Vegetables, flowers & genealogists

Although it's a kind of hard to discern the personality of a giant cabbage or a plate of green beans, I always enjoy the vegetable entries at the Lucas County Fair. Department superintendent Jim Secor was scrambling this year to find room to display all the entries --- a very positive development.

The entries were judged by Jill Beebout (left), of Blue Gate Farm, and Jim (right) had enlisted the help of two of his stepdaughters, including Dana Gall-Secor (center), to help him corral all of that vegetation.

This was the year of the giant cabbage --- really giant cabbage. There were at least four of these beasts. Here's the winner in the youth division.

I was gratified because my favorite pumpkin, at right in the first photo and standing alone in the second, was judged best of show.

I enjoy the floriculture division --- and there were lots of entries here, too.

Here are the two top entries in the arranging class, the first in the adult division and the second, in the junior.

The rest of the arrangements --- I just admired.

I would have taken some of the house plant entries home with me, but most likely would just have killed them off --- so it's a good thing that they'll go home with their developers when entries are released tomorrow morning.

Down in the middle of the open class building, Jay DeYoung was judging genealogical entries on Monday as Suzanne Fordell Terrell and other members of the Lucas County Genealogical Society looked on.

And here's a puzzler that won a ribbon but stumped everyone down in the antiques division. Anyone know exactly where Leonard Lumber Co. was located? John Pierce didn't know. Dave Edwards didn't know and I didn't know.

You've got one more day to catch the fair before entries are released on Thursday. This is a big day for beef in the judging venues and there will be plenty of pulled pork, beef and lamb sandwiches --- plus homemade pie --- in the 4-H stand.