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The Ellis Hollow Fair: History
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"The thing I like about Ellis Hollow," commented
a resident of a near-by community, "is that you do things - swim, have
picnics and parties. We just fund-raise." Ellis Hollow does too, but
only once a year at a big bash where everyone turns out, meets their
neighbors and waves hello to most of Ithaca as they go by with balloons,
cotton candy and small children in hand.The money raised at the Fair each
fall pays for the Center's operating expenses and activities for the next
year. The Ellis Hollow Country Fair began with an auction in the
fall of 1952. Residents cleaned out their barns and attics to help raise
money for the Community Center. The auction, organized by the Ogdens, the
DeMottes, the Whitlocks and several other families made $500. "Oh, we
had fun," Pert Ogden commented. "You never saw so much stuff. It
was 3 a.m. before we were done. I'll never forget the auctioneer. He donated
his time, but he said, 'You know, these Community Centers, they last a few
years. Then people get to quarreling and that's the end of it'." The next year, at the suggestion of Katrina Morse, the
auction was made part of a While the Fair varies from year to year depending on the
imagination of the chairs and the talent of the current residents, several
ingredients have remained constant to keep it a small friendly country fair
despite crowds of well over 6,000 people some years. There is no admission
charged and only few outside concessions. Hand crafts and baked goods are homemade and the produce
is home grown by Hollow residents. Prices are kept low and many games and
booths are designed for children. Many Hollow residents feel working at the
Fair is even more fun than attending. "It never rains on the Ellis Hollow Fair," we
residents all assured ourselves as the black clouds gathered on the morning
of the Fair in our soggy Bicentennial year. Actually it had rained once
before for the last hour of the 1967 Fair The Fair is held on the Saturday after Labor Day. There is
always a large gift booth of The first hand-made quilt raffled off at the Fair was the
Album Quilt, organized by Donna Lemon in 1966. Each contributor designed her
own square to represent a phase of life in Ellis Hollow. Other quilts have
been the Toy Quilt, the Apple Quilt, Leaves, Snowflake Quilt, Garden Quilt, Bird
Quilt, Bicentennial Quilt, Butterfly Quilt, a Yellow NYS Wildflowers Quilt
and a Red Tulip Quilt. The first ten were exhibited at the Tompkins County
Library in May, 1976 as part of the Bicentennial celebration. 2002
Fair Quilt - "Woodland Animals" For the first nineteen years Ellis Hollow Fairs were held
on the grounds of the old Community Center at the corner of Ellis Hollow and Turkey
Hill Roads. After the 1965 Fair, Zelle Pritchard wrote "A Vignette"
for the Ellis Hollow Gazette: While at the Ellis Hollow Fair this year, as I looked over
that immense crowd gathered in that small rectangle, my gaze went beyond,
over the big house, now the home of Mrs. DeMotte, and so outwardly unchanged
over the years.
The 25th Anniversary of the Fair: In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the
Fair, a lovely, large silver Lunt engraved bowl was raffled off during the
1977 Fair, unfortunately pictures of that bowl have not been retained so we can
only go by its description. It was reported in one local paper that in
addition to the bowl, "unique commemorative wooden nickels were used as
legal tender at the game booths and also kept as collector's items." In
addition, the original book Ellis Hollow came out in 1977 and was sold
at the Fair. Our 50th Anniversary: As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Ellis
Hollow Fair, it remains an old-fashioned country Fair. There are no rides,
except the hayrides pulled by horses or a tractor. It consists of an auction
of goods and services from local providers; the annual quilt raffle; a
variety of game booths, including a dunk 'em booth; clowns and balloons;
dried flowers and crafts; numerous food and baked goods booths; a white
elephant sale; and various other specialty booths and vendors. Local bands
also participate. The Fair has a wonderful old-fashioned feel to it that
Fair-goers, young and old, still enjoy. People come from all over the area to
join in the day of festivities.
