McKenzie, Cindy H.

Brown, Savannah, C.

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections & University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2019-03-25

1 audio file (52:51) : digital, MP3 [include + 1 transcript (30 pages)]

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Cindy McKenzie was a 60-year old woman at the time of the interview, which took place at Amelie's French Bakery in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1959. She was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a B.S. in business administration. She was a financial executive before volunteering at the Avondale community garden. Robert Suydam was a 54-year old man at the time of the interview, which took place at Amelie’s French Bakery in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1965. He was employed as a banker and financial consultant at the time of the interview.

Cindy McKenzie and Robert Suydam, leaders of the Avondale Community Giving Garden on the campus of the Avondale Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, discuss the history of the garden and its relation to other local social justice organizations. Ms. Mckenzie discusses how the garden got started through a collaboration with the Common Grounds Farm Stand, a volunteer farm stand in the Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte, which raised money for the Urban Ministry. She details how the work to maintain support for the farm stand by growing and donating vegetables became very labor intensive, and how the stand increasingly stocked prepared foods rather than vegetables. Mr. Suydam describes how the community garden subsequently re-focused their efforts to support Friendship Trays, a local organization providing food to the elderly and infirm. Ms. McKenzie and Mr. Suydam continue by describing their recent venture to offer community members the opportunity to rent their own plots in the garden and grow their own food, which has diversified membership. Other subjects discussed during the interview include the types of produce grown in the garden, problems with animals and insects, watering systems, and using a volunteer labor force. Ms. McKenzie and Mr. Sudyam conclude the interview reminiscing about childhood memories of gardening and how those experiences shaped their views about gardening today.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on a Zoom H4 Handy Recorder.

Sound quality is not ideal. Original location was compromised and we had to move to the bakery, which is loud and echo-y.

Financial executives

McKenzie, Cindy H.
Suydam, Robert, 1965-

Friendship Trays, (Charlotte, N.C.)
Common Grounds Farmstand, (Charlotte, N.C.)
Avondale Presbyterian Church,(Charlotte, N.C.) 

Community gardens
Farm produce
Volunteers
Pollution
Compost

North Carolina--Charlotte

Interviews
Oral histories

2000-2020

The Queen’s Garden: Oral Histories of the Piedmont Foodshed

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audio/mpeg

QG-MC0022

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:2776