submitted by Bill Zimmerman
The Stephentown Historical Society’s 34th annual Strawberry Festival became one of its most exciting events in recent memory. On Thursday evening SHS members and members of Girl Scout Troop 1752, along with some members of the Youth 2 Youth Berlin group, picked 150 pounds of strawberries in under 90 minutes at the Berry Patch on Route 22. On Friday morning about 18 members and friends hulled nearly 200 pounds of berries in under 3 hours.
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On Saturday the weather became threatening, but was still not a problem. Cool weather, rain, and a breeze weren’t comfortable, but they were no particular threat. However, on Sunday morning when SHS workers arrived at the Berry Patch to set up tables and chairs, they found the tent on the ground with substantial tears in it. And the threat of more rain over the course of the day.
A Strawberry Festival in the open on a rainy day? Probably not a great idea. Time for Plan B. A couple of quick phone calls and the generosity of the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department secured the Fire Hall on Grange Hall Road for the event. Berries, ice cream, shortcake, and serving supplies and equipment were quickly moved and set up. Some signs were repositioned, Dale and Don at the Berry Patch redirected people to our new location, and the Strawberry Festival opened on time at 11 am. Whew! The panic was over. The rest of the day was pleasantly uneventful. Scattered showers outside and workers and guests comfortable inside. Many residents took the extra step and joined us at the Fire Hall to enjoy homemade shortcake, ice cream, and homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie. While turnout was down a bit from previous years, it was another successful Strawberry Festival, albeit with an exciting first hour or so.
Strawberry Festival Co-chairs Bev McClave and Bill Zimmerman and the Stephentown Historical Society would like to thank our customers, who braved less-than-ideal weather to partake of our local delicacies and support our work. We would also like to thank Girl Scout Troop 1752 and Youth 2 Youth Berlin and their advisers for picking the berries, Dale and Don at the Berry Patch for growing the berries and redirecting traffic, the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department for the use of its building, the Saturday night graduation party users of the facility, who cleaned the facility in time for us to move in, and our corporate sponsors: Stewart’s Shops, Price Chopper, and Big Y. Our Strawberry Festival is always something of a community effort, but even more so this year! [/private]