The Exhibit Hall with its displays of sewing, knitting, canning, baking, quilting, flowers, vegetables, fruits and assorted collections is a center of activity all through Heath Fair days. These exhibits are one of the ways that we celebrate life in our town, the skills of the residents, the creativity and purposfulness of our children, the fertility and beauty of our landscape, and our devotion to the town and its institutions and organizations. The grandsons and I won lots of prizes – for art, knitting, cookies, leaf prints, and maple cake. It came as a surprise to some that you could win a $3 First Prize. There may be even more exhibits next year.

As vice-president of the Friends of the Heath Free Public Library I spend a lot of time working at or visiting at the Book Sale tent. This is our big fund raiser for the year and this year, we almost doubled our take. This was good for the exchequer, but also good because we passed along many many good books on to happy readers.

The Elementary School also had a fund raising booth with children’s games, a raffle and a dunking booth. The volunteer fire department puts on a chicken barbecue both days with homemade root beer! And the Agricultural Society itself sells food including homemade pie, a la mode if you wish, all through the fair.

Mechanical rides will no longer come to our tiny fair so we have returned to those simpler attractions – watermelon eating contest, blueberry pie eating contest, and a big pile of sand for the youngest fair goers to play in.

Slightly older fair goers found delight in Shenandoah’s Hoopla Hoops. Thirteen year old granddaughter Colleen kept 2 hoops going. Who needs a Ferris wheel?

But this year we didn’t only have Fair festivities. My brother Tony was celebrating his 65th birthday and all our children and grandchildren got to celebrate with him.

Here is my brother the lawyer reading the tiniest contract as put together by daughter Diane. She made the kingly birthday crown but we all placed birthday wishes on the Wishing Wand in the background.

This is the second birthday celebration the Cottage Ornee has seen this year. Lucky cottage. Lucky us to have so much to celebrate at the Heath Fair.