strawberries from the side of the road, next to the Lowes of Hwy 17 in Summerville, which helps prove the importance of hard work, and that if you have the level of tenacity that the Westburys have, anything can be accomplished. Given their undeniable success and their annual acre additions, it wasn’t hard to jump on the opportunity to open their second farm in one of Summerville’s most iconic and “untouchable” locations.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Billy and Kim Walker have a different view of the afore-

Get the firm behind you.

SERVING THE LOWCOUNTRY SINCE 1927

mentioned “untouchable” location than the majority of Summervillians. To them, this is their home, and while they certainly understand the appeal of the farm, it wasn’t meant to be a tourist attraction. It’s hard to see it now, but as Billy says, “The town came to the farm, not the other way around.” In fact, the location of Billy’s property was once considered the rural part of Summerville. Before the interstate, before the parkway and the shopping malls that surround it, there wasn’t much else around the farm aside from dirt roads. Billy spent much of his childhood at the farm, as it has been in his family since the 1950s. The Walkers became the sole caretakers of the property in 2005, and have done their best to keep everything as intact and original as possible; providing regular maintenance on the structures around the farm, keeping the cattle farm up and running, and tending to the horses in the stables are just a few of the jobs that keep the couple busy, not to mention Billy’s day job that he works throughout the week. There’s rarely time to rest when you live on a working farm, but over the past couple of years, Billy and Kim have been looking for something new to add to their lives, something community-based that they can be an active part of, something that Keri and Jeff longed for as well.

Unaware of one another and their shared visions for the future, they had no plans to meet. As fate would have it, the Walkers and Westburys visited the same local Christmas tree farm on the same day, where they were soon introduced by a mutual friend who coincidentally happened to be in the same place at the same time as the future business partners. Having the same goals, passions, and lifestyles, the two couples hit it off almost immediately. Their shared respect for the business, along with their involvement in the farming community connected them in a way that most of us won’t ever understand. The families wanted to find a way to help the public understand the importance of farmers and how imperative they are in our daily lives, hoping to instill a sense of appreciation for the agricultural industry as a whole.

The team worked together and came up with a plan. The owners of Westbury Farms Strawberries went straight to work on the land they now rented from the Walkers. They managed to prepare the fields and plant the seeds before the end October of 2021, praying that the weather