Hand mowing draws all ages

Nearly every year since the late 1960s, the young and the old with a special loyalty to hand tools gather to show their skills at the Addison County Fair and Field Days hand-mowing competition.

Lucien Paquette died last week at the age of 105. An icon of the agricultural community, he was widely known as the Father of Addison County Fair and Field Days.

NEW HAVEN — Quiet can be hard to find at Field Days, but around the back of the cornfields, the “hand mowing” contest draws those who appreciate a practice of listening and focus.“We’re just out here cuttin’ grass,” said Tim Williams, a competitor from Ly … (read more)