1 Week Later, Market Remembers

Relief mixed with sorrow as produce vendors and customers returned Wednesday to the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, a week after an out-of-control driver killed 10 people and injured more than 50 others as he smashed through the popular bazaar.

The usually cheerful atmosphere of the market gave way to something that was easy to feel but hard to define. “There’s some strange energy here today,” said Margie Ornston, who was selling Buona Forchetta breads at a booth on Second Street. “People are trying to be happy, but they can’t be.”

With memories of chaos and carnage fresh in their minds, many growers said they had to push themselves to raise their canopies so soon after the calamity, which occurred July 16 as the 22-year-old, city-run institution was wrapping up for the day.

“I didn’t want to come,” said Vilma Causey, owner of Briar Patch Farm near Fresno, daubing her eyes with a soggy tissue beneath her straw hat. “But you have to come. I wanted to join the memorial.”

Indeed, the day was book-ended by memorials on a “day of remembrance” that started with a procession along Arizona Avenue an hour before the 9 a.m. market opening.

Walking from the corner of Third Street to just east of Ocean Avenue, where the car finally screeched to a halt, the Rev. Sandie Richards, a Methodist minister, sprinkled blessed water over the black patches that city workers had painted to hide the marks painted by police that showed where bodies of the dead and injured had landed.

Then at 1:47 p.m., exactly a week after George Russell Weller began cutting a deadly swath through the market in his maroon Buick LeSabre, clergy members called for a moment of silence. The crowd of hundreds grew hushed. Pealing church bells could be heard faintly in the distance.

Ministers, rabbis and Mayor Richard Bloom lighted 10 candles as City Councilman Kevin McKeown banged a large gong to commemorate each of the dead, who included a 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy.

In between the communal grieving, plenty of commerce was conducted, but the atmosphere was far from normal. Many shoppers and merchants described the mix of buying and selling and mourning as surreal.

“I just don’t feel right at all. I feel like crying,” said Paula Sindoni, a shopper from Pacific Palisades who had come to stock up on lettuce and other vegetables. “But,” she added, “I’m so happy to see the farmers.”

At one booth, a shopper said excitedly, “Thank God you guys are OK! No celery?”

The mood was similar to that felt over the weekend, when a memorial service was held at Saturday’s farmers market. But on Wednesday, along with sadness, anger was in abundance.

Customers and farmers complained that the tragedy could have been avoided if the city had erected barricades on each end of the market. As a temporary measure, the city parked pickup trucks at the entrances.

Many vendors also expressed outrage at the driver.

“I cannot excuse that old man,” Causey said of Weller, 86. “He was going like gangbusters.” When he finally stopped, she said, her instinct was to “pound on him.”

The anger and grieving were punctuated by multiple kindnesses.

As the market opened, Caravan Canopy International handed out 40 free canopies, valued at $200 each, to farmers whose covers had been wrecked. The vendors adorned them with yellow and white bows that city officials and market employees handed out.

“These farmers support our company, and we want to support them,” said Matthew F. Barden, the Compton firm’s director of business development.

Meanwhile, donations continued to pour in to the fledgling Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Victims Assistance Fund. Organizers said contributions have easily topped $75,000. Shoppers on Wednesday lined up at the fund’s table to contribute.

Throughout the day, many could be heard repeating harrowing tales of narrow escapes and efforts to help the injured.

“The 3-year-old was killed right in front of me,” said a teary Gary Tremper, who sells jojoba oils from his booth near the Third Street Promenade. “I saw the debris go flying into the air. I saw a person cartwheel in the air, over the canopies.”

Mahshid Khosrovi, who sells sauces, eggplant dips and crackers for Marin Gourmet of San Rafael, was besieged by relieved customers. “I’m so glad to see you,” said Marysia Meylan, a regular client. “I e-mailed your company to find out about you.”

Khosrovi, just two booths west of where Weller’s car entered the market, said she feels lucky to be alive. “God didn’t want me to go,” she said, explaining that she had walked over to her truck to get a fresh container of crackers for a customer. She pointed to her new white canopy, which replaced her purple one, which was ripped and stained with blood.

When a customer asked if she was OK, she shook her head: “Mentally, no. I need a lot of help and talking.”

As the afternoon memorial drew to a close, vendors dismantled their booths and piled unsold crates of peaches and squashes into their vans.

The typical market clatter was softened by the strains of “Amazing Grace,” sung by a lone vocalist.