Delectable treats highlight of 189th Skowhegan fair

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SKOWHEGAN – At the 189th annual Skowhegan State Fair, the midway riders scream, the horses pulling cement weights whinny, and the sheep getting trimmed baaaaaa.

But with more than 50 food vendors scattered throughout the fairgrounds, it is the vittles that are taking center stage this year.

On Tuesday kids’ faces were turning blue from the cotton candy coloring. Powdered sugar from dough boys was blowing all over eaters – and some bystanders. And fair-goers at the ice cream stand kept oooing and ahhhing.

Even Somerset County commissioner Phil Roy was walking the midway Tuesday in search of sausages and french fries.

“You gotta have sausage at Fred’s and Stan’s. You can’t leave the fair without them,” he said.

Over at Fred’s State Fair Foods, Fred’s daughter was running the show.

“I’ve been doing this for 24 years,” said Terry Gilmore of Wilton. “My dad did it for 30 years and ran games for 20 years before that.”

As a customer approached her stand, Gilmore asked, “What can I get you?”

“I need a hot,” said Debbie Heald of Madison, referring to a hot sausage with peppers and onions.

“Oh, I don’t eat fair food,” Heald added. “I’m bringing this home for my husband. He’s at work.”

Gilmore said Tuesday she had already gone through 300 pounds of Italian sausage and more than 400 pounds of onions in the fair’s first five days.

“I love this,” she said. “I like moving around and meeting people.” In the winter, she said, she works as an aide in a nursing home, but as soon as spring comes around, Gilmore begins itching for the fair circuit.

“We do Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine,” she said. “My mother has the stand over there by the tunnel.

“This weekend, I’ll go to Union and do pizza. My mom will go to Dover. Then we’ll both meet in Blue Hill.”

Gilmore said each fair has its own flavor. “In Vermont, we can’t make enough burgers. Here, it’s sausage,” she said.

Off-duty Pittsfield police Officer Marty Cochran, waiting by the bounce house for his children, agreed. “I have to say the sausage and french fries are my favorites.”

For 5-year-old Dimitri Southworth of Bryant Pond, it was all about the cotton candy. “It’s sweet,” he said. “And I like the way it melts in my mouth.”

Three boys from Mercer had their hands full of dough boys. Jack Chamberlain, 13, D.J. Pomelow, 13, and Lee Pomelow, 11, were standing upwind from their mom, who inadvertently got covered in powdered sugar.

“I just like the sugar,” Lee Pomelow confided. “It’s not really about the fried dough at all.”

Two Somerset County Sheriff’s Department deputies had divergent food choices. “I like Stan’s fries,” Deputy Niles Bowman said. “No matter what happens, before I leave the fair I have to get Stan’s fries.”

Sgt. Michael Knight, however, preferred Ken’s fried chicken. “You can only eat so many sausages,” he said.

Stan McGray of Skowhegan said his food stand will go through 20,000 pounds of potatoes during the fair. “We leave the skins on. They like them that way,” he said.

Over at Roger Alexander’s English Fish and Chips stand, Alexander was offering a bit of showmanship along with his food. “Here’s your napkins. And here’s some more. You’ll need them. I’ve seen you eat,” he joked with a couple.

Alexander, who hails from Wales, was enjoying his 12th year at the fair. “We’ve built quite a following,” he said. “Oh, crikey, we’ll go through 500 pounds of fish and 300 pounds of scallops before we’re all done.”

Something Fishy was doing a hot business selling lobster rolls, fish and scallops. Owner Jason Caron of Lisbon Falls was on the water at 4 a.m. in Cundy’s Harbor pulling 200 lobster pots. He works the fair until midnight and then sleeps in his truck. “We’ve already sold 600 pounds of haddock,” he said.

Just across the pathway, Matt Thompson was selling one of the fair’s more unusual offerings at Fat Guys – chicken livers and onions. “I can’t cook them fast enough,” Thompson said of the offbeat midway fare. “We grill them with onions and peppers, and people are loving them. They do say, however, that they’ve never seen them at a fair before.”

Over by the livestock barns, the Skowhegan firefighters’ hot dog and hamburger booth was doing well, although those staffing the booth said it may be their last year. After 21 years in the same location, the fair is tearing down their booth and asking them to move to the opposite end of the fairgrounds.

“That won’t work for us,” said Ladies Auxiliary member Donna Staples. “We are the only place that serves breakfast at the fair, and all the farm people come here. It would be too hard to be at the other end.”

As the police-fire scanner chattered in the background, firefighters Mike Savage and Ty Strout, along with EMT Jay Kennedy, were busy cooking. “We’ll make about $4,000 to $6,000 after expenses,” Strout said. All the profits are turned back to local sports teams, camp sponsorships and equipment. The booth has made enough in years past to buy Jaws of Life extrication equipment and a thermal imaging camera for the Fire Department.

Skowhegan Rotary club members also were vending food to benefit the community. Maitland Richardson said pizza has been the best seller, with 20 to 30 large pizzas a day being sold by the slice.

“This has been a great year,” Richardson said. “It’s been great weather, and we have a great new midway.”

With all that food being consumed, diners were also looking for something to wash it down. At the beer garden, more than $19,000 worth of beer had been sold to date, according to Melvin Blaisdell, fair vice president. That’s about 8,000 cups, or 1,600 each night.

“We have broken all attendance records,” fair treasurer Dale Watson said. “As of this morning, 40,038 have been to the fair.” On opening day, Watson said 10,000 people came, lured by the $1 admission, compared with 2,300 last year.

“That first day was the record for the history of the fair,” Blaisdell said.

With all that food combined with midway rides that spin and slide and tip and whirl, the records over the past five years at the Red Cross first-aid building showed not a single tummy ache. There were reports of scraped knees, headaches, blisters, bee stings and even a loose tooth, but not one stomachache to be found.

“Of course not,” said Selma Bloom of Jackman. “The food is why we come to the fair.” Turning to her husband, Jack Bloom, she asked, “Are you ready for another sausage, dear?”