We went to the little town of Union just west of us and attended the 2006 Union Fair and Wild Blueberry Festival. Union bills itself as the "Little Big Town." I don't know what the population is, but to me it's just a little town--friendly, old fashioned, historic and scenic. The fair was exactly what we were hoping it would be: old fashioned fun.
There were lots of 4H kids with the animals they'd raised and draft horse weight pulling contests.
There were flower arrangements and prize-winning vegetables.
I even found out about the sheep in coats that I'd mentioned seeing in a field in an earlier blog. One of the youngsters told me that the coats are used to keep the fleece clean and insect free so that it'll bring the best market price.
I also met the sheep who posed for this advertisement!
My favorite exhibits were all in the homemaking area--jams and flavored vinegars, quilts, crocheted tablecloths and all kinds of practical crafts. I wonder if the resurgence in interest in good food will bring a new sense of pride to good homemakers. I was so impressed with the dedication of people (mostly women) who expended so much time and energy to create wonderful food and beautiful homes. We're not talking about making things out of Clorox bottles or cotton balls here. We're talking about clothing, food and household goods that are beautiful, practical and will be handed down to future generations as family treasures!
We also visited the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, which is on the fairgrounds and was free with admission to the fair. It was very interesting. They had all kinds of farm tools associated with blueberries, including this all handmade (from wood) machine to separate blueberries from the chaff. It was really cleverly designed and is probably one of a kind. I didn't get a good picture of it because it was dark in the museum, but they also had a 1-horse shay (one of only 2 in existence--the other one is in the Smithsonian).
As we left the museum, we sampled Moxie, the official State of Maine soft drink. It's billed as being "a state of mind, symbolic of the indomitable spirit of Down East people. It is spunk, verve, and the daring to occasionally try a different path." It was "born" in Union and tastes sort of like Dr. Pepper with a hint of coffee. Wiley didn't like it, but I thought it was pretty good--not as sweet as lots of soft drinks.
As though we hadn't had an exciting and busy enough day, we decided to stop at Fernald's Neck Preserve on the way home. It's only a couple of miles from the campground on the north end of Megunticook Lake. We enjoyed a short (about 2 miles) hike through the white and red pine and hemlock forest. The views from the bluffs overlooking the lake were pretty spectacular.Tune in again soon for a blog about our adventures on the Georges Highland Path yesterday!
5 comments:
Looks like you had a very busy, fun-filled day. Since I like Dr. Pepper and coffee, maybe I'll fare better than Wiley.
Just viewed all your photos. You continue to do a wonderful job of bringing Maine to a Floridian! I notice you are wearing a long-sleeved sweater when hiking -- you mean it's that cool? I liked the smile on the piglet's face. He/she certainly looked contented. The fair brought back memories of the farm shows we used to attend in New Holland, Pennsylvania.
Put me on the list of people who don't care for MOXIE. Bring home a couple of cans for your friends to taste. I'll pass.
I'd never heard of Moxie--can't believe how many people I know had already tasted it!
The weather here has been quite cool--40's at night and 60's during the day. We've had the heat on at night for a week!
Uncle Ed - I think Wiley probably would like to be a lobsterman! But it's hugely expensive and there's lots of paperwork involved in getting started. And the Mainers don't take kindly to strangers. Businesses are handed down for generations, including the locations of the traps, and even though it's not legal, it's not unheard of for interlopers to have their traps "lost."
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