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Writer's pictureAnna Crumbie

Gumfory Directs Community Garden

The world seems much more awake than the people in it this morning, with the wind gently rustling through the plants and the trees full of bird-song. The rough gravel road stretches onward, past the orchard toward rows of vegetables edged by a scattering of sheds and chicken coops. Just out of sight the steady rumble of Highway 380 is periodically drowned out by the roar of a locomotive crossing over the railroad tracks between the garden and the highway east of Denton. Rising over all of this, the deep booming voice of Gene Gumfory carries clearly, directing those who came early to the morning’s harvest.

Gene Gumfory directs the volunteer crew and assigns daily duties for the Shiloh Field Community Garden in Denton, Texas, March 31, 2018. Photos courtesy of Anna Crumbie.


Gumfory, unlike several of the other volunteers, seems as wide awake as the lively garden he presides over. Maybe it has something to do with the empty coffee cup from Sonic that he has tried to tuck away into his overalls pocket. Either way, Gumfory’s rich voice, quick to direct action, is equally quick to make jokes and bring out a smile or giggle from the volunteers.


Nine years ago, Shiloh Field Community Garden was little more than a vision Gumfory hoped to see realized. Today, Gumfory oversees the 14.5-acre garden with the help of a few other dedicated gardeners. Last year it produced 17,086.5 pounds of fresh produce with the chickens producing 13 to 15 dozen eggs each week. Except for small bags sent home with the volunteers who help harvest, everything grown in the garden goes to local organizations who give it to those in need.


“This is what I do out here, I feed people,” Gumfory says. “I love gardening; I love people that love to garden. We grow food to help those that are hungry. That’s the bottom line. In between we establish relationships, we share faith when it can be accepted, [that’s] about it.”


There’s a small crew of dedicated volunteers that Gumfory trusts to work on their own or lead smaller crews of less experienced volunteers on the Monday, Wednesday and Saturday harvest days. This Saturday, after everyone has signed in, he directs each group to the different tasks in the garden, some planting watermelon seeds, others harvesting Swiss chard and leeks, and a few young men working in the orchard.




“I’m a worker bee,” Gumfory says. “I enjoy getting my hands in the dirt.”


His busy pace and watchful eyes try to hide what his white beard, grey hair, and smile wrinkles give away; Gumfory is 79 years old. He doesn’t do as much hands-on work as he wishes he could, but for three hours straight he walks back and forth around the garden. Knowing how much work has to be done, he seems to direct the work of the garden with the authoritative voice of a man used to being in command.


“He’s one of a dying breed,” says Ty Kuban, a volunteer with Shiloh Fields for the past two years. “I appreciate how forward he is and straight he is and to the point he is. Makes a good leader.”


About halfway through the morning a young man arrives with his family. He is there to do court-ordered community service. Suddenly the gruff leader falls to the side and Gumfory’s booming voice gets much softer and takes on a friendly, caring tone as he explains to the teen what the garden is all about.


“You may think it’s just manual labor out here…” Gumfory says, “But everything you do out here helps somebody to eat. I think after you’re here a little bit you’ll see it’s just a miracle what God does out here. It’s so neat to dig a little hole and drop in three or four seeds, a little fertilizer, cover it up. You just wonder what’s going to happen. The Lord does his thing and all the sudden you see a little plant come up. And it comes up and he puts a squash on it, and it’s just amazing to watch it grow.”





A few minutes later Gumfory and the teen walk over to one of the volunteer crews, and in an instant the boss man voice is back. He gives some directions, shows the teen how to join in on the work, then steps off to the side, speaking quietly again.


“He’s done something he shouldn’t have done, I don’t know what yet, so I’m kind of mentoring him out here for the next few Saturdays,” Gumfory says. “Each of us in our own way, we influence people, either good or not so good. And so it kind of keeps me accountable as well.”


There is a wide variety of volunteers here, ranging from those here for mandated community service, to college students, to local gardeners just looking to give back. One of the later, Linda Hughes has been coming to the garden for about a month.



Gene Gumfory shows Linda Hughes which onions to pick at the Shiloh Field Community Garden in Denton, Texas, March 31, 2018.



“I’m a gardener myself, and Gene is just full of information,” Hughes says. “Even the first time I was out here I learned something and took it back home. I’ve been working on my vegetable garden since last fall, so I was anxious to pick his brain and see how he’s done things.”


Now that the sun is almost overhead and most of the volunteers have left, Gumfory takes a seat in the shade. The wind has picked up, almost drowning out the birds in the trees, and Gumfory’s voice is a tad bit quieter as he reminds the volunteers that they can take home some of the vegetables they picked. The bumpy gravel road stretches out again, this time away from the productive peace of the garden and leading back toward the busy rumble of the city. The voice of Gumfory chatting with the last of the volunteers still carrying through the air.




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