100th Anniversary of my home town festival

Labor Day, 2008. It started at 3 a.m. I heard a rumble outside and looked out to see a truck pulling a long trailer with two tractors on it. Nearly everyone that goes to the Festival passes our house there on the corner of Grove and South Main. The parade of tractors continued throughout the morning. I heard someone say there were 48 pulling teams this year, more than ever before, coming probably coming from all over northwest Ohio.

The first frame on the roll of film for the day (yes, I still shoot film) was of Dor-Lo Pizza and the midway. I thought I remembered that Dor-Lo represented the names of the founders, Doris and Lowell Lehman and Dad confirmed that is correct.

Lowell Lehman worked in his family’s bakery business on East Main Street in New London after serving as a baker in the Army in the European Theatre. http://www.newlondonohio.com/know/lehmans.htm.

Dad drove a rural route for Lehman’s Bakery for several years. Sometimes when we’re out driving the country roads Dad will recall some of his bakery customers and what they usually ordered. Dor-Lo Pizza has been in business for 50 years in a small college town of Ashland, about 20 miles from New London. Anyway, with a history like that it feels like a name you can trust.

After scoping out the situation I came back to the bleachers to find Dad talking with Mike Crabbs, sitting there with his John Deere cap on eating ice cream, watching the tractor pull. Mike works at a farm implement place in Ashland and does lawn care work on the side.

Across the track I spotted these kids climbing up into the back of a pick up via ladder.

Sitting on hard bleachers in the hot sun was starting to wear on us so Mom and I went looking for a place to sit in the shade. We found a picnic table next to the concession stand run by the Girl Scouts and I went and got some fresh squeezed lemonade, benefiting the high school band/show choir’s trip to Disneyworld. We were sitting there watching the goings-on when these three guys joined us at our table. They came to the festival with matching hats and had bought some trinkets which they were attempting to affix to their hats.
On to the flower and garden show in the Hileman Building where we found these gladiola prize winners nicely displayed in old milk bottles. I recall that Grandma Phillips had a gladiola garden in front of the fence enclosing the chicken yard (yes, free range, but we didn’t know it was anything special at the time).
Mom and I joined up with Dad again to watch some more of the tractor pull and munch on a pile of deep fried onion rings. In the interim Dad said he ran into his cousin Phil Schneiter, who at 71 considers himself a “semi-retired” farmer and is running for office of Trustee for the Lorain Medina Rural Electric Cooperative. He has his pick up backed up against the track in a shady spot, a great vantage point to watch the tractor pull.

These kids were standing near the track waiting for the next class of tractors to begin pulling. They saw me approaching with a camera and without a word they struck this pose. I had earlier seen some of them lying on their bellies so I suggested they try that again and they quickly complied.

A bonding moment for father and sons…

I’m guessing they call themselves the Red Team, 4 nice shiny red pick-ups and everyone wearing a red t-shirt. They found a nice shady spot to convene.

Tractors lined up like this all day, waiting for their turn to pull. However we had had enough by about 1 p.m. and went home for snack and a nap.

The tractor pull was still going on when we slipped into the back of the cemetery at 8:30 to watch the fireworks, along with Teddy and Norma, and Bass and Judy, some Baptist friends of Mom and Dad.

Local fireworks expert Terry Granneman put on a spectacular show, I must say the best I’ve ever seen, and accompanied by music. I didn’t have a tripod so I didn’t get photos, but by the time you fuss with the camera positions and settings you can miss a good part of the show anyway so it’s just as well. The show started out with little boxes of light gently lifting to the sky, accompanied by the song Take Your Candle by Chris Rice.
http://www.christianlyricsonline.com/artists/kathy-troccoli/go-light-your-world.html

Here’s an excerpt:
We are a family whose hearts are blazing

So let's raise our candles and light up the sky

Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus

Make us a beacon in darkest times

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world ....