First French Market a sweet success

A great place to learn about the bees... and other fun things.

The area's first Three French Hens Market at CanalPort in downtown Morris on Saturday attracted throngs of people happily snatching up bargains, and about 40 vendors showcasing their wares, including a Ransom beekeeper who regaled customers with his stories about honeybees.

"Sticky fingers," said Michael O'Connell, "is a term that came from the California Gold Rush when gold was used as the medium of exchange.  Dishonest merchants put a dab of honey on a finger, then pinched the customer's gold dust before weighing it to pay for the merchandise."

A few unnoticed flakes of gold invariably stuck to the honey on the merchant's finger.  After the customer left, the merchant washed the finger in a bowl of warm water, and the flakes of gold fell to the bottom.

"After 20 to 30 transactions, the merchant had a pinch of gold in the bowl," O'Connell said. "Hence the term, sticky fingers. The term stuck - no pun intended."

With each jar of honey he handed out, O'Connell told about the life of a bee. For one, a bee flies an average 80,000 miles and visits over a million flowers to create one pound of honey. Beehives in Illinois average 60 pounds of surplus honey.

"Which beekeepers can take because the bees won't need it over winter," he noted. "Bees in the average beehive  make 400 to 450 pounds of honey for themselves and to make beeswax. To make one pound of beexwax, a bee consumes 7 pounds of honey."

All worker bees are females. The males, or drones, are merely for mating. The females kick the drones out of the hive in the winter. Bees are the only form of animal and insect life which produce food.

O'Conner likes having the market in Morris, the county seat, and believes the idea is great.

"This is a big response here," he said. "Customers know the natural products and that's what they want. They want the story and to know where it's from. It's good interaction. You really get a lot of comments from the women."

Richard Thomas of Matteson offered a very nice variety of quality antique china and glassware in his booth, and was pleased at the attendance.

"Things are selling very well today," he said. "A lot of people are here, and it's a beautiful day. We're so lucky.  I believe we'll be back for the next one. This is a good experience."

Another crowd-stopper was the vintage ice cream churn cranked by Rochelle Claire of Morris.

"I'm making homemade ice cream in the family's churn made in 1923, and it still works," Rochelle told the crowd gathered around her to watch. "You put the liquid ice cream in the container and keep cranking it until you can't crank it anymore, and then it's all done."

Rochelle was with the booth operated by Corelone's Italian Restaurant of Morris. Homemade ice cream made in the 1923 churn is a Father's Day tradition in her home.

"We usually don't sell this," she said. We're just doing it today because we thought it would be a good thing to have here."

Dennis Punke offered beautifully potted flowering plants in large, flowing, colorful arrangements.

"Every year is different," he said. "Sometimes people want the potted flowers, and sometimes they'll buy them in flats. Right now, times are changing, and people are buying them in the containers because they don't have time to plant them themselves. They just come in and pick them up to have something already planted."

Punke believes Three French Hens is a great idea.

"It's a nice day today - a little warm, but people are buying," he said. "You see people walking around with bags of stuff."

Punke says he was fortunate in his location.

"I've got Corleone's one one side of me, and Lestina's Catering on the other side, so I've got plenty of food around me," he said with a smile.

Debbie Balluff of Morris visited the market with her sister, who lives in Northbrook, and her mother. They were buying, she noted.

"I think this is great," Balluff said, eyeing her 4-year-old daughter, Faith Nelson, crunching a muffin from a food booth. "This should take off. I think it's a great idea, and other like the idea."
 
Joe Gale didn't operate a booth at the market. Instead, he paddled his way to success right behind the market by offering hour-long canoe and kayak rides on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

The canoes were from the Freeman Sports Store on the Fox River in Yorkville. The rides were $10 for 60 minutes.

Three French Hens is the inspiration of Traci Tessone, Lillian Haupt and Monica Vogel of Morris. The market showcases artisans and quality vendors who have merchandise to sell.

The market is a monthly event  through October. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.