Skyler and Macky at the carnival. Photo by Deb and Tim Smith
BY SKYLER, DEB AND TIM SMITH
I’m baaaaaack! Depending on how good your Sentinel memory is, you may recall a series of articles I worked on with Deb and Dad from 2017-2019. The name of the series was “Skyler Smith’s Tour of Mendon” and here’s how it worked.
THE BACKSTORY ~ Back in the spring of 2017, as I was nearing the completion of my junior year at HF-L, I remember watching Deb and Dad work on their articles for the Sentinel. They always seemed to be having so much fun that it made me want a piece of the action.
So I went to them with the proclamation that, “I want to write for the Sentinel too.” At that point our collective wheels began to spin with the operative question being, “What would be a concept that the three of us could collaborate on which would also be good for the community and good for the Sentinel?”
The answer to that question was the birth of my column “Skyler Smith’s Tour of Mendon”.
That summer we began to approach some local business people we knew and ask if they would like to have us tell their stories. Our approach became quite uniform. We would generate a list of questions which we would supply to the interviewees ahead of time so they could give some thought to their answers and be more comfortable during the actual interview.
When we met with our subjects, I would read the questions, Deb would take notes, and Dad’s responsibility was basically to provide the comic relief. Dad’s talent may span a narrow range but he is good at what he does. Then we would come home, gather around the computer, and each of us would share our thoughts about what should make the article
On September 5, 2019, I signed off of my original series with the promise to my faithful readers that this was a hiatus and not a retirement. Well, I’m here today to prove that I am a man of my word. I was actually treading water a bit, waiting for the perfect community organization to become the blessed benefactor of my comeback.
CARNEY TIME ~ The approach of the summer season brought upon me the realization that it wasn’t going to get much better than paying tribute to the Mendon Fire Department and providing an additional element of publicity for the Mendon Carnival which has been such an important part of my life, and perhaps yours as well.
On June 2-4, the Mendon Carnival will return in its old familiar time slot, for the first time since 2019. When Covid came calling in 2020 that year’s carnival was canceled completely, with 2021 seeing a delayed, slightly-abridged carnival pushed from June back to September. It certainly wasn’t business as usual but it certainly was better than nothing at all. People couldn’t wait to get back out and enjoy their neighbors.
So this year it will be back to business as usual, or at least as usual as anything will ever get in this post-pandemic era which we now find ourselves in the midst of. Here are your carney facts and figures for the 2022 gala.
On Thursday and Friday, June 2-3, the carnival grounds will open at 5:30 with 6:00-10:00 ride specials available for $25. The Saturday special is an even better deal with a $30 charge covering rides all day from noon until closing. New this year is the option of buying your tickets in advance online through the Mendon Fire Department website.
As usual, live music will be featured throughout and some familiar sights and sounds will be enjoyed for the first time in two summers. The fireworks display will light up the Mendon skies at 9:33 on Thursday evening and the parade will wend its way from Mendon Farms to the carnival grounds beginning at 6:45 on Saturday.
I know I’ll be there and I hope to see you too. Next week I’ll be back with a carnival update and history of the earliest years of the Mendon Fire Department. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the earliest origins of the department trace back to the precise piece of property in the hamlet where I grew up and still live today.
