I GAWKED AT VAST DISPLAYS OF
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ,
IMAGES OF THE SANDWICH FAIR
WONDERING HOW MANY PEOPLE A
GIANT ZUCCHINI COULD FEED.
Skipping down dusty lanes that separated dozens of animal enclosures filled with an amazing array of goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, fowl, and oxen, my biggest surprise was meeting the many children tending them. They proudly shared the exotic-sounding (to my ears) names of their animals and often went on about how to take care of them. Some had already earned a ribbon for their prize specimen, while others were grooming theirs for showing and judging. Further on, I gawked at vast displays of fruits and vegetables, wondering how many people a giant zucchini could feed. The varieties of apples in shades of green, red, and yellow amazed me, and I was gobsmacked by the colossal pumpkins, sure the lopsided thing sprawling beyond its allotted presentation area was sure to win. At our house, we had a small flower garden where only the fittest survived our blasĂŠ efforts at weeding, some of the latter certainly prize worthy. At the fair, my father caught up with me in the barn devoted to farm foods, all of them homemade and some preserved in antique-looking mason jars. Patiently and with great passion, he recalled his sense memories of homemade jellies, jams, dilly beans, and the like. He identified the con-
PHOTO BY ERNIE LANDRY
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PHOTO BY JOLEE CHASE