On a recent chilly afternoon, Robert and Linda Lembo headed over to the Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market to purchase some produce for their family table.
The couple has made a trip to the market a tradition for several years, travelling from upstate New York to enjoy a few days in Scranton, also visiting restaurants and museums.
The Lembos got hooked on Scranton when their daughter, Marissa, attended the University of Scranton, first graduating with a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s.
Their daughter has since returned home, busy and without a lot of time to travel back to Scranton, but her parents make the trip at least twice a year.
The couple say they’ve seen the city grow and change, with redevelopment of buildings that once sat empty and improvements of other areas.
A trip to Scranton, the two say, is never complete without a trip to the farmers market. The last day for the season will be Wednesday, Nov. 26, just in time for last minute purchases for Thanksgiving.
Logan Brace greets customer at the Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market on Nov. 17, 2025. Brace’s Orchard, a family business, will continue to the next generation, he said. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Autumn produce shown at the Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market on Nov. 17, 2025. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Jim Schirg, owner of Jim’s Farm Produce, greets customers at the Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market on Nov. 17, 2025.Schirg said the business opened the year with summer fruit and is closing it with fruits and vegetables appropriate for the Thanksgiving table. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Customers at the Brace’s Orchard produce stand take picking out produce for their autumn dinner table. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Not an easy year
Logan Brace of Brace’s Orchard deemed the season successful, but not easy.
Because Spring started out very wet followed by a dry summer, some produce came to the market late, he said.
But, Brace said farmers are accustomed to adjusting to the weather of each season. Now, as the season finishes up, customers are enthusiastically line up to purchase apples, baked good and other produce for their Thanksgiving table.
As customers waited to make their purchase, some shared a recipe or two or a memory from a previous Thanksgiving.
Brace’s Orchard, itself, is a family affair. Brace said he had helped at the farm for as long as he can remember.
When asked if the business will continue to the next generation, he enthusiastically whips out his cell phones and shares videos of his two-year-old son, first helping to fill jugs of apple cider and then asking for more of the sweet beverage.
Jim Schirg, of Jim’s Farm Produce, has been at it for 62 years.
“I started when I was ten,” he said.
Now, coming to the farmers market, provides a chance, not only to sell his produce, but to catch up with members of the community.
As the seasons change, so does the produce he offers, and he provides not only food, but information to customers.
For example, there’s a difference between a sugar pumpkin, to be turned into a pie and a face pumpkin, to be decorated.
Potatoes, Brussel sprouts, winter squash and carrots are all harvested later in the year and make a fine base for stew or other winter recipes, he said.