Today we went to the Orleans County Fair (formerly known as the Barton Fair). There were many curious sights to behold, such as this stunning family enjoying hot dogs and burgers at one of the food vendors:
And this famous couple, one of whom was celebrating his 25th birthday today watching the tractor pull event. Happy Birthday, Tyler!
Of course, there were the Ku-Klux-Klan sheep (I truly have no idea what this was all about): 
And, oh yes! The Pirate's Booty competition. A man dressed in a gaudy pirate's outfit threw some quarters and 1 black coin into a pit of bedding shavings. The kids had to dive in, and whoever found the single black coin would win a bicycle! It looked like fun, so we stopped to watch.
It proved to be much harder than it sounds. We watched for several minutes before moving on. But these children were determined!
We bought some beautiful hand-and-chainsaw carved cedar birdhouses from "Papa Les" and "Papa Pete," woodcarvers from the Newport area.
This was a strange attraction. "Rosie's Racing Pigs" was run by a man who claims to have been on that show Green Acres. he also claimed to have trained Wilbur from the movie "Charlotte's Web" and Babe the pig from the movie "Babe." For some reason, Ed wasn't buying it. I tend to agree with him, as the pig tricks he showed were kind of lame!
But watching the pigs race around was pretty darned cute!
But the absolute BEST part of the day was visiting with Fred Webster. If you have never heard of Fred Webster, and are interested in antique farm paraphernalia, you have GOT to meet this man. First off, he is 88 1/2 years old, and he builds these stage coaches by hand:
I am a huge fan- this picture doesn't even do it justice. It is stunning. Although I have never been there (Ed, Tyler and Matt have), it is my understanding that Fred keeps an amazing collection of antique farm equipment at his farm in Coventry. 
He's a sweet old man, pretty sharp and spry for his age. He likes to tell what I'm sure he thinks are pretty brazen jokes (although they are mostly just cute...almost as cute as he is!).
We all went home tired and full of yummy "fair food," my favorite being a "monster-sized (and it was!)" fried dough. That's a DOUGHBOY for all you Rhode-Islanders!
We bought some beautiful hand-and-chainsaw carved cedar birdhouses from "Papa Les" and "Papa Pete," woodcarvers from the Newport area.This was a strange attraction. "Rosie's Racing Pigs" was run by a man who claims to have been on that show Green Acres. he also claimed to have trained Wilbur from the movie "Charlotte's Web" and Babe the pig from the movie "Babe." For some reason, Ed wasn't buying it. I tend to agree with him, as the pig tricks he showed were kind of lame!But watching the pigs race around was pretty darned cute! But the absolute BEST part of the day was visiting with Fred Webster. If you have never heard of Fred Webster, and are interested in antique farm paraphernalia, you have GOT to meet this man. First off, he is 88 1/2 years old, and he builds these stage coaches by hand: I am a huge fan- this picture doesn't even do it justice. It is stunning. Although I have never been there (Ed, Tyler and Matt have), it is my understanding that Fred keeps an amazing collection of antique farm equipment at his farm in Coventry. He's a sweet old man, pretty sharp and spry for his age. He likes to tell what I'm sure he thinks are pretty brazen jokes (although they are mostly just cute...almost as cute as he is!). We all went home tired and full of yummy "fair food," my favorite being a "monster-sized (and it was!)" fried dough. That's a DOUGHBOY for all you Rhode-Islanders! It was a fantastic day at the Barton Fair!
7 comments:
VERY JEALOUS about the Fried Dough. and those racing pigs.
What a great day!
I loved seeing your pictures from the fair - you guys had a completely different experience than we did. I didn't even know there were pig races. We were mainly glued to the midway.
Fred Webster is amazing. I had seen those stage coaches and taken a picture, but there was no one around so I didn't know what they were about. Can't believe he does that. We should all live such long and productive lives - AND be as nice as he is.
Loved hearing about Fred. What a talented, amazing man!
Did Eli enjoy seeing the animals (pig races etc)? He seems to like animals in general, just like his Mama!
Was it very hot there? It's been almost unbearable here! Kyle has finally taken a liking to the pool. He "doggy paddles" around in it, jumps off the ladder & clearly has gotten over his fear of the water, yay! It's nice to see the pool getting so much use!!
I loved your title of the blog entry with the curious sights ending up being family! Very cute idea!
So glad you enjoyed your time at the fair. Our fair in New Boston isn't until about Sept. 11. It is a big deal down here. It,too, is a small county fair, even smaller than Barton's. However, the kids talk about it for weeks and I think every kid in New Boston goes! In fact, the teachers used to walk the kids to the fair Friday after school if their parents had sent a permission note allowing them to! How about that!
Speaking of fried dough, if Elijah hasn't had his fill, he can come to the Sugar Shack at our fair, and get a maple frosted donut (which I sometimes have to work at, when I am not making milkshakes!) They are WAAY better than fried dough, and helps the maple sugar producers of VT!! What fun you all had. I would have died to get into the stage coach. Did Fred let you?
I also took pictures of the strange KKK sheep! And when I brought them up at school yesterday, my principal said, "Only someone from the south would identify them as members of the KKK!" But alas! You saw it too!
I love your pictures of Fred... after we left I wished I'd taken some as well. I know Tyler wants to pay him a vist soon so maybe I'll get it then...
Sounds like you all had a fun day, the picture of all the kids digging for the coin is very cute. My mom remembers going to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH and we (from MA) stumbled upon Ted's sister Hollie and her family (from ME) and ended up having lunch with them! xoxoxo, Caitrin and Grammie Laura (WV)
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