Old-time fun at South Amenia fair Aug. 14

AMENIA — History buffs and seekers of a simpler time have a special treat coming up this weekend at the South Amenia Community Fair, which will arise from a field like the mythical town of Brigadoon, Friday, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. until Sunday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m.

This is the first time such a fair has been held since 1942, and this revival is part of the 250th anniversary of the Union Society of South Amenia (which owns the land that is home to the South Amenia Presbyterian Church). The fairground is on a field owned by Bridget Potter at 204 S. Amenia Road (County Route 3, 1.5 miles east of Wassaic, on the shores of the Webutuck Creek).

Special efforts have been made to recreate the attractions from the old fairs, according to one of its organizers, Robert Meade, who has lived around the corner from the fairground for about half a century.

Although he was alive at the time of the last fair, in 1942, he was a mere toddler. There are still a few people around who have  “snippets of memories†of those old fairs, he said.

History comes alive on film

But the Sharon Historical Society has contributed photos of a 1914 gathering, where men in suits and straw hats escorted ladies in long white dresses from their horse-drawn carriages to the fairground; where boys in knee-length pants and rakish caps scrambled up greased poles — and older boys wearing white shirts and ties wrestled with greased pigs.

There are also two 8 mm films that were made in 1933 and 1940 by the late James Chaffee, who died in 1986.  Copies of the films on DVD were donated to the Union Society last year by Chaffee’s daughter, Patricia Burke.

“He was treasurer of the Union Society for many years, and he lived adjacent to the fairgrounds, at the Webutuck mill site,†Meade said.

“Those movies are a historic treasure,†Meade said.
“Not many people had movie cameras in those days. We could have recreated the fair without the movies; but it’s more suggestive to be able to see some of the events as they actually took place.â€

World Wars ended the fairs

America’s involvement in World War II put an end to the old South Amenia fair, Meade said, just as World War I had put an end to the Amenia Field Days held in Leedsville, at what is now Troutbeck.

“In the spring of 1910,†explains the fair’s program and guide, “some neighbors in the Leedsville Hamlet of the town of Amenia conceived the audacious idea of having annual community field days focused upon contests and exhibitions, open to all and free for all.

“For several years, these turned out to be wildly successful, with thousands of attendees who came by car, buggy or train, from as far away as New York City.â€

Photographs from the 1914 fair show activities as diverse as trap shooting for prizes and marching for women’s suffrage.

“After the war, in 1919,†the program continues, “members of the Union Society of South Amenia decided to revive the event, as a community fair.... The society continued to sponsor the South Amenia Community Fair annually until World War II stopped it, in 1942. It was discontinued due to the rationing of gasoline and so many serving in the armed forces.

“For all those years, it celebrated local agriculture, horticulture and rural life.â€

Old-time activities

This weekend’s fair will include a contest to see who can catch a greased pig (“Be sure to wear a bathing suit or something you don’t mind getting greasy,†Meade warned). It will take place on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Other old-time contests will include a horseshoe tournament on Sunday at 3 p.m. and a “youth field-event competition†on Saturday at 2 p.m.  The exact events have not been chosen yet but young people can perhaps see how fast they can climb a greased pole (“Climbing the pole is a greased pig contest without the pig,†Meade said), take part in a sack race, or test their strength in a tug of war.

A horse/pony show is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m., and a dog show will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. There will be several demonstrations of draft  mules, draft horses and draft oxen. And there will be judging of art, flowers and vegetables on Friday (later in the weekend the flowers will be given to shutins and the vegetables donated to local food banks). A pie judging will begin on Friday at 5 p.m.

There will also be foods available for sale, with a food tent open all day Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday after a chicken barbecue by the Northeast Dutchess Fire Battalion at noon (which follows an “old-time tent worship service†that is open to everyone, led by the Rev. Nancy Thornton McKenzie with input from the South Amenia and Millerton Presbyterian churches).

Every evening, from 5 to 8 p.m., there will be bingo. Every afternoon there will be demonstrations of everything from Boy Scout skills to weaving to tractor prowess.

This historical recreation and community event was put together by many volunteers, Meade said, including Program Committee members Mark Doyle, Donald Duncan, Herbert Eschbach and Julian Strauss and the trustees of the society. Work began in January, Meade said, and has kept everyone quite busy. None of the volunteers, he pointed out, has ever put together a fair of this type.

“Many logistical issues undergird the fair,†he noted. In addition to planning the program (decorated with historic photos and the same decorative seal used for the old fairs) and figuring out how to run electricity to the site, “there are interesting details: Where to find a young pig of the right size for the greased-pig event? Can animals that have never met before be put into the same corral? Where should the heritage turkey exhibit be located?â€

“Perhaps in September,†Meade said, “someone involved in the planning will begin writing the help book, ‘Fair Putting-on for Dummies.’â€

Admission to and parking at the South Amenia Community Fair are free. Send questions to SAFair2009@optonline.net or call 845-789-1206.