Brooks’ Fourth sparks community feeling

BROOKS – There may have been a few changes in the half-century since this Waldo County town started holding Brooks Field Days on the Fourth of July, but the community feeling it prompts has been a constant.

“We love it,” said Irene Blood. Blood and her husband, David Blood, of Morrill, have been coming to the field days for years, especially to watch the horse pull competition. “It’s a great day and a lot of fun.”

Horse pulls, peddle tractor pulls, horse game shows, weight lifting, arm wrestling, pig scrambles, beano, horseshoe pitching, live music and barbecue chicken are all part of the Brooks Booster Club’s annual show. There are no flickering carnival lights and there is no noisy midway – just green grass, a placid river and good old time country fun.

Starting off with a midmorning parade through a village festooned with flags and draped in bunting and ending with a fireworks show, the activities in and near Community Park attract hundreds of participants, volunteers and country fair lovers. Children and adults take part in the various games and events. It is Waldo County’s biggest summer event, and one not to be missed by anyone hankering for the Maine they remember.

Sisters Elida, 9, Sadee, 8 and Emma Mehuren, 5, of Searsmont are already regulars at the celebration. They have a horse and pony at home, so it’s always a thrill for Emma to see the many horses, either in the show ring or at the horse pull.

“I like the parade,” said Sadee. Added Elida, “I like the ice cream.”

Dale “D.J.” Thomas, 15, of Hampden volunteered at the french fry booth as part of his work toward his Eagle rank in Boy Scouts. Thomas is also making signs that will read “Welcome to Brooks” to earn his merit badges.

“It’s great,” said Thomas. “I like that I’m helping the community, trying to make people feel good and sending them home with a full belly.”

At the horse show ring, Dell Harriman of Winterport was keeping track of the many contestants and organizing the support team. Harriman has been coming to the fair since she was a child, and this was her third year as a volunteer.

“It’s such a family and hometown thing,” she said. “It’s not very often do you see a town do stuff that includes everybody.”

Ed Clark has been volunteering for the Brooks Booster Club for more than 40 years. Not only has he done just about every job at the field day over the years, he also cares for and mows the 8-acre Community Park, which is almost in his backyard. Clark, who trucks gravel in the summer and hauls firewood in the winter, was manning the sealed ticket booth on Tuesday and greeting his many friends and neighbors.

“This is my last year, I think,” he chuckled. “I’m 85 years old and I don’t need to be doing this anymore. There’s a lot of work to it, but it’s a lot of fun. Years ago Brooks used to be the only place around that had a show on the Fourth. Now there are a lot more other places doing something.”

Phil Whitney and his wife, Alberta, of Orland and Ed and Jane Pannehill of East Orland said they enjoyed watching the parade and commended the community for being so helpful to the elderly couples.

“The people in town invited us to sit on their lawn chairs. They had them lined right up and said, ‘Come on, sit down,'” Phil Whitney said.

“So that goes to show that Maine’s the best state to be in,” added his wife.

For local boy Bruce Stubbs, who runs the peddle tractor pull for kids, the annual event is a labor of love. Stubbs has been doing the event for the past 10 years and said he and a friend, Dennis Lufkin of Jackson, built their peddle tractor “from a bunch of junk out of my junk pile. We love it and the kids love it. I guess I’ll be doing it as long as I can.”

The chicken barbecue has been a family affair for the Roberts family for 52 years. Tom and Bill Roberts’ father started the barbecue, and their mother still makes the sauce. The Roberts brothers and friend Roger Roscoe began cooking at 9:30 a.m. and were doing a brisk business by noon. The team prepared 300 chicken halves for lunch, and the sight of a long line of people beneath the tall shade trees waiting for a meal was as warming as their fire.

“It’s a fun time,” said Tom as his brother sprayed the chickens with a special cooking sauce. “It’s got vinegar and a little bit of everything in it. And mom has been making homemade sauce to put on the chicken when it’s done since day one.”