Here’s a memory from Kate Dean:
“In 1976, Albie Barden called a group of people together to make natural foods at county fairs around the state of Maine. I was between college years, and ready for a summer job that didn’t involve living at home. We had two teams: Jo and me, and two others, who had borrowed a car from a friend to help us get around. We cooked beans, made fresh salsa and toppings daily, and cut up a lot of fruit, and it was all delicious. However, most fairgoers weren’t ready for real food; many came to the fair especially to buy fried dough. Business for us was slow, and we didn’t finish out the season, but I started to see more vegetable- and fruit-based food at fairs in subsequent years; perhaps we planted the seeds.”
