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Stereopticon

Predicting rain for Mustard Walk? That's all wet!

By Willys Peck

It's not that I'm trying to think negatively, but I'm looking at a couple of figures and wondering if there could be some connection. One is the approaching Sunday, Feb. 4, when the sixth annual Mustard Walk is scheduled to take place in Saratoga's Heritage Orchard from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The other is our current rainfall to date, which, at the time of this writing, is more than 4 inches below normal. We're overdue for some real precipitation.

So, am I trying to suggest that the Mustard Walk is likely to be rained out? Well, it could happen, and there would be some historical precedent. Not with the Mustard Walk, but with the event that put Saratoga on the map for a good four decades, the famed Blossom Festival.

The Blossom Festival, like the Mustard Walk, did not merely celebrate an event, a la the Fourth of July. It was a celebration of Saratoga's essence, its reason for being, focusing on the miles of orchards in bloom that covered the floor of the Valley. The timing, of course, depended on the season of blooming, which, to an extent, occurred during the rainy season. There were times when the date had to be changed.

Historically, the most significant Blossom Festival rain-out was in 1915, the year of San Francisco's Panama Pacific International Exposition and also the beginning of James D. Phelan's term in the U.S. Senate. Phelan, known here for his Villa Montalvo, had invited President Woodrow Wilson to speak at the Exposition, but he declined, citing the worsening international situation. In his stead he sent Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It was Blossom Festival time and Phelan asked the vice president to be speaker at the Saratoga event. Marshall declined but sent Roosevelt and some other dignitaries to do the honors. According to Florence Cunningham's Saratoga's First Hundred Years, when the Festival got rained out, Phelan entertained the officials at Montalvo over the weekend and Roosevelt had some very complimentary things to say about Saratoga in a later interview. Speaking of Phelan, I always like to point out that he had a listed phone number, at least in 1924. Want to talk to Phelan? Simply crank the phone and ask Central for 24.

But, back to the climatic--possibly climactic--discussion. Does all this get down to seeing the Mustard Walk as an unintended means of improving our deficient rainfall total? Perish the thought; it's beyond rational thinking. Or is it?

Assuming things go as scheduled, though, there will be a significant addition this year, and I'm not saying "significant" simply because the addition is in the person of my wife, Betty. As she has at other events, Betty will portray Mother Earth, and here she will be distributing small containers of mustard seed to be scattered in the orchard or planted wherever participants wish. The containers were donated by the local Florentine restaurant.

As has been publicized, the Mustard Walk will have lots going besides treks through the Heritage Orchard, according to Norman Koepernik, chairman of the sponsoring Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission, and Nancy Anderson, event coordinator. Old cars and farm equipment will be on display, vocal and instrumental musical entertainment will be presented and there will be mustard and wine tasting as well as donkey-cart rides and face-painting.

Is that a cloud bank descending over the hills? Forget it, it's all in your imagination.

When I get on a topic like the Heritage Orchard, I can't resist reviving my references to Saratoga's "town characters" and "friendly yokelry," as mentioned in the infamous June 10, 1946, issue of Life magazine describing actress Donna Reed's visit here to be "reindoctrinated" with small-town atmosphere in preparation for her appearance in It's a Wonderful Life. There was reference to "town characters," and in a Stereopticon column I expressed a desire to be one. In December 1997, my wish was fulfilled with a proclamation signed by then-Mayor Gillian Moran designating me official Town Character.

Then there was the reference to the town's "farmers and friendly yokelry" who "greatly enjoyed (the actress') visit." Yokelry? That's just the kind of folks who like to walk through the mustard. Come one, come all, and watch out where you spit your tobacco juice.