A special year for the South Amenia Fair

AMENIA — Last weekend South Amenia was treated to a festival that hadn’t been seen in 67 years. The South Amenia Community Fair, which originally opened in 1910, was revived Aug. 14 to 16, recreating many of the attractions and activities from the original fair.

This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the Union Society of South Amenia, which was formed in 1759 “to provide for community and religious experience in the Oblong Valley in the town of Amenia,� according to the free program handed out at the fair. The South Amenia Fair Program Committee included several members of the Union Society.

Fairgrounds, located on field owned by Bridget Potter on South Amenia Road, first opened Friday at 10 a.m.; the festivities concluded Sunday evening. In between,  events from antique and classic car showings to greased pig contests recreated the atmosphere of the original fairs.

“It’s been going very well,� said organizer Robert Meade on Saturday. “We’ve had a good attendance. And it’s not just an event, but the people are interested in the history of the fair.�

The Amenia Historical Society offered a variety of history lessons to fairgoers. The society picked several famous people from South Amenia’s past to feature at the fair, including Milo Winchester, who was the postmaster in South Amenia for 62 years, and Newton Reed, who wrote an early history of Amenia. And many people were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Netty Bump, a schoolteacher from the Indian Rock Schoolhouse days.

Art was available for purchase, as well as T-shirts commemorating the fair and copies of “A Year in the Life,� a fresh-off-the-presses account and reflection of agricultural life by the After Schools Boys Club, a group of locals who have been meeting weekly.

People of all ages were seen enjoying themselves, whether it was listening to live musical acts or participating in the greased-pig contest, like Douglas Pfeiffer, who was one of the contest’s winners. For Pfeiffer, there was only one way to describe attempting to tackle a very slippery hog.

“It was awesome,� said the soon-to-be fifth-grader.

One thing was for sure: It was a weekend that put smiles on a lot of faces.

Although there was no mention made as to whether the fair would be put on again in the future, organizers said they were pleased with this year’s effort, and asked their own question: Who knows what the future might hold for the South Amenia Community Fair?