Books and Events Explore Migrant Community

by Sharon Schnall

The book, Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community (Kent State University Press, 2006), introduces readers to the migrant workers employed at the K.W. Zellers and Sons, Inc. farm in Hartville, and gently teaches that the immigrant issue, so prominent in today’s headlines, is not a simple one.

"We say in the introduction that this is an unusual place," says author David Hassler. "Here, in fact, is where the farm owner and community are doing it right."

First-person narratives, compiled by Hassler, offer candid commentary from workers, neighbors and community leaders, who talk about relationships and routines formed around the growing season. Hassler, a Kent resident, is program and outreach coordinator of Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center.

The third generation, Zellers family business is located in northern Stark County. Farm produce is sold to retailers, wholesalers and food service outlets located in states from Indiana down to Florida and up to Massachusetts, says Jeff Zellers, president of K.W. Zellers and Sons.

The book’s engaging photographs were taken over a five-year period by another Kent resident, Gary Harwood, who is also Kent State’s chief photographer. More than 120 photographs capture seasonal workers hand harvesting vegetables, their children at school and play, and personal but familiar routines, including visiting the doctor’s office, attending church services and taking children to day care.

"There’s a bit of an example to be seen here," Harwood says. "People need to know it exists: real people, living real lives, trying to make a future for their kids."

Zellers relies on more than 175 migrant workers, the majority who return annually to the 80-year-old, 1,100-acre farm from Texas, Mexico and other parts of Central America. They return, in May, for a 20-week season in part because of the fair treatment received from their employer.

"To me, it’s not hard to help someone who wants to make a better life," Zellers says. "I would do that 100 percent. When you have someone who wants to help themselves, you want to give them every opportunity to do that."

Sharon Schnall is a Northeast Ohio writer. Her profile on author Amy Friedman is also featured in this month’s edition of Family Magazine. She can be contacted at schnallwriting@yahoo.com.

"One Book, One Community" was introduced in 1998 to promote literacy and a lifelong love of reading by selecting one book that an entire community can embrace. Under the auspices of the American Library Association, "One Book, One Community" programs are now offered in 300 communities across the country.

In its second year in the Canton-Massillon area, the local "One Book, One Community" committee selected Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community (Kent State University Press, 2006). The book is championed by the Literacy Commissions of Canton and Massillon, Start County District and Massillon Public libraries, and a host of other community organizations and leaders.

"People can now know who our [migrant] neighbors are and appreciate our likes and differences," says Sue March, the book program’s chairperson. "Literature has always done this."

March taught in the Canton City Schools district, and recommends this book for readers ages 12 and older. She says readers will learn about a culture set apart from the community, while having their awareness raised and misperceptions dispelled.

To launch the 2006 "One Book, One Community" selection and the book’s release, the Canton Museum of Art will feature an exhibit of Gary Harwood’s photographs from Growing Season starting Sept. 9. The Butler Institute of American Art, in Youngstown, will launch a similar exhibit on Nov. 19.

Other "One Book, One Community" events—a fiesta, book discussion groups, lectures, and school field trips—will be held from Sept. 9 through Oct. 31 at various locations. For information, call the Mayor’s Literacy Commission of Canton, the program sponsor, at 330-458-2633 or visit www.cantonmlc.org.