The Cummington Fair

This is the season for hill town fairs. Little towns all over New England have their annual fairs, with ox pulls, tractor shows, vegetable contests, rides and of course funnel cakes and fair food.

Today I went to the Cummington Fair. Cummington is halfway between Northampton and Pittsfield on Route 9. The fairgrounds are about a mile off the main road, past a few old tractors and some rambling farm houses. It was raining steadily, so the turnout wasn't as good as the organizers wanted. You never know in the fair business. With a nice day you can be swamped with crowds, but on a rainy day you can sit there all day and watch the rain fall on an empty lot.

I parked and walked in the gates, passing this cold, wet teenage sentinel . . .



He looks pretty sorry in that shot, but he cheered up quick when I spoke to him.

The first thing I came upon was chainsaw sculpture. Wooden bears have become popular around here in recent years. This fellow is carving one as I watch.



He was sawing away right next to the antique tractor show. Cummington had one of the best collections of vintage tractors I've seen in a while.



Here's an old Farmall, just like the ones they used on the Barstow farm when I moved to Hadley, 43 years ago.



This is a Ford 8N, just like the one my grandfather had back in Georgia.



The champion squash sit on a cart. I always wonder what they do with these when the fair ends. Do they pack them with gunpowder and set them off? Do they roll them down hillsides into passing cars? Or do they eat them? It's hard to imagine eating a hundred-pound squash.



And inside the buildings, you can see the fruit and vegtable winners. I'm always tempted to taste a winner, but then I wonder if they spray them with something nasty just in case people like me come along . . . I left them where they lay . . .





You can tell the real country fairs because the farming is always front and center. There wasn't much of a crowd anywhere today, with the rain, but the busiest aisle was this one, between the animal sheds. There are cattle on the left and sheep and goats on the right



Here they are:




I was there early enough to pass the Pickles Da Clown, headed in to work. You can never tell about these circus clowns. She looks like a jolly female, but with that costume, how do you know? Maybe Pickles is really a grizzled old truck driver, fresh out of state prison, just waiting to catch someone like me in an alley between livestock trailers. I talked to Pickles, just to be sure, and she was legit. But you can never tell. When the carnies come to your town, watch the clowns close.



She passed the big animals, waiting in the rain for the ox and draft pulls later in the day.




One of the farmers brushed his beasts as the drizzle fell



Flowers are still blooming but fall is coming soon.



Most of the carnies were friendly, as you can see. I talked to a few as we watched the rain fall. These guys travel a circuit, going from one fair to another. They live in RVs and trailers that are lined up behind the customer parking.




This one wasn't. Some carnies don't like having their picture taken, because they're on the run from the law, on on the run from child support or something else. Some are just obnoxious.



The rides are always colorful. The equipment is a little run down at this show, but I like it just the same



As you can see, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the midway.







Despite that, and despite the weather, this female in the Polish food booth was amazingly cheery. She's from Lanesboro, a bit farther west in the hills.



This Direct TV guy makes you want to run right out and sign up, doesn't he?



Local kids man the 4H food booth. Every country fair has a 4H booth. I was in 4H myself, back in sixth grade.



Buster drooled goodbye as I headed out . . .