HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1971-10-14, Page 194
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Its„ •ChristmasCojpitry-F r
tin,e
The Flower Pot caper
wild .hold many surprises
If arfyorie" thought that
flowers and the things related to
flowers are dull, The Flower Pot
at Carlow's Christmas Country
Fair set for Wednesday, October
20, and Saturday, October 23, is
the place to see. -
The Flower Pot will have four
or five well-known Goderich and
area women in it with several
other ladies from the district
contributing their "thing” to it.
Those who will staff the
booth are Mrs. Jean McKee who
•convenes it, Mrs, Edna,. Shaw,
Mrs. Shirley Hazlitt and Mrs.
. Dorothy Feagafi, with Miss Anne
Fairservice helping out from
tithe to time.
This isn't the first year for
this booth at Carlow's Christmas .
Fair but it is the first year it is to
, be attempted on such a large and
varied. scale, ' -
There will be a little bit of
everything available at thin
booth and the woman who loves
nature's beauty in and around
her home will surely want to
stop off at The Flower Pot.,
First of all — and perhaps
foremost in the booth ••••- will be
dried flower_ arrangements and
some dried flowers, which, can
be purchased by persons ' who
wish to make their own
arrangements.
These dried flower
arrangements will go from
miniature t� large and will be
available in color schemes which
will suit most any decor you can
name.,
In previous years,- many of
the arrangements were done on
pieces of driftwood ' with
materials 'which are commonly
"known as weeds and wild plants.
Skillfully put together, however,
these earthy things take . on a
grand appearance which will
complement any room in the
house. •
While it is expected that these
types of arrangements will be at
The Flower Pot again this year,
there will be tiny colored bottles
filled with delicate -dried flo ers,
.:.:as. Well ,as:textured'baskets•Iru e;:
up_ with colorful bits.of ,this and
that.
Also at The Flower Pot this
year will be an assortment of
gourds and Indian corn, which
make such marvellous
decorations for -the winter
months. .
It is interesting to note that .
many
many modern decorators are
stringing kernels of Indian corn
together on a nylon thread to
• make beads for room dividers,
window curtains, etc-; The
Flower Pot will be the ideal
• place oto pick up this colorful
.001
grain in nature's own shades, as
well as all the helpful
information you will need to
complete the job.
Miss. Anne Fairservice will be
contributing hanging flower pots
to The Flower Pot booth. These
earthen pots are just the right
touch for every home and when
planted with an ivy or some
other hanging vine or plant, they
make a great addition, to any
room.
The Flower Pot will also have
a variety of house plants which
can be purchased to give your
home that lived-in feeling. Mrs.
Jean McKee's private greenhouse
contains many of these living
things which add so much to the
warmth and charm of a horYie.
•Mrs. McKee also has pots of
herbs wh' he hopes will be far
enough . d to take to The.
•
Flower i', ie can be taken
home and pl,az.c:d, on a window
sill to pro, id.e fresh °herbs for the
many dishes which, need just a •.
little more zest to make them
truly delicious. " Information
about herbs will also be available
at The Flower Pot. —
Neil' McKee, son of Jean, wiJJ
he • rcontril siting' "` its organjt .
potting soil, which is made from
a "coveted recipe". A little
McKee soil and some love and
attention is guaranteed (well,
almost) to give you the
healthiest plants on the block.
Mrs. Edna Shaw will be
putting 'her Christmas
decorations and wall plaques
into The Flower Pot wall,
year
,.. There , are plenty of, other
little surprises in store for the
folks who, will visit" Th -e -Prower --
Pot this year,, but the ladies
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124th YEAR --- 41
THUF.SDAY, QcTOBER 14, 1971
THIRD SEVTION
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A burst of color. That's the
only way to describe the
marvellous things which Mrs.
Florence Aberhart, 38 Britannia
Bake table convener= -
has realistic goal set
Those who have been regular
attenders at Carlow Christmas
C,ountry Fair, this year
Scheduled ,for October 20 and
23, Wednesday and Saturday of
next week; will know all about
the big bake table which fills the
kitchen at Colborne Township
Hall for this particular occasion.
The lady who has convened
this table for the last five years is
a" petite young woman from
Colborne Township, Mrs.
