How judges at the Big Butler Fair render decisions
FRANKLIN TWP — Swaddled into her mother’s chest, 21-day-old Sadie Johnston rests peacefully as her mother, Erin Johnston of Butler, carefully examines a number of photographs.
Johnston picks up the photo, her eyes slowly make her way up and down the still image. She appears focused, in an almost tranquil state that matches that of her sleeping child.
“The first step is figuring out which one catches your eye the most,” Johnston said, “which (photo) do you want to see a second time.
“If there is one that’s nice, but not really catching my eye, then that one gets put in its own pile.”
Johnston is one of the judges at this year’s Big Butler Fair. Every year the fair hosts a plethora of categories, from vegetables to arts and crafts where contestants have the ability to win ribbons, cash prizes and, in some categories, the chance to move on to the state fair.
“They judge everything from baked goods, canned goods, hay, grain,” said Julie Worst, co-superintendent at the fair. “Anything you would find a homestead on a farm to arts and crafts. If somebody made it, there’s probably a class.”
Submissions are open to everyone, as people from all over the state submit their prized possession, some coming as far as Punxsutawney, according to Worst.
“I like the competition,” said Julie’s mother, Maria Worst, who is participating in several categories at this year’s fair. “I take this so serious ... like ‘this is my vacation.’ This is my thing to do, and when you get older, you don’t have as much of that competition that you’re used to. This is just my thing.”
The ability to render a judgment can be challenging. While evaluators are given criteria set forth by the fair committee, the level of competition requires a level of professional experience.
“To be a judge, you have to go to school (in that field) or have it as your every day job,” Worst said.
WHAT: Big Butler Fair
WHERE : Fairgrounds at 1127 New Castle Road, Franklin Township
WHEN: June 30 to July 8
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
For instance, April Miller, the judge for the canned goods portion of the fair, is part of the Penn State Extension as an educator for food, families and health, and food safety and quality, as well as a registered dietitian.
“I’m a newer educator in Butler County,” Miller said. “When I started, I looked for how I could get involved with the fair and the farm show.”
Miller used her areas of expertise to evaluate each jar of canned goods.
“The top thing I look for is the seal,” Miller said. “It needs to have a good seal. I make sure that there is a tight pop when I open (the jars) and then check to make sure the top isn’t rusted. And then I’m measuring head space; depending on what you’re canning, there’s a specific amount of head space that you want from the top of the jar.”
If the canned goods fail any of the safety criteria, it’s an automatic failure.
Hannah Dirk, who went to Penn State University and is an avid gardener, returns to the fair as the fruit and vegetable judge.
Dirk had her work cut out for her this year.
“They were pretty consistent entries this year, ” Dirk said. “And that’s where it gets hard and you have to pick that deciding factor. You’re really counting blemishes between them, and some fruit this year was pretty close.”
Katie Collins, who teachers baking and pastry arts at the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School, had help from her 10-year-old son, Caiden, to judge the many entries in the baked goods categories.
It’s a challenge she and her son are both literally and figuratively “eating up.”
“There’s a lot in this category,” Collins said, “so it can be difficult. It really just depends. You can be a little more difficult on the adults than the kids, but some of these kids do phenomenal things and it’s better than some of the adults.”
“It’s amazing that they’re able to do that,” Caiden said.
Like with many categories at the fair, the quality of the entries can make choosing winners difficult.
“What makes it hard is whenever you get four or five that are really good that you like all of it, and you can’t pick a first best,” Collins said.
“If I have a hard time picking first place, I’ll try to pick something that you’re not going to go to a bakery and maybe find, something that is more of a challenge.”
Among the winners was Rachel Katsko, 16, who won best in show for a third year in the row in one of the photography categories. Shooting with a Nikon D3 200, Rachel’s prize winning shot was that of her cat, Little Gray.
“She was laying on my bed,” Katsko said. “And I just liked the way she was positioned, and I happened to have camera there, and I just took a picture of her.”
