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Herbs add flavor to Canfield Fair’s Western Reserve Village
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Mary Grace Fowler of Boardman is chairwoman of the Holborn Herb Growers Guild. The guild tends to two public gardens, one in the Western Reserve Village at the Canfield Fairgrounds and the other at Boardman Park.
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CANFIELD
Tucked in the southern end of the fairgrounds lies a place where fairgoers can have a rest from the clanging of antique machinery, the music blaring from carnival rides and the braying of animals.
Visitors to the Western Reserve Village, near Gate 7 off state Route 46, can explore an old-fashioned schoolhouse and other historical buildings in a calm environment. And as they take a deep breath, they’ll smell the aroma of basil, sage and other herbs.
The herbs that surround the Western Reserve Village buildings are maintained by the Holborn Herb Growers Guild, a group founded in 1982. The guild tends to two public gardens, one in the village at the fairgrounds and the other at Boardman Park.
“We do our own planting, some from seed, and we’ll cut and dry herbs. Many are perennials,” said Mary Grace Fowler, of Boardman, the guild’s garden chairwoman.
Fowler said fairgoers often don’t realize that herbs dot the landscape of Western Reserve Village, which is a reconstruction of pioneer life in Mahoning County.
“It’s one peaceful place to go at the fair, and you can see the buildings in the restored village,” she said, adding that guild members are at the fair to provide information about the herbs and how to grow them.
In Boardman Park, the herb garden includes the Shiller-Chuey Summer Kitchen, a small historical building donated by Dr. Carl Chuey in 1985 that was originally built on the Schiller family farm in New Springfield.
The guild is known for drying globe, statice, blue salvia, apple mint and other herbs inside the kitchen for use in wreaths to decorate the St. James Meeting House in December.
Judy Moore, of Poland, a longtime guild member, said the herbs have many uses.
“They are medicinal. Mint is used in teas to settle upset stomachs. They have culinary purposes in addition to the flowers that are used for decorative purposes,” Moore said.
Herbs are found in many recipes, such as basil in pesto, sage on chicken and cilantro in salsa, Moore said.
The guild has about 50 members, and many are a “wealth of knowledge when it comes to herbs,” Fowler said.
The tips for beginning herb growers are simple: Plant what you like and what you think you’ll use. Fowler said most herbs take full sun, need regular watering and can be grown in pots.
If those who are interesting in learning more about the group miss the guild at the Canfield Fair, the next meeting will be 6 p.m. Sept. 18 at Boardman Park.