The great outdoors: Farmers Day vendors encourage getting outside

CHINA GROVE — Farmers Day is a huge draw for China Grove and Rowan County that celebrates the area’s rich agricultural history. At the end of the day, getting outdoors is what it’s all about and a few vendors aim to offer that opportunity to curious inquirers.

Richard Lampe is a member of the Rowan County Beekeepers Association. He’s been with the group for about six years. On Saturday, he was showing inquisitive visitors how they extract honey from a hive.

“When we remove the honey from the colony, we take the whole frame and we slice the wax cappings off each frame and then put it into an extractor centrifuge that spins the honey out,” Lampe said.

Lampe explained that honey harvesting happens only once a year, typically around this time, and that it’s the end result of a lot of work on the bee’s behalf.

“Bees go to the trees and flowers, bring out the nectar and bring it to the colony where they deposit it,” Lampe said. “As time goes by, they pull the moisture content down to the point where it changes from nectar to honey. When they feel as though the moisture content is appropriate, then they cover it with wax and that is what makes it keep for a very long time.”

Aside from being a cool hobby, beekeeping can have other benefits. Lampe said it’s “no myth” that a spoonful of honey can help with allergies.

“If you have tree allergies or maybe some grass allergies, consuming a little bit of that every day is good for you,” Lampe said. “Medically proven? I’m not sure. I am only going to tell you it’s not a myth.”

Hands of a Sportsman

Hands of a Sportsman is an organization that provides individuals with challenges seen or unseen which may be present as physical, emotional, financial or circumstantial, the opportunity to participate and enjoy the sport of hunting.

Board member Kimberly Collins was among the faces at the Salisbury-based nonprofit organization’s booth on Saturday. They were raffling a .22-gauge shotgun as a fundraiser to support Hands of a Sportsman hunting trips and other various community outreach efforts.

“Every penny that we raise goes back out into the community,” Collins said. “These kids don’t have to pay a dime. Their parents don’t have to pay a dime. The handicapped hunters don’t have to pay a dime for anything.”

Hands of a Sportsman’s mission appealed to Collins because she comes from a family that is active in the outdoors community.

“Our family, turkey hunts, fishes and deer hunts,” Collins said. “So, that appealed to me but the biggest thing that appealed to me was helping people who can’t get out and do things for themselves — the people that want to get out doors and need somebody to help them.”

Community engagement opportunities like Farmers Day are a great avenue to get the group’s word out and has made big differences in people’s lives, pointing to one child who’s single mom came across their stand at an event in Kannapolis.

“We were able to help him kill his first turkey,” Collins said. “They called me and showed me the picture. It was wonderful. It was a blessing that our organization can reach out to the community and help people do things outdoors that they were not able to do because they were handicapped or did not have the money to go hunting.”

Hands of a Sportsman puts the outdoors within reach for all sorts of people. Colton Whitaker, 11, is one of those people. He has had a blast through the organization.

“You can hunt deer, turkey, squirrel, pheasant and quail,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker is still after his first turkey but he has racked up kills in the other categories.

“The trips are really fun,” he added.

Mike Speer of Concord suffers from limited mobility. He has used a wheelchair to get around for about five years. Hands of a Sportsman has made experiences possible for Speer that he would not otherwise have had the opportunity to do.

“Using a track chair, I was able to go out on these hunts and get into the woods, where normally I would not be able to travel into,” Speer said.

Before he started using a wheelchair, he was a hunter, but admitted that he did not hunt as much as he would have liked to.

“I hunt more now,” Speer said. “(Hands of a Sportsman) has opened a whole new book — a whole new chapter of my life. I thought being in a chair, no more hunting, no more real fishing. Getting to know Hands of a Sportsman has been able to change my whole life outlook and has really brought life back into it.”

Speer encourages anyone with limited mobility to consider Hands of a Sportsman.

“It’s well worth it,” Speer said. “Hands of a Sportsman covers everything. If you need a gun, they provide it. If you need fishing gear, they provide it. If you need a place to stay over night, they pay for the hotel.”

To learn more about the organization, visit its website at handsofasportsman.org.

Lutheran Chapel apple pie sale

It would not be a Farmers Day without getting an apple pie from the Lutheran Chapel booth.

Sharon Edwards, a member of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, estimated that they sold almost 1,000 pies this year. Its a tradition that goes back years and has developed quite a large following.

Edwards said they had several people who couldn’t resist loading up on the pies. At $3 a pop, it’s hard to resist the allure of having some on hand for a later date.

The process, a true testament to patience, begins in the fall, when the women’s group at the church buys apples.

“Then they dehydrate them,” Edwards said. “They freeze the apples after they dehydrate them. Then, they cook them down, add sugar and cinnamon.”

The rolling step takes on an all-hands-on-deck approach. Edwards said they had two dough ball sessions on Thursday, where they made more than 100 dough balls in preparation for the event. Each dough ball translates to 8-10 pies.

“On Saturday, they reported at 5:30 or 6 in the morning,” Edwards said.

Then the real work began, as the tireless hands worked to prep the pastries for the fryer. They had church member Steve Beaver running them to the event to keep the hot ones coming.

“You have your fillers, rollers, fryers and runners,” Edwards said. “It’s a team effort.”

Demand for the delicious pastries has skyrocketed over the years. In fact, the church has been forced to rewire its electrical grid to keep up with the wattage requirement for Farmers Day.

“They had to rewire the church fellowship hall this year because they kept tripping the breaker,” Edwards said.

The endeavor is worthwhile though and that funding helps the church’s charitable outreach. The pies go fast though. If you want one next year, you better get there early.

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