October 10, 2002 - Fine fare at the Big E fairThe News- Review • October 10, 2002
Fine fare at the
Ftjd E fair
Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh
Bluefish seem to be everywhere. Whenever we get a mess of these terrors
of the sea we usually smoke them. There's nothing quite like bluefish just
out of the hot smoker. We use mostly cherry wood for flavor.
BARBARA CAME ACROSS an ad about
a day trip to th�Eastern States
Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.,
where they were holding the 81st Big
E Fall Festival. The trip involved tak-
ing the Sea Jet from Orient to New
London and there boarding
a luxury coach to travel an
hour and a half to the Focus
largest fair in the Northeast. ON
We were up early, a bit
bleary-eyed as we Ieft to be NATURE
at the ferry at 7:30 a.m. To by Paul
our surprise we found many Stoutenburgh
others doing the same thing.
At the ferry terminal we
started to appreciate the mess there is
in parking. It was a beautiful morning
for a boat ride and as we passed
through Plum Gut we could see many
boats were already out fishing for
blues and stripers. It reminded me of
the snapper blues 1 had just smoked a
few days before. There's nothing quite
as good tasting as warm bluefish right
out of the smoker.
The fast ferry crossed in 40 minutes
and we soon were relaxing in the com
Portable bus headed north. The weath-
er couldn't have been more beautiful.
As we drove along the back roads of
Connecticut and Massachusetts, there
was just a hint of color in the tops of
the trees. Fall would soon take over
with its kaleidoscope of color.
We arrived around 10:30 a.m. at the
fairgrounds that spread over a huge
area. After purchasing our guide
booklet with the map of the area, we
headed out. There were the usual trin-
ket shops along the way, leather shops.
craft shops, etc. Then there was what
seemed an endless eating area. I never
saw so many vendors with so many
nt kinds of foods to eat, every-
thing from a baked potato
with any kind of topping to
clam chowder in a baked
bread bowl. The list goes on
and on. We decided since
we had brought our own
bottle of water with us that
we'd just purchase some
health bars to hold us until
lunchtime. It looked like
there was too much to see and do to
take time for eating now.
The fairgrounds must have been
used for many years, as there were
huge, spreading trees throughout that
gave us comfortable shade and a
pleasant place to relax. What interest-
ed us most were the farm exhibits.
One was the competition for the
largest pumpkin. The winner of the
largest pumpkin grown in the
Northeast was one that weighed 620
pounds. There were others of 510,420
and 300 pounds. That big one looked
like some sumo wrestler squatting on
the ground with its tremendous
weight. We read later that these
pumpkins only grew to such an unbe-
lievable size when they were crossed
with a certain kind of squash.
Standard pumpkins only grow to
about 50 pounds. Currently the world
record for these crossed oumvkins is
The largest
pumpkin
grown in the
Northeast
weighed
620 pounds.
over
ones we were seeing were a light yel-
low or light green in color, according
to their squash ancestry.
They had many kinds of chickens 01
display that the kids were enjoying.
There was even a large area where
baby chicks were literally hatching ou
right in front of the onlookers. In this
same building we looked in amaze-
ment aVthe huge Clydesdale horses in
their sparkling -clean separate stalls.
"Standing six feet tall and weighing as
much as 2,300 pounds, these `gentle
giants' are one of the strongest breeds
of horses — bred to pull and maneu-
ver heavy loads like the colorful
Budweiser wagon recog-
nized the world over," says
the exposition's official
guidebook. Seeing all these
beautiful horses was quite a
thrill, but nothing com-
pared to what was coming
in the next hour or so.
In the huge coliseum
where they must hold all
sorts of competitions, we
sat and watched the spectacular draft
horse show competition. First was the
Big E's own special draft horse chal-
lenge with top horses and hitches
competing for a $5,000 cash prize.
That was followed by the North
America competition where the top
12 hitches in the country competed
against one another in a test of skill
culminating in a $25,000 "Best of the
Best" cash prize. These animals came
into the arena lifting their feet high
and almost dancing in front of us. First
they would trot around the arena,
then walk and then they'd have to go
through figure eight paces, standstill,
back up, etc. All this was under the
control of the man or woman in the
seat above who held the reins of all
six of these beautiful animals.
What a sight to see as three groups
of six horses hitched together paraded
around the coliseum, each group
pulling a spit- and - polished wagon.
This, coupled with the black, glistening
leather and sparkling, chrome - fitted
horse collars and harnesses, made a
most impressive and memorable sight.
The horses' tails were done up in buns
and their manes were carefully braid_
ea, eacn one a magnificent showpiece.
There might be 36 horses in the
arena at one time. There would be
three groups of six horses competing
with each other. Then the master of
ceremonies colorfully dressed in red
would announce each new competi-
tion by blowing his long, polished
bugle. There were 12 sets of six trying
for one award and 13 sets of six for
the other. That would total. 150 horses
in and out of that arena in the course
of the competition. It was a beautiful
sight, with each one as handsome as
the next.
There were Clydesdales, Shires,
Percherons and Belgians competing.
They came from as far away
as Minnesota, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, New York,
Canada, etc. To watch these
men and women handle the
huge horses was truly some-
thing to see. All this show-
manship went on to the
accompaniment of rousing
rgan music.
On the way back we met
some locals who were also taking in
the fair. Some had stayed for two days
and were just coming back home. We
could see why they would stay over,
for there was so much to see. We
missed the grand parade with all its
colorful floats and marching bands.
There was even a circus and amuse-
ment park that we only saw in the dis-
tance. Plus there were rides for chil-
dren on an elephant and a camel and
all sorts of petting animals.
In all, it was a wonderful way to
spend a beautiful fall day. On our way
out we stopped to have a Ben &
Jerry's ice cream. It seemed a good
way to end the day. The ride home was
most relaxing and the trip across the
Sound in the dark was smooth and
uneventful. We were back home by 8