The Fair

Days til fair: 209
Fair fact: Name was changed to Northwest Washington Fair instead of Nooksack Valley Produce Fair in 1922.
Weather: Snow!

All’s fair

Record-breaking snow is heading our way, the predictions say.

Good weather for baking. Try this prize-winning banana bread recipe from Naomi Hanowell of Blaine, published in “100 Years at the Northwest Washington Fair.”

We love memories from Willie Feller of Lynden of buying two bananas for a nickel at the fair. It was her favorite fair-going lunch when she was a little girl in the 1920s. “They had ice cream cones for a nickel, too,” she remembered. If you had a dollar you could be all day at the fair.”

Stay warm and cozy!

Banana bread
Naomi Hanowell of Blaine

“I'm pretty sure I've attended the fair every year since I was a little girl,” says Naomi Hanowell, who grew up in Whatcom County and has lived in Blaine for nearly 20 years. 

About 10 years ago, she was part of a Young Mothers parenting group and “our leader suggested we all enter something into the fair. I made this banana bread that my mom has been making since I was a little girl,” says Hanowell. “I got the blue ribbon!”
She still has the ribbon, a picture of her bread, and her entry form with the judge’s comments: “moist and tasty.”

3 ripe bananas, peeled
3/4 cup honey (or 1/2 cup white or brown sugar)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mash peeled bananas in a medium bowl.
Add melted butter.
Add baking soda, flour, honey or sugar. Stir until ingredients are just mixed.
Pour into a greased and floured bread pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes or until done.

See you at the fair!
Sarah Eden Wallace