WAYNE TWP — On her way to visit her grandmother in Pottsville, Melissa Fanelli recently stopped at Martin’s Roadside Stand on Route 183.
Martin’s is a must stop on trips from her home in Downingtown to Pottsville, where she grew up.
Normally, Fanelli picks up fresh vegetables, fruit, whatever’s in season.
This time, she walked right past the pumpkins, watermelons and gnarly gourds and went straight for the floral arrangements.
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Martin’s Roadside Stand in Wayne Twp., pictured Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Popular stacker pumpkins on display at Martin’s Roadside Stand in Wayne Twp., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Sweet corn is still plentiful at Martin’s Roadside Stand in Wayne Twp., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Martin’s Roadside Stand in Wayne Twp., pictured Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Cradling a vase with bright yellow sunflowers the size of saucers, Fanelli explained she was taking her grandmother, 101-year-old Alberta Spina, to lunch and the sunflowers were perfect for the occasion.
“Martin’s is a one-stop shop,” Fanelli said, “to get you in the season’s mood.”
In season
Indeed, ‘tis the season for roadside stands.
With the harvest at its peak, they sprout up along busy roads like Route 183 or down quiet country lanes.
Stalwarts of the region’s agricultural roots, they symbolize the dedication of families like the Martins, whose 50-acre farm produces a cornucopia of fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Pumpkins of every size and shape, and rows of potted scarlet plume celosia and chrysanthemum reflect autumn’s abundance.
It’s hard to quantify the number of roadside stands or the revenue they generate. They’re part of an economic sector, however, that makes Pennsylvania second only to California in direct farm-to-consumer sales, according to a 2020 survey.
The 11-state northeastern region had the largest share of direct sales, totaling $2.5 billion, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports.
Brian F. Moyer, co-author of “The Structure of a Roadside Stand,” says the state’s 600 farmers markets and onsite farm stores generate more than $300 million in sales annually.
“Some of what’s being grown ends up at roadside stands,” he said, “and that’s a great way for a farm family to build a business.”
Farming heritage
Larry Stein’s life work was in research and development at Air Products & Chemicals, but he never lost the green thumb inherited from his father, 98-year-old Norman Stein of Orwigsburg.
Near his New Ringgold home, Larry plants strawberries, cantaloupe, peppers, Indian corn and watermelon.
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Larry Stein reaches up for an ear of corn on his property in New Ringgold, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Larry Stein removes the husk from an ear of corn on his property in New Ringgold, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Larry Stein loads a wheelbarrow with watermelons on his property in New Ringgold, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Larry Stein reaches up for an ear of corn on his property in New Ringgold, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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In season, he displays the harvest on a table outside the family home on Tyson Street.
A wheelbarrow full of watermelon out front recently went like hotcakes. No wonder, the quality’s good and the price is right at $2 apiece.
Larry’s strawberries are in such demand, he sells them at a pop-up stand near Marchiano’s Pizza. Between the unseasonable cold weather and the appetite of local white-tails, however, this spring’s strawberry crop was a bust.
The weather’s been less than favorable — too wet, too hot or too dry — but the Indian corn’s eight feet tall and there’s a nice crop of Crunchy Red seedless watermelon in Larry’s garden.
Peggy Stein says her husband isn’t really in it for the money.
“Farming,” she says, “is in his blood.”
Honor system
Mum’s the word at Nemo’s Self-Serve Farm Stand, near the Dollar General on Route 895 outside New Ringgold.
“We sold out of our first batch of mums, but we’ve replenished,” said Adam Stephen, who runs the stand with Casey Gable.
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Nemo the dog watches over the farm stand named for him in McKeansburg, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Nemo’s Self-Serve Farm Stand in McKeansburg, pictured Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Nemo the dog watches over the farm stand named for him in McKeansburg, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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One reason might be the 9-inch potted chrysanthemum are going for $7 and the 10-inchers are $9.
The couple live on a farm-ette inhabited by a pair of goats and assorted guinea hens, ducks and chickens. Both are work-at-homers with down-home yearnings.
In season, Nemo’s offers eggs, pumpkins and, soon, arts and crafts.
As the name suggests, sales are on the honor system. Customers just leave the money in a box at the stand.
Some lucky customers get to meet the stand’s namesake — Nemo, a 5-year-old border collie.
Aside from being in the farm stand business, Nemo’s a bit of a ham. He loves to show off by leaping a few feet into the air to catch a Frisbee.
Nemo the border collie leaps up to catch a Frisbee at Nemo’s Self-Serve Farm Stand in Mckeansburg, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)