The 1880 legend, according to Sue Colson, is that if one eats black-eyed pea soup at the new year’s start, one will become healthy and wealthy.   Greens, the kale and onion tops, represent paper money; the peas represent coins.

So, to insure their health and prosperity, Colson and husband Russ cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian black-eyed pea soups for the gardeners at the Cedar Key Community Garden for the Tuesday, January 1, 2:30 pm gathering. The Colsons rounded out the meal with cornbread, rice, and two blueberry pies, complete with ice cream, even in the 75-degree weather. Gardeners, some thirty of them,  brought more cornbread, spicy and not, cookies of all sorts, and more.