Once
in a great while, an event occurs which is of such stature that it cannot be
ignored. The Southington Rotary Apple
Harvest Booth semi-standing awards committee felt that this year we experienced
one such event, and we are here to.....honor it?
I must
point out that in the history of the Rotary Apple Harvest Booth, going back
to....well, a long, long time... one event stands above all others. Let me take you back a few years. It’s late afternoon on the last day of the
festival and Rotary has decided to begin dismantling the booth – floors must be
unscrewed and disassembled according to some secret formula known only to John
Ryan, fryolaters must be emptied and cleaned, refrigerators must be wrestled.
But
before that, because the Fritter Booth next door was still doing a brisk
business, the crew is in their pre-dismantle relaxation mode - John Kennedy and Steve Parsons sharing a
cola in the front, John ‘Curly’ Mullett going around back to check the propane
tanks. After fiddling around with the propane
for a bit, Curly must have muttered out loud, “There seemed to be a leak here
and what happens if this thing blows up!”
All
of a sudden all hell breaks loose! Panic sets in at the Fritter Booth! Workers yelling and screaming, bodies FLYING
out of the booth as Messrs Parson/Kennedy look on with bewilderment. Curly appears around front and announces
understatedly that he thinks there might be a problem as the sounds of
fire/police sirens and screaming people fleeing for there lives, fill the early
Autumn evening air. Steve Parsons
suggests that this might be a wonderful time to hand in the remaining tokens,
and the committee conveniently disappears into the crowd. Legend has it that only a heroic effort by
Pauline Levesque saved the Rotary Club from being banished from the Festival
forever. John ‘Curly’ Mullett to this
day is forbidden to be anywhere near the propane tanks.
Ladies
and Gentlemen, I’d like you all to greet warmly the Southington Rotary Club
Apple Harvest Booth Hall of Fame’s only current member – John ‘Curly’
Mullett!!!!
Fast
forward to 2001. The location is
different now – churches are not at risk.
We no longer sell grinders or chicken fingers. But the Southington Rotary spirit remains. The booth has been set up, refrigerators
have been wrestled into place and, on this wonderful Friday afternoon, we are
putting on the final touches in preparation for the Festival’s opening. I, as a seasoned observer (not to be
confused with a seasoned curlyfry), am up in the front of the booth doing what
I do best – observing. Ummmm....i
observe, fries in exchange for fritters....fries in exchange for chili......and
are these wild pigs really officers of the law? I ponder............
Ron
Graves and Charlie Cocuzza are testing the fryolators......seasoned veterans
making sure that our famous fries (small order- two tokens, large order-same
size, larger container-four tokens) are cooked to perfection.
I
hear in the background “Rod, this flame went out, I’m going to light it
again.” Distracted by some passersby, I
continue to observe and ponder.....look at the....when BOOM!.....my heart leaps
from my chest! I think I’m having a
heart attack!....Gathering myself, I turn around.......Charlie is standing
there with a look of shock and amazement, but seems ok.....I turn to
Rod......my immediate thoughts go to Santa Claus in the off-season.....covered
head to toe with soot!.....hair, eyebrows, ....he looks dazed.....so I can’t
tell if anything is wrong – he always looks that way......I yell, “Rod, are you
ok,” not knowing whether to laugh or
cry......concerned for Rod’s safety...knowing that he’s in charge of the booth
this weekend and not wanting to have to take his place......
Suddenly,
to my relief, Charlie and Rod, in the best spirit of Rotary, each start blaming
the other for the near-catastrophe, calling the other careless and
incompetent. Kyong Wilson, a fellow
observer, rushes in to cool down the
two hot-tempered young bucks, as I thought to myself – Curly, I think we have
two winners here!!!!
