| AUGUST 19, 2012 -- You probably wouldn’t confuse Southington with the mythical town of Mayberry in “The Andy Griffith Show.” But, spend a summer Saturday with Grange member, 94-year-old Mildred Bell and the sudden appearance of Aunt Bee carrying a freshly-basked apple pie outside the meeting hall at Knowles Avenue and Summit Street wouldn’t be a “jaw-dropper.”
Dedicated to the farmers of both state and nation, Southington Grange #25 during its annual fair makes available its facility to various vendors from arts and crafts to animal petting areas, clowns and magic shows, animal rescue shelters and more. Saturday’s 62nd annual fair and fundraising event attracted friends of the Grange, also neighbors eager to bid on tasty cookies by Donna Violet of Plantsville and mouth-watering fudge by Mary Bacon of Southington. Other vendors, like Karen Cavanaugh, representing the Southington Commission on Disabilities, was present for a different purpose.
Cavanaugh, a special education teacher at Southington High School, also serves on the Southington Disability Commission. She had set up a beach umbrella and card table stacked with informative literature about the commission’s Special Needs Registry.
If a 911 call comes from a house registered with the police and fire department they will know if a physically, visually or cognitively impaired person lives there.
“If they know the person is wheelchair bound, the police or fire department will know what they’re dealing with,” said Cavanaugh, whose mother is confined to a wheelchair. “And, as a special needs teacher, raising public awareness is a passion of mine.”
One way Cavanaugh gets the word out is through a poster painted by Cassie Castro, a Southington High School art student. The poster lists various sign-up locations.
Inside the hall, a proud Grange member, Delores Robitaille showed off prize-winning pastries to be auctioned off Saturday evening. In addition to pies, cakes and fudge, the Grange displayed wining fruits, herbs and home-grown vegetables along with quilts and photography. Winners in each category received an honorarium and a blue ribbon. Proceeds from the Saturday evening auction will go for Grange activities. Winners of the baking events compete later this year for prizes at the annual meeting of the Association of Connecticut Fairs.
Mildred Bell of Meriden, who baked the winning lemon meringue pie, noted that the Grange has evolved during her 80 years as a member.
“We were originally organized to help out the farmers,” she said. “But since fewer people are farming the organization has become more civic minded; we do a lot of community service work.”
Bell estimated that the Grange has approximately 75 members; she said it would like to attract more younger members.
“Nowadays, fewer people are willing to commit to things,” she said. “Nevertheless, in recent years we took in 20 new members; so, maybe we are building back up.”
By late afternoon, the aroma of barbecue chicken wafted from the kitchen through the Grange hall as volunteers prepared the fair’s traditional chicken dinner. In previous years, the meal has drawn as many as 175 diners and has become an ideal way to recruit new members.
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