Bernice Fisher. The mother of
two children, a daughter, Sandy
aged ,"11 'and a son Ed 'aged 8,
Mrs. Fisher is convening the
table again ,this ' year and is
looking forward . to this _year's _
event with great expectations.
Like any godd
businesswoman, Mrs. Fisher has"
set a goal for the bake table. It is
a' realistic goal, too., It is •
.$1473.17, that goal µis not
unlikely.
Mrs Fisher recalls that• in
'•.1.968, the bake table realized
$608. In 1969, the proceeds of
the bake ,,table, Mrs. Fisher
admits; *has to be credited to the
"great bunch .df ladies" who�do
the baking. The greatest
majority tiof these women are
from Colborne Township
'although this year, Mrs. Fisher
reported that she has had to go
"out of the township to get
bread bakers".
Bread and roll's are the biggest
sellers at the bake table. Tarts
are also a big favorite wit'i
Christmascake and pudding
ranked highly, too.
From her experiences at
;arlow, Mrs. Fisher has learnedo•.-
good merchandising techniques.
She has fofind that baking which
is prettily"- wrapped will sell
faster than . baking which shows
up in plain packages. -
She noted that some ladies,
for instance, dress up their
baking with bits of ribbon, tin
foil . and Christmas stickers.
These are always picked up first,
Mrs. ,Fisher said, although the
quality of the bakegoods is
equal.
That's important information
for. the -ladies,.• vho bake for the
O6untry Fair' Kitchen to know.
You see, the ladies send their
baked goods to the bake table
wces_marked onith their pri .
it. They get 95 percent of the
money taken in from it•with the
other five percent going to the
committee to pay for advertising
and 'prom`otional devices.
"We let them price their own
baking because' the
bakers know
.best what tberhave""put into
'their baking," said 'Mrs. Fisher.
"Some ladies use a lot of
cherries and nuts and so on, and --.--
that is more costly than 'plain
baking."
,,The bakers get paid for only
what has been sold. If a portion
of their goods isn't. sold; Mrs.
Fisher has no other choice but
to return it home with the ladies
who brought it. ,
° In fact, that's the biggest
headache Mrs. Fisher has -to
make sure there is sufficient
baked goods on the table to
keep aC nice variety in front of-
the
fthe crowd at all times and to
ensure- that as much 'of the
baking as possible is sold so that
the bakers won't have to take it
Country Fair. Kitchen. Her
specialties are tarts, cookies and
banana - .bread. She also
contributes jams, jellies and chiljt
sauce etc. to the canned goods
shelf whick is always- situated-"
"on the ano"I just outsidekthe
kitchen. '
She also ' convenes the
producetable which this year is
expected to be located outside
on. the back porch' providing the
weatheris suitable. In previous
years, producehas not been
displayed~ properly because there
has not been sufficient space,
but this year Mrs. Fisher plans to
rectify that problem.
According to Mrs. Fisher, it is
-true' many folks "stock- up" at
the Country Fair Kitchen for
Christmas. She knows one lady,
for instance who buys quite an
assortment of homemade
candies at the Carlow event each
year, takes it home and puts it in
the freezer until Christmas when
she brings it out for special
treats. •
Other people fill their
freezers with a variety of baked
goods for the holiday season,
'but for the most part visitors to
Carlow's -Christmas. Fair take the
goodies . home bid consume
,them almost immediately.
At Mrs. Fisher's home,
fresh=from-the-oven home
baking is a regular thing. That's
probably why the Fisher
children think it is a real treat to
have store-bought baking o''r cern
a while.
' "If I want a treat for- my'
family," smiled Mrs. Fisher, "I
just bring some baking from
town. In fact, my children prefer
those store-bought chocolate
cookiesin their school lunches."
Fortunately for Mrs. Fisher
and .,5 wAnen who bake for the
Carrow Fair, - most-peopWTi1W
homemade baking. The bake
table opens ' Wednesday and
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and
continues until 9:60 p.m. with
bakers continually bringing in
fresh supplies.
Arid just a tip, Mrs. Fisher
believes the biggest crowd comes
to Carlow on Wednesday bdt
home with them.
