By Johnny Buse, Beacon intern
Mike Murray has friends he affectionately refers to as “Egg Man,” “Chicken Man” and “Cheese Lady.” But his friends are not Sesame Street characters or costume fanatics — they are farmers.
Murray, a 72-year-old Central West End resident, is one of a growing number of St. Louisans who venture out to farmers’ markets through the cold months of winter. Farmers and those who manage farmers’ market say that new technology and the availability of non-produce items have made locally sourced markets viable through all four seasons.
“You could easily have an 8- or 9-month market,” Maplewood Farmers’ Market manager Brian DeSmet says. “People are extending the season and have coop houses, green houses, hydro, that allow them to grow year round. They will bring in all kinds of greens, radishes, turnips, that basically go all year long.”
By Linda Lockhart, Beacon PIN analyst
When the St. Louis Beacon asked questions about leap year, using the Public Insight Network, the responses arrived from sources in more than 20 states, two Canadian provinces, and Australia and Egypt. The insights they shared ranged from personal to emotional to humorous.
Feb. 29 is leap day, the day that’s added once every four years to keep the calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days to circle once around the sun. Because the Gregorian calendar has 365 days in a year, February gets an extra day every four years. Without the added day, we would lose almost six hours off the calendar every year. After 100 years, the calendar would be out of sync with the seasons by approximately 24 days.
As a sign of pride in their Feb. 29 birth date, several individuals have gone so far as to incorporate the date as an email address, including dleapbaby12, leapday1976 and sheleaper229.
In honor of the day, we selected responses from 29 sources, who shared what leap year means to them. (Some responses have been edited for length or clarity.)
By David Baugher, special to the Beacon
Debbie and Mike O’Neil will be heading off to Hawaii soon. For a couple about to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, it’s hardly an unusual move.
Though it is a somewhat unusual 20th anniversary.
“Twentieth or fifth — depending on whichever way you want to look at it,” chuckles Debbie O’Neil.
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About the Public Insight Network
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