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Volume 24, Number 16
Friday, September 28, 2018
Celebrating 99 years of the Fair By Bailey Wright Town Times
On the first Wednesday of October in 1916, Durham began a tradition that would become part of the fabric of life in the town and eventually the entire state. That single-day celebration was the first of nearly a hundred Durham Fairs. Next year, the annual Durham Fair will celebrate 100 years, although not all continuous. The event was canceled twice, during World War II and because of a hurricane in 1938. Record-Journal Archives
The first year about 2,000 people attended a parade of 100 oxen, riders on horseback and floats. Similar to today, exhibits were set up and judged and contests were held until around sunset. Former First Selectman Carl Otte told the Record-Journal in 1985 that he hadn’t missed the fair since it began. “There were only three cars in town, so automobiles were not a problem,” said Otte, noting the traffic tieups at recent fairs. See Fair, A10
Teen raises and shows two heifers By Bailey Wright Town Times
SOUTHINGTON — When 18-year-old Grace Strillacci is not in college classes or at work at Agway, she’s taking care of her two cows, Ivory and Naugs.
Later, she’ll return to her happy place around 7 p.m., sometimes bathing the two cows or giving them treats, before letting them out to graze through the night.
Strillacci is the sole caretaker for both heifers, who are still non-lactating. Ivory, the first cow she ever owned, is about 2 years old. She leases 1-year-
McCreery to play Saturday By Lauren Takores Record-Journal staff
Country star Scotty McCreery, who is playing the Durham Fair, won a unique award recently at the Nashville Songwriter Awards. McCreery His song “Five More Minutes,” which he cowrote with Monty Criswell and Frank Rogers, was voted one of the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written.” “Five More Minutes” became the multi-platinumselling country singer-songwriter’s first No. 1 single earlier this year, reaching the peak position on the CMT and GAC charts.
Everyday around 7 a.m., Strillacci will visit the animals, feeding and grooming them before heading to a full day at Middlesex Community College — where she’s working toward a degree in radiology — or to her job as a cashier at Agway of Southington.
“I love the country feeling… I have no (cell) service here, so I don't use my phone, I don't touch my technology, I can just breathe at the end of my day,” Strillacci said while at the farm where she keeps her cows.
ON THE RECORD
Grace Strillacci, owner of “Grace’s Farm,” washes one of her cows during the North Haven Fair on Sept. 7. Bailey Wright, Town Times
old Naugs, short for Nautilus, as a companion for Ivory. She will be showing both at this weekend’s Durham Fair. “I saved up all my money (and) I was able to buy a car and a cow at the age of 17,” said Strillacci, who will be 19 in
October. Strillacci got Ivory when she won a bid at the Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Calf Sale, when Ivory was 3 months old. She bought the calf for $1,000. See Heifers, A12
“It’s amazing what a song can do,” McCreery said during an interview with “On the Record: Music.” “We were doing OK before this, but since then, the song took us all over, selling out shows everywhere. It’s definitely been a big boost for us.” He’s currently on the country singles chart with “This is It,” a song inspired by his proposal to his now-wife, Gabi. The couple married in June. ”It’s nice to see it moving up the charts,” he said. “I wrote See McCreery, A9