•
, "There's beenvery few -times.
when I've had to send baking
home;" 'reports Mrs; Fisher; "-but—
whenI've had to, the ladies have
been most understanding.
Really, I don't like to do it and I
guess they'know that."
Mrs. `ij'isher bakes for, the
eason for colorful Yule logs
extendsfar past Christmas
-Mr. and Mrs. Jams Ruddock,
RR • 5 ' Goderich " will be
exhibitors at Carlow. Christmas
"Country w Fair to be held
Wednesday, October 20• and
aturday, October 23. •
Their booth will contain yule
logs which the couple has been
making now for a year and a
half.
Residents of Colborne
Township and the Goderich area
probably 'pow Jim Ruddock,
the remarkable fellow who has
not let a handicap get him clown.
Jim has been blind for 29 years,
a condition which came onto
him gradually after a logging
accident in 1936.
"There's nothing' I won't
tackle," says Jim who claims` he
built his own front porch,
shingled his own barn roof,
plants and tends his own garden
and tinkers with machinery.
•\ "To see me go around here,"
Jim smiled,, "you wouldn't even
.know I was blind,"
The Ruddocks recalled if was
Peter Corless, then assistant field
secretary in this area for the
Canadian National Institute --fro
the Blind,' who first got Jim
interested in making yule logs.
Corless told Jim there was a
market for these colorful,
long -burning fireplace logs made
from newspaper and a chemical
•customers coming again and these logs to dry thoroughly'
again to pick up the novelty and' they must be completely
fuel. dried or they won't burn
Jim says the paper for his properly. .
project comes from Craigie's At the present time, Jim dries
Pool Room. Of course, other his logs in the barn. They are
people who, know,,,,,Jim's hobby hung in neat rows —.dozens and
contribute newspaper as well, -dozens of them, — waiting for
„ but for the most part, "it is. the drying' process to be
Craigie's who sur-plY` him with .completed.
all the old paper he needs. b ° The final step is to wrap the
The next step is to roll the yule logs in bright paper, to
newspapers in tight rolls -- the make.' the logs more attractive
tighter the rolls„ the better' the- ...and. to make them safer' to
logs will burn. dim says it takes a handle.
good deal of strength and People who have•, purchased
patience to roll up these papers fancy wrapping paper have an
tightly enough that they will idea what it costs the Ruddocks
pass through an ordinary soup to dress up their yule logs. Other
tin from which the ends; have types of paper such as wallpaper
been cut out "' but that's what, have been tried, but- the couple
it takes to make Ruddock logs claims most other papers are too .1
and that's the way it is done. brital and crack badly, so
Then the rolls are tied ordinary wrapping paper is
securely at each end and in the preferred.
middle and put to soak - in a Jim has an idea there. must be
solution of chemicals. Jim didn't quite a variety of -this wrapping
give any secrets away ' about paper in and around Goderich in
what' - oI tlolr—he uses for a year, • particularly around
Ruddock logs but he did say Christmas time. He's hoping
that while .most people soak there will be people who will be
r ---•the •logs for two or three days kind enough to save this colored
he allows his to remain in the wrapping which_ normally finds
solution for from four to five its way into the garbage. This
days:. paper can,be taken to Ed Stiles'
"It really does take that long home on Montreal St. ark" Mr.
for the solution to get all the . Stiles will see that Jim receives
' way through the logs," says Jim. it. ' .
it trenzAitez ogsae. rung'.to: r.oz.z favt :C sgbo�ritat neW.,e' r�
dry. That's the big headache at was a use for this wrapping
the Ruddock log -Making paper, they would be glath•to
premises. It takes a long time Please turn to Page 78
and- just the right conditions for
knitting, papercraft
ies on display
tdatetakCtably,ussial41.1"44,iY"Y J•d.r itiOt P•. `ttit hKTI `#c&%ftOt' •,1M.
a superb selection, too. If you the project a whirl. He hasn't
want to avoid the crowds, she . been sorry for hisfame as a yule
thinks Saturday, particularly late log -maker is spreading far and
Saturday, is a good time to cal
l• wide with a bevy of regular
...0 1
Street West,' is doing for this.
year's version of Carlow's
Christmas Coun-try Fair
upcoming October 20' an,d 23.
Color is Mrs. Aberhart's love.
