Written by James Buce and Sammi Bjelland
Thackerland is a wonderful adventure full of exciting smells and sights that overwhelm the senses. Perhaps the most interesting part of the local flea market sat alone at her booth, waiting for her next customer.
With a name pulled from the pages of a Charles Dickens’ novel, Alma Sylar makes jams and salsas to sell every weekend at Thackerland.
Sylar’s arthritic hands naturally placed the jars in their selected locations, as she greeted every passerby with a smile and kind hello. Sitting alone on this particular Saturday, she more than willingly lent a kind ear to any customer interested in her product.
This is Sylar’s 10th year selling at Thackerland, and at nearly 90 years old, her loyal customers will encourage an extended stay at the flea market.
According to Sylar, customers arrive early every Saturday morning, waiting for her as she arrives at her booth. She also has a fan base outside of the local market, with regulars from Texas to Minnesota.
Over the past few years, Sylar has entered contests at the White County Fair and won numerous first- and second-place ribbons for her tasty creations.
Products range from apple butter to homemade salsa; she carries a number of jams and marmalades. Customers can also expect to find pickles and pickled okra.
She makes her salsa, by most conventions, the old-fashioned way. According to Sylar, it is the most difficult product to make because she lines up all of the ingredients on her table and chops and cuts them by hand until everything is minced to her liking.
Everything on her table is made exactly the way she wants it made, and she is the only one who knows her recipes. She jokingly told a story of not sharing the recipe to another vendor at Thackerland, and the resentment she still feels from the couple.
Sylar’s story does not begin with her products but is merely enhanced through her dedication to the customer and willingness to try something new.
Fifteen years ago, Sylar, a retired caterer from Florida, wanted to find something to do with her retirement so she began making jams and salsas. She was a caterer but had not tried making her now famous products until her retirement. Five years later, she began selling at the flea market and has not looked back.
Sylar sat between two empty booths normally occupied by her husband, whose absence left an air of isolation. Her husband recently had been sick and was forced to leave early that day, leaving Sylar alone to sell.
Wanting to talk yet afraid of keeping customers too long, Sylar smiled as she began to talk more about her life and less about the products she is so well known for making.
Pulling out a photocopy of a Dallas-area running magazine, Sylar began to tell the story of her daughter battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the magazine article about the race in honor of her daughter. Sylar spoke about her daughter losing the ability to talk, and how she will leave her daughter messages on the answering machine to let her daughter know she is thinking about her.
In such a tiny frame, it’s difficult to picture Sylar’s strength. But through her stories, strength becomes clear.
With all of the trinkets and gizmos Thackerland offers, many will brush off the smile of a 89-year-old lady sitting alone selling jars of jam.
But given the time her stories could be the best find at the local flea market.
