You don’t need a calendar to know what event is almost upon us.
Instead, just take a drive down Main Street into downtown Bluffton, where the red, white and blue banners coming down from the Courthouse say it all.
One week from today, downtown Bluffton will turn into a pedestrian-only area as we make “Memories on Main Street” — this year’s Street Fair theme.
I was downtown Saturday and could already smell the Street Fair delicacies, see the lights and hear the crowd that will fill the Midway as we celebrate the five-day annual fall festival.
My grandpa and I are fairly certain that our family has been attending the Street Fair since its beginning in 1898, as our family has called Bluffton home for more than 100 years. The fair has been an important annual part of our lives, and I’m sure the same is true for you.
Those of us born and raised in the Parlor City — with the exception of a handful of natives — love the Street Fair as much as we look forward to the holidays.
And there is one more big reason to love the Street Fair this year, as Mark Miller revealed in a Page 1 feature story Saturday.
Fairgoers will be able to buy a copy of one of the Parlor City’s most anticipated books ever — a book about a Bluffton icon that will make your tastebuds happy.
Copies of the 140-page book titled “The Dutch Mill” will be on sale for $40 in the Industrial Tent all week. Doris Chartier and Rhonda Ryan have compiled and written the hard-cover book that includes the history of the restaurant, stories and memories from those who worked there … and, of course, recipes from the famous Bluffton restaurant that people still talk about today.
My wife and I are excited to buy our copy Tuesday night. She isn’t from Wells County and never had the opportunity to eat at The Dutch Mill before it was destroyed in the December 1997 fire.
She has heard stories from our family, however, about all the great meals we had there over the years. Growing up, I remember many Friday nights in which we would order dinner from The Dutch Mill as carry out. After dinner, we would watch the Friday-night lineup of shows on TV — great memories from 30 years ago that seem just like last year.
We were always allowed to order a dessert on those Friday-night Dutch Mill dinners. My go-to sweet every time was a piece of sugar cream pie. It’s the first recipe I’ll look for when we buy our copy of the book. And it just so happens that they will be selling pieces of sugar cream pie in the Industrial Tent as well.
This fair is shaping up to be one of the sweetest yet.
This year’s fair will be the 111th to take place in Bluffton.
The first Street Fair occurred in 1898, but officials had to cancel the fair a handful of times since its beginning, including in 2020.
There were no fairs during the two World War periods, and in the first decade of the 20th century the fair was held every other year. Except for lodges, which held small events, no fairs were staged between 1902 and 1906. In 1912, however, the Street Fair grew into a big enterprise. The 1913 fair was so successful that the festival became a biannual event and later an annual event.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the arrival of fall than to spend some time next week at the Street Fair, enjoying the food, company and homemade sugar cream pie. It’s going to be a sweet Street Fair.
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