Strafford Embraces Holiday’s Return to Normalcy, Revelry Abounds But Tug-of-War Canceled Again
With tartan pride and horrific wailing, members of the Highlander Kazoos pipe themselves in the Strafford parade, midst a fine rain Saturday. (Herald / Bob Eddy)
On Saturday, Strafford celebrated its first major community event since re-opening, with the Independence Day parade. The day was full of events stretching from the Town House, across the green into the library and the Justin Morrill Homestead. Despite a drenched morning and continuous rain all day, spirits were high.
Lauren Phelps, a member of the Newton School PTA which organizes the events on the green, said turnout was better than expected, given the rain. The parade began at 11:30, led by the Whelihan family forming a 20-odd person kazoo pipe band, followed by the Climate Action Now group. Next in the parade was a band of kids on tiny dirt bikes, fully outfitted in their racing jackets and helmets. The creative preschool walked next. A contingency of antique vehicles, an old tractor and two cars followed. The fire department brought up the rear. The parade did two laps around the green and went back to the homestead.
Once the parade was over, kids ran around in rain suits as parents greeted and hugged each other after a year away.
Kate Siepmann, curator of the Strafford Historical Society was all smiles at the conclusion of Harlow Lent’s last show, a sale of the artist’s remaining work to benefit the historical society’s renovaton of the old Masonic Lodge building. “The final numbers aren’t in, but I think we raised more than $20,000,” Siepmann enthused, Sunday (Herald / Bob Eddy)
The green was overrun with children eating cotton candy as they bounced between activities, from face painting to musical chairs, and the free-for-all basketball shooting game. At the sponge toss, kids threw soaked sponges at hesitant parents. Phelps said they avoided the traditional Strafford vs South Strafford tug-of-war for social distancing reasons, but the frog jump remained. Three mighty frogs competed in the competition. Lil Snowpea came out on top with a 29” jump, followed by Frogette at 21”, and Lily with 17.5”.
There were three raffle baskets with goods made exclusively in town. The baskets, Hometown, Homegrown, and Homemade featured items like ice cream from the Strafford Organic Creamery, locally grown flowers, handmade wooden bowls, maple syrup, and a full sized picnic table built by Newton School middle schoolers. They sold the 2021 Strafford Village phonebook from under the same tent.
The town’s Climate Ac- a table on the green showing off various ways to avoid single use plastics, as well as infographics depicting the environmental costs associated with the lifecycle of plastics. Susan Hodges ran the tent.
The day began at 9:30 a.m. with the village to village road race in a downpour. Strafford resident John Stableford helped to organize the race, saying “the diehards came out and it was wonderful. Everyone had fun, and it went safely.”
Contestants started in the South Village, and ran to the green. Clifford Ransom was first to finish the race with a time of 13:32, followed by Taj Bagnato and Izzy Miller.
Art Show
In the townhouse, the historical society showed Harlow Lent paintings. Lent lived in Strafford for over 40 years after a career in Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, a federal push to fund artists across the country.
Lent spent his last years in Strafford, and it was his later paintings, done mostly in the 80s, that were at the gallery. The 75 paintings were his last works yet to be sold, and they went for between $100 and $800 each. Sixty-four paintings sold on the first day of the two-day sale, said Kate Seipmann who organized the gallery.
On the other side of the green, the Morrill Memorial Harris Library hosted its annual book sale. Diane White helped organize the sale and reported a steady stream of folks despite the rain.
“Our tents are dry and so are our books,” she said.
The Justin Morrill Homestead held its annual Minis for Morrill Auction, displaying 50 artworks on 4-inch square canvases. The event has been going steadily for over 10 years, said Stableford. Unlike previous years, the auction took place entirely online, despite the works being on display.
The festivities wrapped up in the mid-afternoon, except for the barbecue at the fire station.
The fire department brought back its annual chicken barbecue at 5 p.m., available this year in an exclusively to-go format.
Firefighter Pat Kelly explained they had made plans over a month ago, when it was unclear if Vermont would be open. The line for a to-go platter was long, lasting for over an hour.
“People were so eager to see each other,” said Rachel Kendall, one of the day’s organizers. “We weren’t going to let the rain stop us!”
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