A special T-shirt was designed by a board member
(Christine Becraft) with a full color logo for the Fair this year. The
beautiful scene depicted the rural nature of Ellis Hollow along with scenes
depicting the fair and recreational nature of the area, against a backdrop of
a brillant sun with clockface which tied to the theme of, "It's Ellis Hollow time. The quilt for the 50th Anniversary was "Woodland Animals" and proved to be a
popular draw for fairgoers. In addition a local car club sent a few representatives
with classic cars from the 1950's, which drew a lot of admirers of times
past. Another special item were bottles of Ellis Hollow Maple Syrup
donated by Fingerlakes Maple Products, taken from the sugar maple trees in
the Hollow. It was a perfect day for the fair with temperatures in the
70's and partly cloudy most of the day. Attendance was good and the 50th
annual fair proved to be a good provider for the EHCC coffers. Thanks to all
from the community and local businesses who helped! |
Ellis Hollow Fair Postponement PolicyIn the event of severe, life-threatening weather forecasts
(for example, hurricanes, tornadoes, and sustained gale force winds and
torrential rain) on the Thursday before the Ellis Hollow Fair: 1) By 1 pm Thursday afternoon, if there is any question about the
weather, the Fair Coordinator or Fair Day Coordinator shall contact Joe
Lalley at Cornell (for as long as he is at his job 255-6651,
jml2@cornell.edu) or another sophisticated weather forecast center to assess
the extended forecast. If the forecast is for severe weather, the following
chairs should be alerted by Thursday evening with the following telephone
tree that a final decision will be made at 7 am Friday: The Fair Coordinator calls Facilities which calls
Buildings and Grounds which calls Publicity and Finance Person which calls
Games. The Fair Coordinator calls Baked Goods which calls Country
Kitchen which calls International Foods (Coyote Loco or their successor). 2) If any postponement of the fair is to occur, the final decision must
be made no later than 7 am Friday morning. The telephone tree -- which will
be distributed each June by the Board Secretary at the Ellis Hollow
Picnic/annual meeting/ booth chair meeting -- will ensure that all Booth
Chairs are contacted. It is the Secretary's responsibility to mail the
telephone tree to any Booth chair not present at this meeting. [NOTE: Those involved should have in their possession a
"telephone tree." If you are a Booth Chair and do not have a copy
of this, please email the webmaster at lmelling@twcny.rr.com. Each Booth chair in turn should be sure that all his/her
volunteers are contacted. Publicity will contact radio and newspaper; the Facilities
Committee will make signs to go up at Ellis Hollow Road and Turkey Hill Road,
Ellis Hollow Road and Genung Road, Turkey Hill Road and Ellis Hollow Creek
Road and at the end of the community center driveway and contact Jim Moravic
(or his successor) to change the banner at the East Hill Plaza. 3) Regardless of a fair postponement, the Baked Goods, The Pie Race, and
Dried Flowers will operate at the Ellis Hollow Community Center on both the original
fair date and on the postponed date. NOTE: Each Booth Chair is
responsible for contacting his or her volunteers! |
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Betty Shapley, one
of the founders of our Community Association and Country Fair, had written a
number of poems in the early 1950's before her death in 1955. Reuben Shapley shared
his first wife's book of poems with Virginia Bizzell who asked that Betty's
poem about the second year's fair be included in the Gazette, so we thought
it fitting to include here: THE SECOND ANNUAL ELLIS HOLLOW COUNTRY FAIR (PAST)The second annual Ellis Hollow Fair is a thing of
the past But the memories of that day long will last The day dawned anything but fair and fine With little prospect of sunshine "To be or not to be?" --was the question
most asked While everyone continued busy with his own task. At last the question was placed before all workers
there; "Shall we or shall we not have a Fair?" Many pros and cons were heard Then a local character spoke a word: "I feel in my bones the day will be
right" Others willing to cause a rumpus or fight Agreed the Fair should be held as planned Soon all exhibits were in order and well manned. We could continue this story for sometime But let's just add a conclusion to this foolish
rhyme. People came to the Fair, had fun, and spent their
dough And went away lauding the Ellis Hollow show. P.S. I was one who stayed away. But not because I feared the day My mind was at the Fair--though I couldn't go But there is one thing I wish you to know The big sample of the Fair you sent me Made me as thrilled as could be. The "foods for the Gods" which Mary Alice
did bake All the Shapleys found it fun to partake. The note with the cake gave me a lift At writing the correct thing, M.A. has a gift The apron in my own colors is a gorgeous creation The bird under Nellie's hat sings and is a real
sensation. The dried arrangement is a work of art These with the card and flowers made me feel I'd
had a part. Betty Shapley 1955 |
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Thanks to Barbara Dimock for pictures of an
earlyFair. Click on pictures to enlarge. |
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