California Fair Is Homemade Harvest Tradition

At the harvest fair, it's all about the pie.

This photo taken Sept. 30, 2009 shows A first place orange in the horticulture building at the...

This photo taken Sept. 30, 2009 shows A first place orange in the horticulture building at the Caruthers District Fair in Caruthers, Calif. While some fairs draw crowds for their deep-fried twinkies, the District Fair in this town of 2,103 in California's raisin region serves up mainly locally grown food, assembled for sale by the dozen or so churches and service clubs whose emblems hang on the town's giant welcome sign. (AP Photo/ Russel A. Daniels)

(AP)

Thick slabs of creamy buttermilk custard, homegrown peach, tart boysenberry and local raisin walnut with a lattice crust top. All made by the hundreds, by hand.

While some fairs draw crowds for their deep-fried Twinkies, the District Fair in Caruthers, a town of 2,103 in California's raisin region, serves up mainly locally grown food that is assembled for sale by the dozen or so churches and service clubs whose emblems hang on the town's giant welcome sign.

From lawnmower races at the Wilkes County Agricultural Fair in North Carolina, to tractor pulls in Medina County, Ohio, to the sunflower seed mural of Yosemite's Half Dome in Caruthers, a community's annual harvest celebration is a reflection of its personality and — at the best ones — a reflection of its values.

Some are endless kiosks of traveling Sham-Wow and gadget salesmen, and others, like Caruthers, hearken back to a time when life was simpler.

"This is the final stop for agriculture," says Pastor Art Kalafut of Monmouth Church, which has the singular distinction of having occupied a pie booth for each of the fair's 80 years.

Kalafut, at the register, also says things such as "They say Pi-r-squared, but our pie are round." Even after 30 years pushing pies, a joke about the equation for the area of a circle never gets old.

This week the 30 aging members of Kalafut's Monmouth Church say they will raise $7,000 selling handmade chicken noodle soup and 527 pies from recipes handed down for generations.

Down a few stool-lined counters, the Rock Church's 50 members will make $15,000 selling 2,600 pounds of chicken tossed into their famous Chinese salad and, of course, pies. They will sell 300 in all, along with 216 apple dumplings. Most of the other dozen booths here on food row sell pie, too.

"We make our crusts from scratch," boasts The Rock's Pat Woods, handing over a slice of peach, perfectly crimped and crunchy.