The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

While those on the outâ€" side have little knowledge of what’s required to cre- ate a production this size, and those within fulfill vol- unteer responsibilities with little fanfare, l, as a barely visible bystander, am totally amazed at the enormity of the task. Markham is no longer a bustling little village sur- rounded by extensive farm properties plus pockets of sleepy Anglo-Saxon neigh- bourhoods. Whitchurch-Stouffville, although spared the rampage of urbanization seen all-too- close to its southerly border, has changed considerably also. With more changes to come. But, true to tradition, the fair continues to host such agriculturally-tuned events as calf, sheep and goat com- petitions, rabbit, pigeon and poultry shows, horse and tractor pulls, old-tyme fiddler contests, hotdogs, hamburg- ers and bacon-on-a bun. All top-flight entertain- ment and taste-bud treats. Country benevolence at its best. Let's not lose the flavor. - - The big show, largest of its kind in Canada, swung wide its turnstiles this morning, welcoming a hoped-for 60,000 people during a four-day period. Markham Fair doesn't just happen. Committed people make it happen, a selfless example of cohesive contiâ€" nuity unequalled anywhere. While togetherness is obviously a key to the fair’s success, it takes more than holding hands and united hurrahs to produce this allâ€" encompassing achievement. First and foremost, aside from a competent manager and a dedicated board of directors, the society annuâ€" ally enjoys contributions from excellent juniors, some of whom will climb the lead- ership ladder. Second, organizers have worked energetically to retain the roots of agricul- ture and, at the same time, provide original attractions to keep pace with an ever- changing community. And herein lies the crunch. er than corn and cabbage. ()nce productive farmlands have succumbed to slabs of cement and ribbons of asphalt. Few currently come to the fair to see old friends. Most don’t even know their nearby neighbours. However, Markham, like ii or not, has long since lost its country character. The town's now growing houses and shopping centres rath- Suéh is the agony of gr0w~ ingpains. While the face of the Markham area has changed, so have faces within. To a Selling our fair to newcomers i-ho come to the Markham First, the directors must discover what interests our Asian fn‘ends. lesser extent, the same can be said of Whitchurch- Stoufi‘ville. The face of this community is rapidly chang- ing. And so are faces within. Prominent among new- comers are Asians. They now comprise a large percentage of the Markhamâ€"Unionville populace. So what's the fair board doing to accommo- date their interests? Such was the purpose of a letter sent to Stouffvile’s Yang and Diana Poon, retired edu- cators originally from Hong Kong. Their responses were direct. “This doesn’t mean they’re not interested in it, only that they don't understand it," Diana said. This includes aforementioned events such as tractor pulls, horse shows, cows, pigs and sheep. Producing back yard veg- etable gardens, said Diana. “Remember,” she said, “many Asian people have never seen a seedling grow let alone know how to care for it.” What, I asked, could be featured at Markham Fair that might prompt Asians by the thousands to descend on the site? Yang and Diana admit- ted Asians have little basic knowiedge of farming. These attractions aren't to their liking. So what is? “The fair should arrange a basic garden demonstration for beginners," she said. Husband Yang suggested it would be in Markham Fair’s best interests to add Asian singers and dancers to its entertainment format. “Asians love to see and hear their own people,” he said. “These artists would attract large crowds.” Last, but not least, first- generation Asian immigrants enjoy reading newspapers printed in their native lan- guagc. Sound reasonable? Maybe worth a try. At least two peo- ple will nespond. Maybe ten thousand. Iim Thomas is a Smuflvillo resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years. Imagine the result â€" a magnificent floral master- piece with the Markham Fair insignia as a superlative cen- tral theme. Roaming Around with Jim Thomas Ofl EIQIS'J EDIVO NM «1 'M A V'I'IINV VERECHOPS When I was down at one of the meat plants picking out beef today, I noticed quite a few veal racks -â€" and when I inquired, I was told I could have them if I wished. I did wish to have them â€" you can’t always get as many as you'd like â€"- so if you want one of those large, thick, frenehed veal chops for dinner this weekend, we've got you covered. B.B.Q'd is good, cooking them in your ribbed, cast iron pan and flambéeing them is great. % Serve with spaetzle! 