Arlee celebrates fall with activities for the kids
Karen Peterson
Caleb Clark, 3, concentrates intently as he works on decorating a pumpkin.
Karen Peterson
Lark Thomas, 10, and Shy Thomas, 3, enjoy caramel apples.
Karen Peterson
Left: KayLynne Frey, 2, colors on a pumpkin.
Karen Peterson
Children enjoy tossing pumpkins down a make believe alley as they play pumpkin bowling.
Karen Peterson
With an interested friend viewing over his shoulder, Caydan Clark, 8, decorates his pumpkin
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ARLEE – Caydan Clark, 8, decorated his first pumpkin of the fall season with a design that included “a little bit of everything” at the Arlee Community Fall Festival on Saturday. After drawing black triangle-shaped eyes and a jagged mouth, Caydan added a little white glob of paint near the stem calling it “pumpkin hair.”
“I have a tail here,” he said pointing at the pumpkin. “These are ears and this is an arm.”
A few more children dipped apples into a big pot of caramel, and another child dug his fingers into a bucket full of seed mixture. He later covered a pinecone with peanut butter and those seeds to hang outside as a treat for the birds.
The Community Development Corporation sponsored the craft activities in the Hangin Art Gallery. Amy Thomas, CDC board member, helped the children with the activities. Shannon Patton, CDC board president, summarized what the board is currently working on to help benefit the community.
“We plan to continue working on the trails and helping other groups, but we need help pushing forward,” she said. “Any donation would be helpful. Small donations show community interest and help us qualify for grants.”
The group is also contemplating solutions to two problems in the community. The Jocko Valley Food Pantry located at the Lutheran Church needs more space.
“The church has been wonderful to donate that space, but it would be nice to have a bigger designated space with freezers and coolers,” Patton said.
The Jocko Valley Library is the second issue. The library is currently in the basement of the Brown Building. Patton said the damp conditions aren’t that great for books. The problem was discussed over the years without a solution. Now Patton said the board has an idea to help the library, but she is keeping it “top secret” until they can figure out the details.
“We want to make sure it will work before we share the plan with people,” she said.
Over at the Farmers Market, children played a few rounds of pumpkin bowling. The market was extended for another week for the fall festival. Attendance was up on Friday, but it was sparse on Saturday.
“It’s a little slow today,” Roy Mills, Farmers Market board member said as he waited for people to show up. Julia Longacre, board member, sat down with Mills to talk about how the market did after moving to the new location this year on the corner of Pow Wow Road.
“Over the summer, we had some great weeks,” Longacre said. “And we had some slow ones. This has been a learning year, and we’ve learned a lot. It turned out better than I’d hoped. And I’m looking forward to next year.”
