NORWICH – Most weren’t too anxious to ride the rides, but the senior citizens attending the Chenango County Fair for free Thursday said they were having a barrel of fun anyway.
Intermittent rain showers couldn’t keep them at home. A walk down memory lane in Exhibition Hall complete with a slice of blackberry pie or barbecued beef and potato salad for lunch were just what the doctor ordered for the older set yesterday.
Eleanor Curley of Norwich proudly pointed to her great-granddaughter’s first place winning pencil drawing of a rabbit. The art was exhibited as part of the county fair’s student art show.
“That’s why I came out,” she said.
With friend Margaret McCarthy in tow, the duo visited the various exhibits, took time out to rest at a picnic table and generally laughed a lot.
They would only jokingly admit to being “definitely over 50.”
Kate and David McNitt of Sherburne said they hadn’t been to the county fair in many, many years. During a stroll nearby the quilter’s display, David, who will celebrate his 85th birthday next week, fondly recalled when he and his sons took the championship in the tractor pull for a bucketload of years back in the 1970s.
“We had a Massey Harris, a Massey Ferguson and a 275 Massey. We entered them all and took top prize every year,” said David.
Sons Ralph and Jim, who helped out on the family’s dairy farm in German Hollow, would look forward to entering every year. The youngsters took turns driving while pop helped change the weights.
“They were always nervous about how far to push them, but I knew what those tractors could do,” he said.
Kate, 76, said it was good to be back at the fairgrounds.
Some seniors stopped by Baker’s Maple stand to share a sugaring tale or two. Others admired the crafts and needlework, the flowers and the produce. Some reunited with friends they see only once a year at the fair.
But all had at least one thing in common: Pie. From apple to lemon meringue, a slice of heaven could be had with the obligatory cup of coffee for $3, with the proceeds, of course, going to the Grange Hall.
Grange Food Booth worker Debbie Barnes said the pies most certainly wouldn’t last all day. In fact, the peach apricot had to be scratched from the posted menu well before noon.
Sylvia Figary of Norwich and her husband, Ray, her brother, Leon Gridley and sister-in-law, Nancy, all sat down together for lunch and dessert. They reminisced about sewing aprons and knitting scarves and mittens and entering rabbits and cows in the judging arena back when they were teenagers.
“There were a lot of Figarys and Gridleys around back then,” said Sylvia. “And we all participated in 4-H.”
The men both said their fathers would miss the burlesque dancers and freak shows of fairs gone by.
“I know that’s not politically correct, but that’s what they used to call it,” said Leon.
Ray said his father loved the “girlie shows ... I mean, you know, the women who danced for you. I didn’t go, I never saw it,” he winked.
Nancy said she was disappointed there weren’t more entries in the 4-H building, but praised the organization for starting children out young with the Clover Buds group. “I’m glad to see that they all get ribbons, encouraging the youngsters to continue on,” she said.