There’s No Place Like Home

I was not born in Fancy Farm but I got here as soon as I could.  Fr. Darrell said this years ago on a day just like any other day in Fancy Farm.  I have often thought the same thing.  I first came to the farm when I was 19.  I started coming back every year to work the Picnic when I was 21.  I have only missed one Picnic since then.  It was the year I was overdue to have my first child.  He was due July 22.  Picnic that year was on August 4th.  My doctor told me to go ahead and drive from Louisville but I’d probably deliver the baby while I was in Fancy Farm.  I stayed home.  He was born August 7th.  I could have come.

When I would come to town in those days I would work in the meat stand with all of the Elder’s.  My best friend, Mary Ann Elder, and all of her family, made us feel very welcome.  We were a part of the family, especially that weekend.  As most Fancy Farmers will tell you, we’ll take all of the help we can get for the Picnic.  And the help comes in.  A lot of it is family but sometimes our friends become family Picnic weekend.

In the meat stand we start working Picnic morning at 6AM.  The meat goes on sale at 8AM.  And we go until we run out of meat.  Years ago the Elder family made the smart decision to ask for another crew to come in the afternoon for the evening shift.  We work hard for those 8 or 10 hours we are in the meat stand.  I’m not saying that the meat stand is any harder work than any other job at the Picnic.  It’s just the job I know.  But as I walk around the picnic grounds I see plenty of people working awfully hard.  Of course, it doesn’t help that the heat in August is pretty rough, especially with the humidity.  But we make due to get the job done.

We’re not the only stand who brings family and friends in just for picnic.  You can look around and see them everywhere.  You know that they’re related because they resemble their family but you don’t know them so you know that they’re in just for the Picnic.  There are some though who come in for Picnic and end up staying awhile.  I like when that happens.  You get to visit with people once a year, and it’s not hectic like during the Picnic.

When my older kids were in college they would bring their friends in to experience the Picnic.  I would wake up on Saturday morning having to step over sleeping college students who were on pallets throughout the house.  By the time we had the meat stand ready to go they would come out like they just rolled out of bed and go to work.  We would hand them an apron and a job.  The girls mostly worked the windows selling the meat, the guys mostly boned out BBQ pork and mutton.  I remember the year I wanted to bone out meat and I was told I couldn’t, I would get way too greasy.  I could go around the tables where the meat is boned, chopped and packaged ready to be sold out those windows and see faces I only see at Picnic.  About half of those people live in Fancy Farm, are family members and go to St. Jerome Catholic Church.  The rest are family and friends from the area but also many are from far away.  I always like when the college students would come.  The first year they are here they work the meat stand like champs.  But they have to leave to get ready to go up the hill to listen to the political speaking at 2PM.  They only listen to the politicians a year or two though and then realize that the Picnic is so much more interesting in the stands.

This weekend there were lots of people in town.  When we had Mass Friday morning and blessed the meat I thought it was a light crowd.  But during communion at Mass it seemed as though people were coming out of the woodwork.  During the blessing of the meat you couldn’t even find a spot to stand.  Of course we hope that meant we were going to have a good crowd for the Picnic this year.  The weather started out cool but ended up very hot.

As I look at all the Facebook pictures today I would say that it was a successful Picnic.  There were a lot of people who were here for the first time.  There were those who ran the One Mile or 5K for the first time.  The crowd seemed light but was always steady.  We didn’t have the influx of politicians in the meat stand like we usually do.  One thing that didn’t change were the families who came together from near and far to work with each other to raise money for St. Jerome Catholic Church and the Fancy Farm community.  We are truly blessed.