Volume 20, Number 25
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, October 4, 2013
Durham Fair embraces The great agricultural tradition pumpkin visits On one hand, the fair strives to highlight and preserve the rich agricultural The Durham Fair, which tradition of the town, as well opened Sept. 26, represented as Connecticut and Greater a clash of cultures and gen- New England. But, the back-half of the erations that was alien to the festival when it began in 1916. fair is a giant concession to By Jeff Gebeau
Special to Town Times
A ride spins on the midway. | (Dan Jackson/Town Times)
See Fair / Page 4
First time at derby he vowed to win By Daniel Jackson
Like tractor pulls and carnival rides, demolition derbies are part of fair tradition, contestants said. Corey Patterson and For those unfamiliar with Patrick Tokarczyk had their a demolition derby, contescars, they both put down the tants get a car, strip it down $25 entrance fee and now, and paint it up. They enter they were waiting for the a dirt-covered pit and smash metal-crunching, tire-spin- into each other until their ning mayhem of a demoli- cars cannot be driven any tion derby to begin at the longer. The two cars that Durham Fair last weekend. survive win the round. To prepare for the event, “ He ’s s c a re d ,” s a i d Tokarczyk got his Nissan Patterson. “Yeah? Like you’re not ei- 240 5x from Patterson, who got it from a friend. ther,” said Tokarczyk. This was the friends’ first Patterson got his BMW 5 time entering a demolition Series station wagon off Craigslist for $300. derby.
Town Times
Durham
modernity, featuring as many amusement park rides as some amusement parks and serving more food items than most. Sights in this area are common to festivals and carnivals of all sizes. Indulgent parents tried to keep up with exuberant youngsters who pleaded for one more turn on their favorite children’s rides, which featured themes such as animals, cars, or trains, or they begged to try the gyrating, kinetic attractions designed for adults. Meanwhile, teen boys and girls acted out rituals of flirting and courtship, as they massed together and immersed themselves in their own social dramas. The amusement park-like section of the fair was discernible before it became
The friends stripped the cars of every seat, every stitch of fabric, all the plastic and every shard of glass. They chained the doors and the hood of the car shut. Toarczyk painted his car like a World War Two bomber, dull olive body, a gaping shark’s mouth on the front. Patterson painted his whole car in gold, down to the hubcaps. And while Patterson is nervous, he has no doubt he’s going to drive out of the demolition pit. “Oh, I’m gonna win. I See Derby / Page 5
Matt Debacco at the Durham Fair with his 1,766.5 pound pumpkin, a new state record. | (Daniel Jackson/Town Times) By Daniel Jackson Town Times
Rising out of a pumpkin patch out of Rocky Hill, a pumpkin entered at the Durham Fair last week broke the state record for heaviest pumpkin. Matt Debacco’s pumpkin weighed in at 1,766.5 pounds. The old state record was 1,487.5 pounds. “The plant grew it,” he said. “I’m taking credit for it.” Gardeners who cultivate behemoth pumpkins use special techniques to push the limits of how big the vegetable will grow. A common misconception people have about growing giant pumpkins is that the growers feed their plants milk, cutting a slit in the vine and using a wick to si-
phon milk into the plant, Debacco said. “No one uses milk. Everyone thinks we use milk.” As soon as the vine is cut, it rots. Instead, Debacco waters and waters and waters his giant pumpkin plants — 80 gallons a day when it doesn’t rain. He also extends the growing season by putting his plants in greenhouses. When the buds form on the plant, he picks off all but one, so the plant will direct all its energy toward the one pumpkin. The plants grow large, covering hundreds of square feet. The plant which grew Debacco’s pumpkin covered 1,100 square feet. “So I couldn’t afford to grow the pumpkin plants in my yard,” he said.