The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Jenny Giebeler gives Abby the goat a trim, preparing her for display at the Santa Clara County Fair.

Blue Ribbon Days

Hopeful residents enter livestock, homemade honey in search of the fair's top prizes

By Pam Marino

On a mini-farm in the heart of Silicon Valley, some children are taking a respite from their TVs and computers to practice an age-old form of agriculture--beekeeping.

The children, Sunnyvale resident Tegra Lillie, 10, and Cupertino resident Ruben Martinez, 9, are in full beekeeper gear: jumpsuits, gloves, and hats with netting.

Using a can that provides smoke to calm the bees, they carefully disassemble their hive, named Honeyville, and pull out screens that reveal the bees at work on the honeycombs.

The two are part of a beekeeping project of the Rollinghills 4-H Club, overseen by Tegra's father, Doug. Besides the education the kids get, they set a goal to enter their honey at the Santa Clara County Fair, now in full swing. The fair runs through Sunday, Aug. 9.

Rollinghills includes children from both Sunnyvale and Cupertino, as well as a few other local cities. The mini-farm is in Cupertino, at McClellan Ranch Park, where the 4-H club keeps some of its livestock.

This year the Rollinghills club has entered 17 goats, 16 chickens, 11 rabbits, five pigs, three sheep, two horses and one steer, according to 4-H's Lonnie Toensfeldt.

Tegra and Ruben have entered some of the honey produced by their bees. Other children are entering produce and other projects.

By entering the fair, the children are carrying on a tradition that goes back 54 years.

When farmers gathered together in 1944 for the first fair, the valley was mostly orchards, fields and vineyards. The fair was a celebration of the county's greatest asset and its main economy.

Now the orchards, fields and vineyards have given way to houses, shopping centers and office parks. Not surprisingly, the fair has steadily declined in entrants and attendance.

Until this year. Fair management decided to take a different tack by celebrating the valley's greatest asset and its main economy: high tech.

They have combined the fair's now old-fashioned traditions with what's modern in the theme, "Hayrides and Hard Drives."

Not everyone is happy with the change. There are some who say that the fair should stick exclusively to its agricultural roots.

Patricia Schunneman, a Sunnyvale resident who grew up in Cupertino, works in the high-tech industry.

"I don't go to the fair for that," she said. For her, going to see the animals, the produce and the home handicrafts is a way of escaping her day-to-day life.

She said she also thinks the fair provides an important service to the community by showing children, and many adults, just where their food comes from.

But the longtime fair participant said she's willing to take a wait-and-see attitude on how this year's theme works out.

So far the theme may be working. Entries into the fair are up, and fair managers said they expect larger crowds.

Schunneman has been participating in the fair since 1957, when she was a high school student, the same year she joined the Cupertino Grange.

Schunneman is now a deputy for Region 4 of the California State Grange. The Grange is a fraternity of farmers, dedicated to the service of agriculture and the community.

As the orchards have disappeared, the definition of agriculture in the local area has had to change, Schunneman said.

"If you are growing a tomato in your back yard, then you are involved in agriculture," Schunneman said.

So, as a service to what is now the most prevalent agriculture in the valley, the Cupertino Grange has dedicated itself to giving information to all those back-yard farmers.

The organization has had a booth every year at the fair. This year the theme is "Plant a Salad." In addition to showing how to grow all sorts of greens, the group is displaying edible flowers.

"It's just a fun place to work," Schunneman said of the fair. "You look forward to it every year. You mumble and gripe about 'oh, my aching feet,' but it's fun."

Besides agriculture, the fair has also been a place for local residents to show off their handicrafts. This year is no different, although for space considerations fair managers have limited artisans and crafters to one entry each per category.

Cupertino artist Kathy Fujii-Oka has entered two different art items, a painting and a stained-glass mirror. Fujii-Oka, who has been studying art at De Anza College for the last two years and practicing at home, said the fair gives her a jumping off place for her art career.

"I feel that I'm ready to start showing my work now," she said. "I feel [the fair] is a good way to get exposure."

Sunnyvale calligrapher Carlene Fulton said she, too, sees the fair as a way to gain exposure, as well as to educate the public.

"It makes the community aware that calligraphy is not just for lettering certificates or wedding invitations," she said. She belongs to an organization, Pacific Scribes, which several years ago sponsored a calligraphy arts category at the fair as a way to show people that calligraphy is an art form.

Part of entering the fair, Fulton said, is also the prizes. Artists and crafters can win cash prizes for their work, as well as collect those coveted ribbons. In the calligraphy category, Fulton said, artists can win $150 for first place, on down to $25 for fifth place.

This year the fair is also featuring a digital art exhibit. Local artists Diane Cassidy of Cupertino and Nancy Tector of Sunnyvale have submitted their art for the special show.

For the kids of the 4-H, it's the recognition of their work--and the ribbons--that count most.

At last year's fair, Tegra Lillie and her partner won a blue ribbon for their honey entry. Her partner won a blue star in another category, which is higher than a blue ribbon.

"I hope we do as well as last year," she said. "I hope I get a blue star."

For Ruben Martinez, Tegra's new partner, there is something even more coveted than that.

"To heck with the blue star; go for best of show, man."

The fair is located at 344 Tully Road, San Jose. It runs daily through Sunday, Aug. 9. Hours are 2 to 11 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends. The cost is $8 for adults, age 13 and up. Children 6 to 12 and seniors from age 60 are $5. Children 5 and under are free. A Family Pak is available for $25. Parking is $5. Rides are extra; unlimited-ride wristbands are available Friday afternoon and Friday evening. A wide variety of entertainment is available, as well as a KidZone, with special exhibits just for kids, an ExtremeZone for teens and adults with rock climbing and other activities, and a Microbrew Fest. For more information call 494-3100 or 494-3200.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 5, 1998.
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