Last week, as I prepared to make dinner, I handed my daughter a five dollar bill and had her run down the street for some candy sweet, freshpicked corn from Ed and Cathy Lambert's garden. As she left, I reflected on just how good we have it. Small town living at its finest!

What's a normal part of everyday life to us would be seen as an exciting novelty to many. Believe it or not, we used to have it even better. In years past, the young Lambert boys would drive right to our door, pulling a wagon of farm-fresh produce behind a wellused Craftsman riding lawnmower. Those little boys are now grown men, which got me to wondering just how long the Lamberts have been supplying their appreciative neighbors with the bounty of their harvest.

Friday afternoon I joined Ed and Cathy in their shady lawn - where we could easily keep an eye out for customers responding to the "honk for corn" sign placed alongside their drive - to learn how the garden came to be. It turns out that Ed and his two siblings grew up in his Arnold Lane farmhouse and his parents put up hay in the fields behind the house. Ed and Cathy purchased the property after they married and planted alfalfa out back in the early years.

The Lamberts began gardening "about 25 years ago." As their family grew and they raised their children (Kelly, Scott, Casey and Chad) they began planting gardens to help feed the burgeoning brood. What started out as one, then two plots, eventually grew to six and produced more food than the Lamberts could consume. "That's when the kids began traveling door-to-door peddling produce. We did it to help raise money for school clothes and supplies," said Cathy.

The kids would travel the town selling strawberries, beans, squash, zucchini, cabbage, lettuce, onions, corn, apples, peaches, pears and more. "People loved to see the kids buzzing up on that lawnmower," said Cathy. In fact, Ed still hops in his four-wheeler to make deliveries to some of his special long-time customers who no longer get around as easily as they used to. At one point, the garden became a thriving enterprise. Cathy recalls selling green beans to Klickers in the early 1990's for 80 cents a pound, 100 pounds at a time. The family also sold produce at the Dayton and Walla Walla Farmer's Markets but decided that "all that haulin' just wasn't worth it."

The work distribution remains the same today as it did back then; Ed does the tilling and planting and Cathy does the picking and weeding. "I like to plant but I don't like to pick," said Ed. Of course, having the kids to help made a big difference. With just the two of them at home, the Lamberts have downsized to just two gardens and will sell only corn, peaches, pumpkins and apples this year. "Corn is the biggie. People love our corn!" said Cathy.

About that corn . . . you have to try it to understand. It's good stuff. Like any good reporter, I tried to ascertain the seed name but was told that is top secret information. "I've been begged and bribed to tell," said Ed, "But no one has gotten it out of me yet."

"I don't even think our kids know," said Cathy.

"It's yellow, sweet corn. That's all you need to know," added Ed. I'm OK with that.

At three for a dollar, I'd rather buy theirs than grow my own, anyway. For those that want corn to can, they'll sell you a wheelbarrow load of "seconds" for $10.

Thankfully, the Lamberts are looking out for us. On the very day I spoke with them they'd received an offer for the whole field of corn. A Clarkston farmer wanted to buy, then re-sell it. (Apparently, this isn't unusual.) "We told them 'No, we need it for our people here,'" said Cathy.

Cathy says she usually picks twice a day so the corn is always as fresh as possible. "What we don't sell, we usually eat for dinner." They also make regular donations to the Dayton Senior Center and the local food banks. The pair toyed with the idea of giving up the garden - it is a lot of work, after all - but have decided to keep the community in corn for the immediate future, at least.

That said, Ed has turned one of the gardens into a full-blown airport for his RC plane hobby. The large, circular grassy plot is segmented by a wide dirt landing strip running through the center. Picnic tables provide seating for spectators, and a taller table provides a staging area for the planes. There are even "dummy" remotes so the grandkids can pretend they are controlling the planes. But that's a whole other story.