We all love to go to the Apple Harvest Festival and make it there every chance we get. It's been a few years since the whole gang has been here and everyone was eager to see what new displays they had there. Rather than explain what the Festival is all about I am including the link below that does a better job of describing it than I can.
50th National Apple Harvest Festival
Larry Jr & Jane were all ready to hit the road to the Festival and waiting patiently on the couch for us. The weather forecast wasn't that great and we all prepared for cold temps and wind. Jr. thinks it has to be in the 20s before he wears long pants. It's a carry over from his living in the tropics all those years.
Grant and Barbara weren't as patient and decided to start walking to the Festival. They managed to get about 2 miles down the road before we caught up to them. No, they aren't wearing matching outfits. He has a North Carolina State shirt on (traitor) and she has a Carolina Hurricanes shirt.
This probably will be the last time Grant will pose for a picture with a measuring stick and an apple. You can tell he is posing under duress.
Here is a family portrait of Jr, Jane and Grant with their family tree. I managed to dodge getting my photo taken there.
Everyone was checking out this late 1800s washing machine. It was turned by hand for the wash cycle and also the wringer. The man demonstrating the machine restored the tub portion and also worked on the wringer. Thankfully, most people didn't have a lot of clothes in those days, so maybe it wasn't so bad washing loads.
We came upon this Buttco Braiding Machine made in 1933 by the New England Buttco Braider Manufacturing Company. These machines were originally hand turned, sometimes by women for 12 -14 Hours a Day!! This machine came out of a factory in Philadelphia, PA. They were used to make any kind of braided rope, belts, string, etc.
This machine has 8 spools and by the even number of spools makes a round braid. An odd number of carriers will ALWAYS produce a flat braid, whereas an even number of carries will ALWAYS produce a round braid. This still holds true today, and the lower the number of carriers, the smaller the braid. We still use these types of machines today for shoe laces, rope, cord, metal wire for bridges and much more. Just on a much bigger machine and, of course, computerized.
This is another braider with even more spools. They were making bracelets for sale by the foot.
This old Maytag washing machine had a gas powered engine beneath to provide the agitating action, which was a big improvement over the manual machine. When I was much younger we used to use these gas engines to put onto bicycles and motor scooters.
This is an early gas powered wood saw with a blade that went back and forth rather than with a chain. The operator had to press down on the saw and work with it.
No trip to the Festival would be complete without eating a roast beef sandwich. The same company has been selling them in the same location for years and we always stop by for a sandwich loaded with horseradish and bbq sauce. Yummy!
It seems that all fairs, festivals, etc, in Pennsylvania have an old car show running the full gamut. Gerry's parents had a 56 Ford just like the one below and on one of our first outings she managed to get it up to 120 mph on a 2 land highway back home in Illinois. That was a nail biter for me since she kept looking away from the road to talk to me and the other couple.
Larry Jr. and Jack were checking out the Cobra and were about to jump in and work on the engine. The owner of the car was very proud of his restoration and happy to show it off.
Meanwhile, I found these two pretty young redheads sitting on hay bales. Oh, wait, these are my granddaughters Sarahbelle and Elizabeth. They were enjoying the Festival and finally sat down across from me and listened to some music with me.
The Festival closed at 6:00PM and they ran Gerry, Cassie, Barbara and Jane out of the place. Whew, I was ready to hit the road by then and it had turned much colder with a bone chilling wind.
When we got back to the cabin Cassie and Family had a surprise waiting for us. She had stopped by earlier and dropped off some nice presents and a carrot cake plus a great peach cobbler.
Our cabin isn't that large as you can tell by the seating arrangements around the living room.
Darlene and Tom along with Jack were sitting around the table and everyone else was in the living room. We had a great fire going in the fireplace and it was a little hot to be sitting near it, but everyone wanted by the fire. Did I mention it was cold outside?
Larry Jr took a photo with his Android phone and made it into a panoramic photo. It came out small since it was so large, but I've included it so you can get a better view of the cabin. Everyone is in it except Jack's head was cut off.
We all had a great time at the Festival and the Italian beef dinner Gerry prepared for dinner was great. She included sides of potato salad, cole slaw and pasta salad to go with the meal. Nobody went away hungry from that great meal. I was too busy eating to take a picture, but trust me, it was great.
That was our day, how was yours?
Jim is a shorts wearer also. It has to be really cold out for him to put on long pants. And we do love those redheads. Jim used to be one. Small and cozy. That works for great times.
ReplyDeleteIt's been so long and my children thru the years were always a staple. I was thrilled to see their cousins took over in their absence and that all the adult gang was there (except hubby, Henry).
ReplyDeleteI was pleased that this time was just as fun as always! I think we all came away with full bellies-- some more than others, right Larry Jr? My Christmas shopping started with a bang, we were able to go off in small groups easily as well as had some time all together. The dinner & birthday desserts after made it impossible to doubt the day was a complete success! Family time/ traditions/ birthdays/ fall weather at the cabin-- who could say more?! .. Oh I will Pure Bliss!
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