Welcome! Drumroll, please. Fallowfield United Methodist Church bakers made 1,976 pies with God’s help and the invaluable assistance of our friends and neighbors.
As usual, coconut cream was our most popular pie. We made 243. Our weakest selling pie was raisin. We made 89. Blackberry came in second this year with 182. And the most remarkable of all is elderberry. Despite birds devouring most of the elderberries this summer, we still managed to make 163 pies.
We almost always sold out of elderberry pie first. I worked at the fair booth both Saturdays and elderberry was either sold out or only had a few pieces left by the time I arrived at 5 p.m. Both nights raisin was the last pie to go.
You know what’s funny? I don’t like either of these pies. In fact, I don’t like coconut cream, either, and blackberry’s not my favorite. Blueberry, Dutch apple, and strawberry-rhubarb are where it’s at in my opinion. We made around 150 of each during fair week.
The preliminary gross is around $30,000. Once our net figure is totaled, we’ll divide the profits equally between approximately 80 foreign and domestic missions and charities.
Once again, I am humbled by God’s goodness and provision. We could never pull off this project without our friends’ and neighbors’ help, either. At the pie bakes I chaired, we usually had at least three volunteers from other churches and our community. People who were once Fallowfield members still come back to help with the fair project, knowing it’s all about God in the end.
If you bought food at our fair booth, helped at a pie bake, worked a shift at the booth, or prayed for us, thank you.
I’d say I’ve written enough about pies this year, don’t you think?
Fallowfield United Methodist is hosting an old-fashioned hymn sing on Sunday, September 17, at 6:30 p.m. Please join us. We’ll holler out our favorite hymn titles and listen to groups perform.
There is also a hymn sing at the Jamestown Fair on Thursday, September 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Lion’s Club building. This is such a nice addition to the fair, and an opportunity to praise God with friends and neighbors from the Jamestown community.
Speaking of the Jamestown Fair, this year will mark the first Barbara Saulsberry Memorial Four*Star Homemaker Award. To be eligible, entrants must be 19 years or older, submit items completed after last year’s Jamestown Fair, and include an entry in baking (including the recipe), clothing, canned or dried foods, and needlecraft. Entrants may submit up to three items in each division, and must earn a ribbon in each of the four categories.
The winner will be determined by a ribbon point system, with blue ribbons worth 20 points, red worth 15, and white, 10. The winner will have his or her name added to a memorial plaque, and win $100 cash from the Barbara Saulsbery Quilt Club, gift cards from Fabric Outlet Barn, Greenville Dairy Queen, and The Gallery of Fabric, a quilt kit, and an American flag from Parke Wentling.
As I have written in the past, Barb was a beautiful person and gifted quilter. She was a talented quilting teacher, as well. She taught a quilting class at Adamsville Presbyterian Church for many years, willingly sharing her talent and quilting secrets. She is sadly missed at the Jamestown Fair and by all who knew her. Honoring her memory with this memorial reward seems very fitting. I’m excited to see who wins.
If you’d like to enter anything from livestock to artwork in the Jamestown Fair, it must be done between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5. And if you submit any food entry, make sure you bring a recipe. My daughter and I made the mistake of not bringing a recipe for her Texas Sheet Cake a few years ago and barely made it back by 6 p.m. You can pick up fair rule books at the Jamestown Post Office, or read the rules online at jamestownfair.org.
While I’m obviously very involved in the Crawford County Fair, the Jamestown Fair has always been my favorite. It’s so cozy. I love the gyros, Lion’s Club French fries, and homemade doughnuts. I always check out the quilts and produce, as well. If you’re from the Atlantic community, you’re bound to run into lots of friends and see their exhibits at the fair. It’s a great place to feel community pride.
I’ve seen State Representative Parke Wentling and State Senator Michele Brooks there, too. I’m definitely not the only one who loves this fair.
And be sure to check out the amazing Jamestown Fair Parade at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 9. I remember darting onto the road as a kid, picking up candy thrown by fireman and people on parade floats. And who can forget the blare of the fire trucks’ sirens and horns? I also loved listening to the marching bands. The Jamestown Fair Parade was always my favorite when I was in the Conneaut Lake Marching Indian Band, as Mr. Denis Joyce called it. I have so many fond memories of that parade. We took first place for many years, too. Gotta brag on my old band.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!