Today I traveled to my home town to see family and to go to the county fair. I already knew it could never compare to the Minnesota State Fair (Our state fair is the best state fair! Don't miss it; don't even be late.), but it has something our state fair doesn't have - history of our town, the trains, churches, schools, telephone company, and other things of interest to many. The item I was most curious to see is the pump organ I donated to the historical society in 1992 when Heidi and I moved to the twin cities. The organ was 103 or 104 years old at the time of donation - but in great shape. I hated to part with it, but I knew we would have a lot less room in our new living quarters. They have displayed a lot of other memorabilia on and around it, but it looks nice. Plus, it gives thousands of people a chance to appreciate it.
Some parts of the fair haven't changed since I was little - the petting zoo, the arts & crafts building, and the 4-H building. The rides in the mid-way may have changed, but I didn't check it out because those things do not interest me any longer. I wasn't even tempted to buy any Tom Thumb donuts! But they sure did smell good! I should have had a Spam burger, but decided to hold off and eat a nice dinner with family at a good restaurant in town.
I also made a stop at the local Dairy Queen where I watched them make one of my favorite treats: Turtle Bars. They are similar to a Dilly Bar, but start out by filling a metal frame (which has a stick in it), followed with a layer of hot fudge, then caramel, followed by lots of pecans, then topped with Dairy Queen icemilk (or whatever it is). This is then released from the form onto waxed paper and put in a freezer for 24 hours. The next day they remove the frozen treat and dip it into melted chocolate, top it with a pecan, and freeze it for another 24 hours. It is SO delicious! It's a very good thing for me that I have to travel about 90 miles to indulge in this sweet.
3 comments:
I had to make SO many dilly bars in my short-lived career at Dairy Queen! I can't think of DQ without thinking about the metal frame and the stick and the big coffee cans of red goo or chocolate goo that they got dipped into. That's quite an organ, did you buy that as an antique or inherit it from someone? Did you play it?
I bought the organ from one of my piano students. Her parents were getting divorced and to settle the division of property they agreed to sell everything. I bought the organ from them when it was 101 years old. It had always been in their family. I couldn't believe they could let it go to someone outside the "family."
I played it some. All of the keys worked, and the pumping was pretty easy. It had a nice sound.
One December I nearly set the house on fire. We were getting company and I had everything ready, including candles on the organ shelves by the mirrors. Well, I lay down on the couch to listen to Christmas records by candle light. Shortly before the company was due to arrive, I got up to walk to the kitchen and could barely find the kitchen because the dining room was filled with "smoke" from the candles on the organ getting too close to the varnished wood at the top of the shelves! Big mistake!!
It didn't damage the wood, but it could have!
I love the Mower County Fair! :-) I enjoy walking through the buildings and I could never pass up the Tom Thumb donuts or playing a few rounds at the Bingo Tent. :-) It's just not the same here in Duluth...
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