|
A
perfect fall day at the Elkhart
Country Fair
Send a link to a friend
[October 12, 2015]
ELKHART - Saturday
was a beautifully lazy day. The sun
was out, the air was cool, but not
cold, and the mood was good in the
small community of Elkhart. It was
the day of the Elkhart Country Fair.
Downtown businesses were enjoying
having added traffic in and out of
their stores as folks casually
mulled about town checking out the
car show, participating in the dog
show, taking a tour of the town’s
historic buildings, and enjoying the
lovely specialty shops and eateries
in town.
|
|
 Businesses
were open throughout town from the
Little Foxes and Wild Hare, and
Country Bumpkin, all the way down to
Richardson’s Repair, and Birdsong.
Business owners were taking the
opportunity to visit with those
walking through their doors, and
also make sure that at least some of
them left with a little something in
their shopping bags.
There is also a new business in
town, one unlike anything else in
the community, or for the most part
in the entire county. Mark Moughan
has opened the Route 66 Model
Raceway. The raceway engages 1:24
scale model stock cars with the
option of racing on a drag-track or
a very large tri-oval track
reminiscent of Daytona. Moughan said
that the Raceway will hold an
official grand opening within the
next month or so, but he wanted to
be open on Saturday to give visitors
a taste of what will be offered.
Inside the large building located
on the north side of the main
street, the large track takes up
most of the space, but with plenty
of standing room around it for those
who would choose to participate in a
race. On the walls are plenty of
photos depicting Moughan’s family’s
involvement in auto racing over the
years.
Moughan said that he’s getting the
business open at a good point in
time, because fall and winter are
when race fans enjoy coming inside
and trying their hand at miniature
racing. He said this winter he would
have some official race nights where
folks will be able to compete
against one another. He also noted
that there is a similar business in
Mason City, and the two businesses
will coordinate so that they are not
competing for attendance on race
night.
In addition to the track, Moughan
also has a large selection of parts
for the slot cars and said there are
those hobbyists who enjoy making and
racing their own cars. For those who
aren’t interested in building a slot
model, he also has a good selection
of ready-to-race cars on display for
sale.
In addition to shopping
opportunities, the street was lined
with a nice selection of cars being
shown on Saturday. The Elkhart Fire
Department also brought their fire
truck and engine to the car show.
Down the street across from City
Hall, there was an antique tractor
show going on, as well as a small
engine show.
And, everyone knows that dogs enjoy
chasing cars. So doesn’t it just
make good sense that in the midst of
the car show, there was a dog show
of sorts? Area pet owners brought
their pooches, dressed in costume
for the doggie costume parade and
judging.
Each pet was registered in front
of the Birdsong. Then at parade
time, they were trotted one
(sometimes two or three) at a time,
the length of the street from
Birdsong to Little Foxes and back.
In the end, the judges selected
winners for first, second and third
place. Each winner received a nice
gift.
[to
top of second column]
|
At 11:30 a.m., and
then again at 2:30 p.m., the tour
wagon was loaded up with visitors
anxious to see the historic
buildings in Elkhart. The morning
ride was a full load as everyone
rushed to grab a seat for the show.
In addition to the activities
downtown, the St. John Baptist
Chapel at the Elkhart Cemetery was
open for guided tours starting at
noon.
The chapel was built in 1890 as a
memorial to Elkhart native John D.
Gillette. The little chapel features
large stained glass windows, and the
names of many of the Gillette family
engraved on the walls. The hardwood
ceiling is open to the roof in a
Cathedral style. One interesting
point about the chapel is that it
was built of Culver Stone, the same
material used to build the Lincoln
Tomb in Springfield. Also inside the
building is the original pipe organ.
When the chapel was built, the organ
stood at the front of the building.
But some years ago, it was taken to
the back of the chapel so that it
could be modified to operate on
electricity.
In town, a live band came in and
performed on the street in the
afternoon.
Throughout the day, there were
plenty of food opportunities as the
Talk of the Town was open for dining
in along with the Wild Hare Café. In
addition, the Wild Hare was set up
to serve brats just outside the
front door of the Little Foxes on
the street. Several took advantage
of the brats, topped with a variety
of fixing’s including sauerkraut.
They were then able to stay outside
in the cool sunny climate, some
taking a seat at one of the several
benches around town and just
enjoying a beautiful fall day in
Elkhart.
Note: A special “Thank-you” to
LDN reader Matt Fights, who
submitted some really great shots
from the air on Saturday afternoon.
[Nila Smith]
|