Everything she does involves
clean, clear colors like vibrant,
puxle, dazzling orange,
spin- reached yellow, radiant
red, crystal' blue, and nature's
gee_en. ,
Her workshop in the -
basement bf her lovely old home
is like an art gallery. in fact, she
hosted an „art exhibit this year at '
her Moine in., support of the local .
Association For the Mentally
Retarded at which `$'00 was
raised.
, Mrs: •Aberhart's'paiutings are
not just everyday ,, subjects
picked at random. All of them
mean something special to her —
like ' the country scene .at,
Auburn, the flowers she received
last winter for her birthday, the
beach at Point Farms Provincial
Park, a lake in Northern Ontario
where she holidayed, a view
from her kitchen window.
„ ,And• all_ reflect Mrs.
f strong color,
nt workshop,a
g atmosphere
st pleasant
Aberhart's love
giving her basem
bright . d excit'
that is
surroundings.
When the lady isn't painting,
she is knitting. Mrs. Aberhart has
been knitting since she was a
child. It is a handcraft she
learned.. _ f.z_o. m, , her
step -grandmother, the late Mrs:
Andrew Young, who lived at
Carlow.
Mrs, Young was a " great
handcraft lover. She won prizes
for many years at the Canadian
National Exhibition. for her
tatting. In fact, it was through
Mrs. Young's urging . that Mrs.
Aberhart won her first prize at
the Canadian NatiorLal
Exhibition at the age of 10 after
her 'step -grandmother had
entered a sample of her knitting.
Knitting has been a way of
life for Mrs. Aberhart all her life.
Her original patterns have been
' pl"iblislrerritr-knitting-books and
the greatest thrill of her life
came when she was invited to
k>ai•t,,,, a sweater, bonnet and
bootees for a child being born
into fhe Royal Family!'
•This is the fourth year that
Mrs. Aberhart has gotten ready
for " the Carlow event and the
fourth • time she has, prepared
hand-knit articles especially to
delight her oWn faithful
customers.
Mrs. Aberhart recalls that the
seeonld year she exhibited at the
fair, a lady from out of the area
bought a baby's set for her new
granddaughter. The next year,
the same -lady -bought a little
knitted . dress which - Mrs.
Aberhart had made with,' -the
child in' mind. This year, a very •
delightful little girl''s sweater,
featuring a basket' p¢cket filled '
with garden flowers, awaits "the
lady from out' of town' should.
she come to the Carlow Fair.
"You get to know the people.
and what they like,"` iaid'Mrs,-
Aberhart. "I'Ve met some
wonderful people there." '
Mrs. Aberhart also likes to
display some things, which are
not-necessarilyfor sale. These
;articles• are shown ' lust: -' as `
examples of the kinds of
handcraft that" can. be
accomplished if one iseager.
This year's. - example. will, _.
probably be the gorgeous shawl
which Mrs. Aberhart knit from
an ancient Shetland pattern.
"Each row was differentfrom,,
the last one and had to be .
counted carefully," she said. ;It
was the most difficult thing she
.• has ever' knit and Mrs. Aberhart
iadmits she -may not ever give any
consideration to selling the
shawl.
For the fair -goer who likes
something different, Mrs.
Aberhart's%ve of color will leap
out in her paper flowers. She'
makes everything from delicate
carnations to huge hollyhocks •
and every one ..-..'is a real
masterpiece.
A huge bouquet of the paper
flowers stands in her basement
workshop. They are 'fanned out
in a 'tali earthenware container "
and add so -much color and
warmth to the room.
All of Mrs. Aberhart's flowers
are ,originals, Each one is made
from an idea which is born in
Mrs. Aberhart's head and each is
as 'intricately• different as it is
possible to make "them,
A huge florist's box of these'.,
colorful flowers has been readied
for the Carlow show and Mrs.
Aberhart hopes her customers
will appreciate 'therm as much as
she enjoyed Tutting . them
together., '
All in all, Mrs. Aberhart will.
contribute a varied and exciting
booth to the Carlow Christmas
Country Fair. Not only i:, her,,
work attractive and expertly'
done, it - is. is. completed with a
genuine feeling for ' crafts and
hobbies, as well as for. Colborn •
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