A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
FUN:
FESTIVAL:
“If you get lost, you probably need
to Google our website for our phone
number and we’ll send a runner to
get you,” Gina said with a laugh.
Inspired by the fall extravaganza
at Pasco’s Country Mercantile, the
site also includes other activities.
People are encouraged to bring cash
(or they may pay by credit card with
a minimum $10 charge). Additional
activities include a Crazy Train Ride
for kids, corn cannons, a straw bale
maze and a corn pit. Also, a zip-line
may be added, depending on insur-
ance concerns, Gina said. In addi-
tion, concessions will be available
for purchase. Fire pit rentals and
space for private parties are also
available.
Gina is excited about having an
array of activities to draw people to
the attraction. Setting up the corn
pit, she said, includes putting hay or
straw bales in a U-shape.
“We’ll dump in a bunch of kernels
of corn in there and kids can jump
in there and have a good time,” she
said. “It’s a different texture, but it’s
kind of like jumping into the pits
with balls.”
Gina is energized by the sense of
community as her family has worked
on the maze and activities. A num-
ber of businesses have extended their
hand in support.
In addition to the fun activities,
Gina is happy to provide an oppor-
tunity for people to learn more about
the connection from farm to table
through “agritainment.”
“It’s a fun way to get in the dirt
and learn a little bit about agricul-
ture,” she said. “We’re a working
farm.”
For more information, visit www.
echocornmaze.com, www.facebook.
com/echocrazycornmaze or call 509-
528-5808.
Upstairs, Del and Phyllis
Piper manned their booth with
a selection of homemade Rag-
gedy Ann-style dolls. The cou-
ple, which used to own Del’s
Market in Lexington before re-
tiring, has attended every Har-
vest Festival since it began.
Phyllis Piper originally be-
gan making dolls for her two
daughters nearly 50 years ago.
She bought the original pattern
for 35 cents, and igures she’s
made several hundred dolls
over the course of about 10
years.
“Little girls just love them,”
she said. “They’re soft and
cuddly.”
Raggedy Ann is a legendary
creation, Phyllis said, and con-
tinues to be enormously popu-
lar. Plus, making the dolls is a
way to keep her busy.
“I do an assembly line,
maybe six at a time,” she said.
“I just like to keep busy.”
In addition to Phyllis’ dolls,
Del showed off his book of na-
ture photography, poems and
short stories titled “The Leg-
ends of Mud Hollow,” which
he published in 2011. The ma-
jority of his shots are of elk in
the Blue Mountains, which he
captures using infrared, mo-
tion-triggered trail cameras.
“These things are wilder
than rolling thunder,” he said.
Across the room, Dave and
Carmen Williams, also of Lex-
ington, set up their table with
a wide variety of leather key
chains, wallets, coin purses,
handmade towels and wood
carved accessories.
Dave Williams igures he’s
been crafting for about 10
continued from Page A1
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2016
FROM PAGE A1
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STAFF PHOTO BY GEORGE PLAVEN
STAFF PHOTO BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Del and Phyllis Piper, of Lexington, sold a collection of Raggedy Ann
dolls during the third annual Morrow County Harvest Festival at the
SAGE Center.
STAFF PHOTO BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Kristy Bensal, 16, sells produce
for the Hermiston Melon
Company during the third annual
Morrow County Harvest Festival
outside the SAGE Center.
years now since retiring.
“You’ve got to do some-
thing other than play golf,” he
said with a smile. “Otherwise,
you’ll go nuts.”
Outside the museum, kids
could go on horse and buggy
rides, race through a maze or
paint their own pumpkins. Lo-
cal farmers set up shop to sell
some of the region’s famous
produce, such as watermelons,
sweet onions, potatoes and
peppers.
Davis said she hopes out-
of-town visitors would come
away with a sense of how im-
portant farming is to Morrow
County.
“Agriculture is obviously a
huge industry for us here,” she
said. “It provides thousands of
jobs. It really boosts the econ-
omy here, and provides a lot of
growth.”
Craft beverages from Sno
Road Winery of Echo and Ord-
nance Brewing of Boardman
were on hand for sampling.
Fresh coffee, courtesy of Home
Town Coffee Roasters in Ar-
lington, was also available.
Roast Master Tami William-
son said she got started four
years ago, and sales have been
steadily and progressively im-
proving. She buys her beans
Dave Williams, of Lexington,
shows off his homemade leather
keychains at the third annual
Morrow County Harvest Festival.
from an importer in Seattle,
which delivers in 150-pound
bags to her garage.
Coffee roasting has been a
dream of Williamson’s ever
since she used to work for the
state Employment Department
in The Dalles.
“I was sitting in my cubicle
and dreaming of being a coffee
roaster,” she said. “What I like
(about the Harvest Festival)
is meeting people and telling
them about my business. It
gets me out there and meeting
face-to-face with people.”
Admission to the Morrow
County Harvest Festival is
free, which Davis said is un-
usual for an event of its size.
The goal, she said, is for peo-
ple to spend their money in-
stead on the cornucopia of lo-
cal goods on full display.
———
Contact George Plaven at
541-966-0825.