There isn’t anyone that you talk to in the last couple of days that isn’t tired. We are worn out. Done. And we don’t know when we’ll get rested.
That’s just the next phase to the world-famous St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic. It takes a lot out of you to put on that Picnic. There’s a lot of preliminary tasks that need to be done but Picnic week it starts to get physical.
The barbecue pits have to be cleaned out and prepped for all of the meat that is going to be barbecued.
The corn has to be picked and shucked and silked and cut off the cob. The potatoes need to be peeled and cooked and diced. The cabbage needs to be shredded for the slaw.
The bingo stand needs to be put together. The other stands need to be cleaned and the screens need to be installed. Everything needs to be cleaned and prepped for company.
And then the meat has to be put on the pits. It has to cook for 24 hours. And the thing of it is, you can’t just put the meat on the pit and come back 24 hours later. You have to stay with it. You have to monitor the fires. You don’t need it to get too hot and you don’t need those fires to cool down. And it’s not one pit. There are 5 large pits. It’s not a one or two man job. That’s why there are families who take care of the barbecuing. At any one time there needs to be 25-30 people keeping the fires hot, spraying the sauce on and making sure there are plenty of coals to go into the pits. And this goes on for 24 hours. Picnic morning they are glad to be done. Most of them go home and go to bed. But some have to stay to take the meat off the pits throughout the day. But that’s the way it’s always been done and these families are very protective of that process.
Later on in the day the Knights of Columbus are frantically working to get everything ready for the fish fry. The fish is all thawed out but it has to be breaded, the hush puppies have to be mixed up, the onions have to be sliced. A lot of people don’t realize how much work the fish fry is but the fish, the fries, and the hush puppies have to be fried at different temperatures, for different time periods. And this is done for about 1200 people. It’s a lot of work.
There are other booths that open up on Friday night. The hamburger stand, the drinks, and the others have to be prepared for the huge crowds that are all over the picnic grounds Friday night.
The good thing about all of this is that we’ve all been doing the jobs we have for so many years. Everyone knows their job. You don’t have to tell them. The Picnic is not micro-managed at all. There’s no need for that. We know what to do.
And that’s good. Because we don’t take reservations for the picnic. We don’t sell tickets. We do have a raffle that we sell chances on. But it’s hard to judge how many people are coming basis the sale of those tickets because you don’t have to be present to win. So we prepare for what we think. Sometimes that’s 10,000 – 12,000 people. But depending on whether or not it’s a major election year determines how many over that 10k to 12k there will be. This year, a US Senate race is going on. And it’s neck in neck going into November. So they estimated the crowd to be a lot bigger.
So the picnic is getting ready to start. The kick-off to the Picnic is the St. Jerome One Mile Classic. This is a one-mile walk/run designed for kids and their parents or grandparents. Most of the work is done way before the race. But when the families start showing up you have to be ready. There are usually 250 registered runners. But a lot of families register the kids only or if it’s a baby then the adults will register. We figure there are 400 runners and walkers. It lasts only about 30-45 minutes but those are the most intense 45 minutes you will see.
Of course, the same thing is going on up at the KC Hall. The line doesn’t seem like it will end. The people just keep coming. And finally, after about 3 or 4 waves of diners they’re out of fish and then it’s time to clean up because the main meal will be served tomorrow.
But back down in front of the old school this time, instead of in front of church, the serious runners are lining up. They are jogging and stretching and offering good wishes to their comrades. The 5K is getting ready to start. The volunteers all have their jobs, and this is in addition to the job they’ll do tomorrow. And this race, which takes about an hour from beginning to end, does give out race awards so it isn’t over when the runners all get back in and a few door prizes are handed out. The results have to be tabulated and then awards are given out for each age category. They are there some years until dark.
So the races are done and the fish fry is over. But the volunteers frying hamburgers and serving drinks are there for the night because there is a band and there are people everywhere visiting and seeing who’s there. Everyone is worn out from preparation or from running the races or both. Those that have an early morning tomorrow don’t stay too long but those that don’t have anything to do are ready to get the weekend started. Hopefully they’ll be the ones who have a campsite rented and they can move their partying over there. Because once the crowd is gone the clean-up has to begin so that everything will be ready for the next day.
The next day. First you remember that there are crews that are cooking meat all night, right. Well, they’re still there when the crew shows up to bone-out the meat and begin selling bbq by the pound. The meat doesn’t go on sale until 8AM but people start lining up to buy it starting before 7AM. So the crew gets started boning it out right at 7AM. But there’s a lot that needs to be done before then. By the time the crew gets started good and 8AM comes around the line, well, 4 lines, are up the hill. It’s usually 10:30 or 11 AM before that appears to slow down. But after then it’s usually pretty steady.
Even though the rest of the Picnic doesn’t start until 10 AM the crews in the sandwich stand are chopping meat and making sandwiches, getting ready to grill hamburgers, getting everything ready to sell ice cream and drinks. Of course the drinks have been iced down for hours to make sure they are good and cold.
The other booths are getting everything ready for the crowds of people. The bingo stand has to load all of the prizes onto the shelves and make sure they are ready for the crowds. This is one of the most popular booths but it takes a boatload of people to work in several shifts.
If you go up to the cafeteria first thing on Saturday morning the crew frying chicken is getting everything ready. Even though they won’t start frying until later in the morning they have to get the chicken ready, the breading set up and to make sure they have enough oil to fry all the chicken they have to fry for the day. The vegetables have been cooking for awhile, they have begun to slice tomatoes, the cafeteria tables are set up and fresh flowers from area gardens are arranged as centerpieces to the tables.
Pies and cakes are coming in so the pie cutters are getting ready to slice those and get them out for dinner. And then for supper.
When you go out the back door and over to the Clemons Room that’s where the Country Store is located. Throughout the whole year there are people who put together crafts to sell at the Country Store. Others bring home-baked items to sell or home-canned items to sell that day.
So everyone is set up and ready for the crowds. And then they come. And we are busy as can be for the entire day, and night. It does slow down after the political speaking but then it picks back up after supper when the people who were waiting for the crowds to go away get to the picnic grounds.
It is a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun too. We get to see people we haven’t seen in years. We get to catch up with people we went to high school with or a cousin who hasn’t been home in years and years. This is a time where we all come together to accomplish an almost impossible feat and even though we’re dead dog tired when we’re done we are so proud of ourselves for accomplishing all that we did.
When they have called the last bingo game, and the last card of the last game of showdown poker is dealt and they have given away the new vehicle they are giving away this year we are so glad to be able to go home, knowing that we’ll be out there first thing in the morning to start cleaning up. The more people who show up to clean up the sooner we’re done with that. Regardless, the community of Fancy Farm is cleaned up by mid-day Sunday as though we never even had a visitor. Then we all can go home and take a nap. Sometimes it might take a week or two of extra naps to get over being tired and get back to normal.