Mud Sale 04/16/2013
One of my favorite road trips is a Saturday morning drive to a Lancaster County Mud Sale. Mud Sales, so named because they usually occur in the spring when the ground is often wet and muddy, are auctions held to raise money for the local volunteer fire companies. For me, they offer the opportunity for some seriously good eating.
Despite the presence of lots of visitors, some from hundreds of miles away, Mud Sales are not a made-up tourist event. They give the nearby farmers a chance to buy necessary farm equipment before the planting season, along with a chance to shake off the winter, reconnect with neighbors, and eat a donut or two.
This year I visited the Peach Bottom Mud Sale in the southwestern corner of Lancaster County. Mud Sales are not held in places built for large groups of visitors. Thus, my slothful arrival at noon required me to trek a mile or so through various fields to reach my destination. I am grateful that on that day, at least, the Mud Sale did not live up to its name and my shoes and I arrived relatively dry.
Looking out over the open field where the Mud Sale was being held, I was struck by three things. First, despite having worked with Amish and Mennonite merchants in the Reading Terminal Market for more than 25 years, I had never seen 200-300 people dressed in "plain clothes" at one time.
Second, I counted four different auctions going on simultaneously. While what is sold varies from one Mud Sale to another, at any given time some combination of the following is being auctioned: new and used furniture, quilts, crafts, farm machinery, tools, groceries, buggies, lawn & garden items, barns, utility sheds & trailers, construction equipment, horses, mules, goats, lambs, chickens, rabbits, roosters, trees and bushes.
Third - and most importantly - I discovered the source of one of the most important Mud Sale traditions: BBQ chicken. Huge plumes of smoke led me to the sight and smell of hundreds of chicken pieces being grilled over smoldering coals. A handful of Amish men who, despite the heat of the task at hand, tended the chicken dressed in traditional garb, including black coats.
Between flipping chicken pieces, the grill man directed me to a large tent where the chicken was available for sale. Despite my need for immediate gratification, I stopped along the way to the food tent to admire the rows and rows of bedding flowers.
To sustain myself, I sampled some Lebanon Bologna. The woman selling the assorted Pennsylvania Dutch meats and cheese was initially put off as I photographed her wares, but warmed up when I promised not to take any pictures of her.
Once at the food tent, I discovered that the chicken was as good as advertised and I wisely stopped at two pieces, in order to allow myself a donut or two. Working my way through the crowds must have burned up a few calories, after all.
Making my way back to the car, I passed young Amish boys with wooden wagons filled with assorted flowers. These young entrepreneurs offer to transport purchases to the cars of folks attending the Mud Sales for a small fee. It was nearly impossible to not take a picture of these young boys dressed in black suits, but knowing that this would be offensive to them, I held back.
Visiting with two women waiting for their Amish "porter," I learned that the Mud Sale in Gordonville the previous month had an even better selection of baked goods.
Well, as they say in baseball, there is always next year.
Click here to visit padutchcountry.com