Djuan Rich remembers growing up without much, but he also remembers watching his mother find a way to give to people who had even less.
Some 20 years after Gatsie Ruth McLamb Rich’s death, that lesson remains with her son, who has found his own way to continue the generosity that made his mother a pillar of her community.
On Sept. 12, the third annual Gatsie Ruth Festival will be held at Rich Farm & Venue, located at 1973 Huntley School Road, just outside Roseboro. It is a free community celebration created by Rich in his mother’s honor and built, he said, around the same principle by which she lived — giving to others even when there was little to give.
“My mom was very instrumental in serving the community, single moms and people who were less fortunate,” Rich said. “We were raised poor, but she would still figure out a way to go bless somebody else, even though we were poor.”
Gatsie Ruth raised eight children — five boys and three girls — while finding ways to help others facing struggles of their own. Among those efforts was a clothes closet she built in the back of her home, providing clothing to those who needed it.
“She had it pretty tough, but she was a very resilient, powerful lady,” he son recalled. “I don’t remember seeing her cry, pout or whine about anything, even with her sickness on her deathbed.”
It was that strength and service that Rich wanted to preserve when he created the festival three years ago. While his mother has been gone for about two decades, he said the impact she had on others was evident at the time of her death, when people came from throughout the area because of the relationships she had built during years of helping others.
“This festival is all about giving back to the community and keeping her name alive, even though we know she’s gone with the Lord,” Rich said. “It’s just a way of keeping her name alive because she served so many people.”
The annual celebration is held near Gatsie Ruth’s Sept. 13 birthday, making the event as much a birthday tribute as a community festival.
Rich, a Lakewood High School graduate who grew up around Salemburg, remembers a childhood when entertainment options were limited. Much of his youth, he said, was spent either playing sports or working in the fields.
Now the owner of a 37-acre farm and event venue, Rich saw an opportunity to use what he had built to give local families an experience they might otherwise have to travel — and spend considerably more money — to enjoy.
“Being from the small town of Salemburg and not having a whole lot to do growing up, we worked in the fields and we played sports,” Rich recalled. “I just wanted to have a festive event once a year for the community, but I named it after my mom because she was such a pillar and had such an impact on the community.”
Rich describes the atmosphere he hopes to create as something resembling the feel of the State Fair, only closer to home and on a smaller scale.
The Sept. 12 celebration is slated to feature food trucks and trailers, vendors, a live band and a DJ, along with activities including rock climbing, bounce houses, basketball, cornhole and barrel train rides.
Perhaps more important to Rich than any individual attraction, however, is the price of admission — nothing.
The festival is free, and Rich intends to keep it that way.
“It’s major because, being raised poor myself and not having much, I remember going to the State Fair and it was like a big family gathering just to pitch in enough money for me to be able to go on a field trip with my school,” Rich said. “I will always have it for free.”
Visitors can purchase food and merchandise from participating vendors, but Rich said a family should be able to arrive without money in its pockets and still find plenty to enjoy.
“Let’s just say if nobody had any money, they can enjoy the barrel train rides and they can enjoy the live band,” he said. “We will continue to have it for free because we always have to think of the less fortunate. I’ve been on that side of the coin.”
Rich has also seen the festival provide something valuable for people whose obstacle may not necessarily be financial.
He recalled a friend who works constantly and rarely has an opportunity to get away with his family. After attending the festival, the friend told Rich it was one of the best times he had enjoyed in years of marriage because he was finally able to break away, bring his children and simply enjoy the day.
That ability to bring people together has become another important part of what Rich wants the Gatsie Ruth Festival to represent.
Last year’s celebration drew people from different racial and cultural backgrounds, something Rich said is intentional. Though the festival honors his mother and is hosted by a Black-owned businessman, he stressed that the celebration was never envisioned as being for one segment of the community.
“I talked to the mayor, and I said, ‘I just happen to be a businessman who’s Black, but this festival is not a Black festival. It’s a festival for everybody,’” Rich said.
That philosophy extends to the entertainment and vendors, with organizers working to create a multicultural atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable joining the celebration.
“It’s really important that white, Black, Hispanic, Asian — everybody — comes out and has a great time,” Rich said. “We try to make the music and even our vendors multicultural across the board. The festival is for everybody. Everybody is welcome, and we want to make sure everybody feels welcome as well.”
For Rich, seeing people from different backgrounds sharing the same space and enjoying one another’s company is particularly fitting for an event carrying the name of a woman remembered for helping people because they needed help, not because of who they were.
The festival also gives Rich an opportunity to introduce more people to Rich Farm & Venue, which hosts weddings, quinceañeras, birthday parties, anniversaries, school proms, class reunions and other events on its 37 acres.
But when the festivities wind down Sept. 12, Rich said his greatest measure of success will not be how many people saw his property or how much business the event generated.
He wants them to remember how they felt while they were there.
“The biggest thing is for people to have a good time and hardly be able to wait until we do it again next September. I just want it to be a memorable experience when people leave, and for them to not be able to wait to get back next year.” Rich concluded