46
—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 23,1978
Elizabethtown
'growing thing'
The Elizabethtown Community Fair, in
its fifth year, is the youngest fair in the
county. It is also one of the fastest growing
fairs, and helping it grow are two en
thusiastic workers who hare been involved
almost from its beginning.
Mrs. Samuel Myer, Elizabethtown R 5,
is general chairperson for the marketplace
fair and she recalls that she got initiated in
the fair when she was asked to help
organize the entries five years ago. Mrs.
Clay Mumma, Mount Joy Rl, current
secretary for the marketplace fair, began
working with it four years ago. Each year
Hilma Muma-says with a laugh, “They
get us in deeper.”
Despite the long hours and hard work the
two agree readily that every effort is
worth it Sara Myer states, “We are proud
when everything is displayed. It makes it
all worthwhile.” Hilma agrees,
“Sometimes we get very discouraged, but
it is a pleasure to be able to have people
display their handwork.”
Hilma said she feels the growing Fair is
good. “I think it is good for the community
to be involved in the Fair and to have an
opportunity to show their handcrafts.
Many people tarn out quality things to
display to fee public.”
Hilma said growth has come in every
department, but the needlecraft depart
ment is “where we have seen the most
growth.” Many people enter because they
see other people who do it.” She predicts
continued growth, if people are willing to
work at the Fair.
Asked if people can make money on
winning entries in the fair, Hilma replied,
“I think they do it as a matter of pride.
Basically they do the work for nothing, so
any premium they win is extra. I would
encourage anyone to enter. We get a wide
range of people - all ages.” She added that
young people are eligible to be judged with
other youth in any category in the Fair.
Anyone who has ever read a fair booklet
knows that there are categories which
seem to cover almost anything a person
would be interested in entering. Ap
parently people have additional items they
would like to display. Sara said,
“Sometimes we get requests for
categories, and we try to add when we
have a request. Hilma pointed out,
however, that the catalogue follows the
basic state guidelines. She also noted, “We
can only accept in the designated
categories.”
The Elizabethtown Fair is full of “firsts”
this year. Formerly they were not open in
the daytime, but Sara said they will open
the exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
from 6 p.m. to closing at the request of
local citizens. “People wanted it to be open
so they can see everything that’s there.
Classes from school can now come and see
the animals in the barnyard.”
This was also the first year for judging of
animals. FFA and 4-H project animals in
The
Fair is a
By SALLif BAIR
Staff writer
When a computer was suggested as a
possibility, the two women were en
thusiastic. Sara said, “We are the only fair
to be computerized.” During the week it
meant many fewer hours of work.
However, one major problem developed
which caused inconvenience for all con
cerned. While the numbers for the com
puter were added, the specific numbers of
flowers tobacco leaves, etc. needed for an
exhibit did not get included in the finished
booklet. The women expressed deep regret
for the inconvenience caused people in
preparing their exhibits, but they said they
were planning to make allowances for
confusion resulting from the mistake.
Prior to the fair, Sara said, “We’re going
to suffer.”
Getting the book out is important as Sara
notes, “I think people go through the book
right away and plan what they’ll bring.
Some people start right after the Fair to
prepare for next year.” Hilma said,
“People really plan all year, and work on
items just for the Fair.”
The two women work as a team, and
their preparation for the annual fair
begins about two weeks from now, when
they will review their successes and study
areas which need improvement. Sara
noted, “We meet while it is still fresh in
our minds, and try to think of anything to
unprove it. In February we begin having
monthly meetings to plan more carefully.”
The Elizabethtown Community Fair is
sponsored by the Elizabethtown Jaycees,
and grew from a community festival to a
swine and sheep were accepted. Sara said,
“We wanted to grow, so'we met with FFA
and they agreed to do a lot of the work.
They helped get sponsors to defray the
costs. The Kiwanis Club is sponsoring
swine awards and Farmers Fertilizer is
sponsoring the sheep trophies.” The FFA
was responsible for the Kiddie Barnyard, a
popular feature from former years.
There was a parade for the first time, a
King and Queen contest which involved
voting for youngsters in the week prior to
the Fair, and a tractor driving contest
Another big, first this year was putting
the entry cards on a computerized basis.
Hilma said that the'work of calculating
premiums usually fell to her and Sara and
involved many late night hours during fair
week. Each year they would say, “There
has to be a much simpler way.” To find a
better way they visited other fairs, in
cluding the York Interstate Fair, and
discovered that even at that large fair the
winners were calculated by hand. The only
difference is that the York Fair employs a
staff of office workers to carry out the job.
This year the booklet was distributed in
a mass delivery with the Merchandiser,
which proved an effective way to reach
outlying areas around the town. “It cost us
some money,” Sara said, “But it is the
first time we got that much distribution.”
Hilma added, “We really touched people
who garden.”
fair. It has no permanent buildings. Both
women praise the efforts of the Jaycees
and chairman Joe Maher, with Hilma
saying, “The fair gives people something
to look forward to. The community needs
action, and the fair is a highlight of the
Fall.”
So far the fair continues to be successful
each year, -although they have not been
blessed with perfect weather. Earlier this
week Hilma was predicting good weather,
but added, “We take it all in stride.” With
everything displayed in tents, Sara said
they sometimes need plastic to protect
exhibits from the elements.
Monday and Tuesday were their busiest
days, when they accepted entries and
supervised the judging which requires a
large number of people to assist. But their
work pnor to the fair included such im
portant tasks as helping recruit ad
vertisers for the fair booklet, and
scheduling as many people as they can for
work during the fair.
An interesting sidelight of the fair is the
auctioning of the baked goods on the
evening of the judging. Sara explained that
just a piece of each baked entry is kept for
tasting and judging, and the remainder is
sold in an auction that goes extremely
well. All the money from the auction goes
to the community, in many cases going
back into the Fair.
Hilma and Sara both do some food
preserving of their own, but say they
would never enter as exhibitors while
being so involved in the administrative end
of the Fair.
Hilma described herself as always being
a “country girl,” although she didn’t live
- * ** *
on a farm. Since she sews, cans and
freezes herself, she said, “I really enjoy
seeing other people’s things at the Fair.”
The mother of three children, Hilma said
she encourages them to exhibit. She is a
member of the Marietta Congregational
Bible Church where she was active in the
women’s group. She was formerly in
volved with scouting, but a part time job
has forced her to curtail some of her
former activities.
For Sara, being involved in the Fair is
just one more in the list of community
activities which she takes seriously. She is
vice-president of Lancaster-Coupty Farm
Women Society 6, a member of Eastern
Star, and is a member of the First Church
of God in Elizabethtown. She also works
hard on the Dairy Princess Committee and
mothered five children. In addition to
preserving the fruits of a large garden at
her dairy farm home, Sara said, “I enjoy
doing for older people. It is very rewar
ding. I feel young and I feel like working.”
She recently helped an 86-year-old woman
prepare for a move from her home to an
apartment, helping her settle in, and she
regularly assists a friend with grocery
shopping and doctor visits.
Hilma says her family doesn’t suffer
during the week of the Fair because thej
enjoy being there in the thick of things as
often as possible. Sara said, “My family is
very understanding about the work dun r
Fair week.”
By the time you read this, the Fair will
be nearly over for the fifth year. But it is a
certainty that plans will be underway m
just a few weeks to make next year’s ev r
better. And two reasons why it will
better are Sara and Hilma, who are i.
committed to a successful, community
oriented Fair.