“What did you grow? Old by the grace of God”
For over four decades Dan Moody has been setting up his table of produce to bring good food and good news to passersby — first in Drumright and later in Cushing.
On a quiet Thursday morning in Cushing you can find him in his worn Drumright FFA cap arranging whatever the Earth was willing to give on a fold out table. The smell of fresh produce and the hum of cars driving by filling the air around the old service station parking lot he sets up in. He greets his regulars by name and any new faces with a smile.
Back in 1981, Dan and his wife started selling their goods at a farmer’s market they started in Drumright alongside other neighbors who loved to grow things. Although, if you ask Dan what he grows, his answer has nothing to do with the squash or cucumbers set out on the table. A lifelong gardener whose faith runs as deep as his roots in the soil, Dan will tell you he grows old by the grace of God.
“One day I remember I got a little tap on the shoulder and a small voice asked me ‘What did you grow’ and I thought a minute and said, old by the grace of God, I heard back ‘Good answer’,” he said.
Dan said that’s been his answer ever since that day.
Raised in a rural area Dan had spent his childhood helping his parents and sister tend a garden and sell vegetables by going door to door. What began as a small family effort became a lifelong calling. Over the years, he has tended to nearly everything imaginable — green beans, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, and much more. But his passion lies not in what is grown but in the lessons that can be taught from it.
“It’s amazing what we think we can control,” said Dan. “But the Bible says God gives the increase — all we can do is our part.”
His journey has not been without hardship. According to him, the weather and pests have made this year one of the toughest yet. On top of a hard growing season Dan has had to carry the loss of his wife of nearly 59 years, who passed away just hours before their anniversary earlier this year. He spoke of her with tenderness and humor saying, “she put up with me all that time” with a melancholy chuckle and soft smile.
Even through grief and unpredictable weather, he remains steadfast to the soil and to his smalltown market showing up every week with a spirit of resilience and faith. Even in years when rains have been too hard or non-existent; when mold, worms, and rot threatened every row.
“Too much rain in the spring,” he noted, listing a number of loss crops — peach trees, grapevines, cherry and pear trees. He’s even battled tomato worms for the first time in decades.
But to Dan, these struggles are reminders that nature reflects something deeper — it’s scripture come to life. He often paraphrases the Bible as he converses with customers and weighs out bags, reminding himself that the Earth was made by God’s hand and that no man, no matter the machines or theories can destroy what God created — “We can harm it but it’ll heal itself. That’s God’s design.”.
Despite it all, Dan has weathered every challenge and the market continues. A market that, according to him, is recognized by the state and has no fee obligations. The only requirement is that everything must be locally grown.
“We tell folks you can’t just buy it somewhere and bring it here,” he says. “But if your neighbor’s growing it, that’s fine.”
Dan said unfortunately, fewer farmers come these days, but he keeps the spirit alive. As regulars stop by his stand, he greets each one — sometimes with a joke, sometimes with a sample of the most recent produce available.
For Dan, gardening isn’t just about produce — it’s about perseverance and connection. And every Thursday morning, at the edge of a Cushing parking lot, he still proves it — one vegetable, one conversation, one act of faith at a time.