0“, â€"Limited Supply â€"â€" 363%.: This cake will need to be bought in pairs (sorry for the pun), one for you and one for everyone else I took one home last night and couldn't bring myself to share it with anyone! (I didn't finished it at dinner â€"â€"- some survived till breakfast, but no further.) It's an amazing, sublime pairing of texture and subtle flavour -â€"- you'll need to get one. The story is this. We are heavfly into the ham business -â€"- but in the old-fashioned way. To many folk nowadays, ham is ham; if you’ve tried one, you’ve tried them all; that is, unless you are old enough to remember what ham originally tasted like before the process of making them became mechanized. Machines? Yes, that’s right. Nowadays, almost all hams (including spiral honeyâ€"baked hams) are put through a process called “tumbling”. It's like a giant dryer, but with the opposite function. This machine boosts ‘yield‘, which means hams grow in weight during the process â€" just read the ‘protein added’ part of the label to find out how much it has ‘grown’. The good part (for the manufacturer) is that: (a) you have more ham to sell because they’ve all ‘grown’ and (b) all the little bits of pork can be put through this process as well because it glues it all together in the shape of a ham ($1.99 lb. supermarket ham). The bad part (for the customer) is that gone for good is the texture, tenderness and flavour that made ham famous in the first place. At our store, we make ham in the timeâ€"honoured, pre-mechanical way â€"â€" by hand. Come pay us a visit â€"â€" we’ll restore your faith in ham! Oven-Roasted Maple Sugar Ham ~ (ltn Hardwood Smoked Black Forest Hams ~ Boneless, whole or half .................................... Traditional Boneâ€"In Hams ~ Whole or Boneless, whole or half ..................................... Corned beet? It must be autumn. There’s no better time to enjoy this cool-weather dish than now. We make our corned beef here ~ using only centre-cut brisket points. We trim them lean and cure them in a savoury brine with an edge of nutmeg and auspice. It’s a slice of old-fashioned heaven ~ but that’s not all. Not only have we reduced our price this week, we’ll give you the recipe for corned gecf ‘n’ cabbage ~ and we’ll give you the cabbage eel (Minimum 2 lb. piece). Reg. $5.99 lb. Lb. ORNED DEEP It’s best to order early! These are a thrill from the grill. They are made with nicelyâ€"seasoned coarse ground pork and lots of grated old cheddar. You may want to let them cool just a touch before digging in because cheddar retains more heat than you might think. .. , 353“%‘15;=n .h '1 1% This is a very vcrsatilc white-fleshed fish from South America. Any recipe which works with roughic, cod or haddock will work well with this. 0 Reg. $9.95 lb. 2 5 OUR CHEDDAR AUSAGES Reg. $4.50 lb. SPECIALS IN EFFECT UNTIL CLOSING SUNDAY OCTOBER 5th INDEPENDENY GROCER Hours: Mon. 11:00â€"7z00 ~ Tucs.~Thurs. 9:00~7:00 ~ Fri. 9:00~8:00 AIAMAN '(OIIIHON 0' mmnnonn OIOC I" IIJAPIA .l FILLETS â€"â€" FRESH lb. lb. lb What I like most about our soups, apart from the flavour for sure, is that the ingredient panel is straight forward reading -â€" it makes me hungry just reading-it, and that's long before it's hot in a bowl looking me in the eye! $333334 25%; AT THE DELI ... - Crisp, fresh, crunchy with sesame seeds, fragrant with sesame oil, juicy with ripe tomatoes -â€"â€" that's our sugar snap peapod salad. It ° be our salad feature this eek w . We‘ll also be making a five-spice crusted grilled Atlantic salmon fillet, which is topped with chive creme fraiche. You will also find a good assortment of roasted root vegetables to put you into an autunm mood, if you're not already. (3001513.: AT THE DELI --- Sat. 9:00â€"6:00 ~ Sun. 10:00â€"5:00 548 Carlton Road, Unionville www. thcvillagegtocer. com son, it’s the same growing and processing technique thatproduceswhatweâ€"andothersâ€"feelarethe best turkeys available. What makes them so good.> It’s simple, really. Firstly, they eat lots of grain and corn-asmuchoraslittleastheywant, because they run loose. Add to this a gentler de-feathering process which leaves more of the natural flavour (and the odd feather) with the turkey, and you’ll have a bird which exceeds your expectations without the aid of the artificial enhancement that Butterballs and pre-basted turkeys receive. Ours are moist (naturally); tender and full of flavour -â€"- and they cook a bit quicker as well. Altho we have pretty much any size above 14 lbs. av ' ble, I would be picking one from 16 to 20 lbs. â€"â€" they seem to have the best meat â€"- and lots of it. Ready to roast! â€" Also, should you wish parts of turkey, including breasts which I - 1 are boneless (either plain or V We’vcsolddxcscamazingmrkcylnowfor 22 cars. Althonglydxcfarmhasghmgcglhandsfiomfg 7 to 940â€"1770 stuffed), they’ll 5e available. SWEET RED PEPPER SOUP 0" THIS WEEK StouflWle Sun-'l'ribune- Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 We’ll have a good supply of great Sweet Potatoes from now till Thanksgiving. They’re grown in South Western Ontario, they’re a FREE~RANGB ‘ good size and 7 look great. ¢ 1 7 9 Lb BWHATELSEIGS ? THIS WEEK O PLAN - Which starts with a shortbread crust, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and apple, with custard baked in, finished with a dust of icing sugar. Reg ............................ $18.95 ea. â€"- and lastly, our pans of lemon- coconut, date and pecan squares will be made in quantity and sold at a feature price. Reg .................... $599-$899 ea. Watch for our Thanksgiving % repetoirc this 3:}; Saturday! ‘ WWW We'll be making WILDBBRRY CUSTARD LOCALI, WEET OTATO