Big Red dead but quilts still there

SCIO, OREGON... Known for Linn County's Lamb and Wool Fair in May, Scio is a neat small Oregon town that used to have a chicken mascot and home made quilts at the Fair.

On July 11, Big Red, Scio's chicken mascot, met an untimely end with a tough dog. So next year, Big Red won't be pointing the way to the quilts in the school gym.

Big Red was a proud Rhode Island Red, but now he's dead. Read the full story of Scio's unofficial patrol rooster in Albany's Democrat-Herald on July 12.

But if you are a quilter or a quilter-looker, drive up Ore. Hwy 226 to Scio in May. Get an elephant ear with sugar and cinnamon, visit the train depot museum, shop in the feed store visitor shelves, and check out the quilts in the gym.

'Course there are some other neat and unusual events in Scio on Thomas Creek during the Fair.

Fair time for Santiam Scrappers

LINN COUNTY FAIR AND EXPO CENTER, KNOX BUTTE RD, ALBANY, ORE... Several of the Wednesday Ladies went to the Linn County Fair to help with displaying the items in the textile division.The Wednesday Ladies are a Sub-group of guild who meet at my house on Wednesday afternoons to sew on Community Service Quilts.

Anyway, Jenny the division manager said she needed lots of help. Well, after we helped fasten quilts to polls and hand them up to a guy in a lift there didn't seem to be much for us to do. We did sort the items into several catagories: baby; Christmas; fall; etc.;. Then we were asked to set up a display of the baby items on a table and layer them to get them all on the table.

Then, after sitting around for awhile with nothing clear that we could help with most of us left. Would have liked to have been more help.

Today we went to the opening day of the fair in 2 hour shifts of two or three guild members to do demonstrations. Last year we had 3 tables and just enough room for everyone to set up their demo. This year we only were given 2 tables and we were pretty crowded. I was just glad that my friend Leola and I changed our minds about bringing our sewing machines for a demo.

I looked around at some of this divisions displays and was disappointed that all the stuff that I and several others worked at displaying yesterday had been moved and put on different tables. Guess we didn't sort it correctly.

Maybe I'm being too critical. But I will think twice about volunteering to help next year.

My friend Marina's quilt took best of show which was great! I was lazy and didn't enter anything.