Springfield Ruritan's crispy fries are Canfield Fair staple

CANFIELD

When the Springfield Township Ruritan Club fries potatoes, people come. And that’s to the tune of three tons of spuds turned into tasty french fries.

Since 1968, the club has had a french fry stand at the Canfield Fair, said Dave Snyder, a 44-year member of the club chartered March 30, 1954, the first Ruritan club to get its charter in Mahoning County.

“The Ruritan Club is a civic organization whose mission is to make rural communities better places to live,” Snyder said. The club accomplishes that through fellowship, good will and community service.

Snyder said selling fries is the club’s only fundraiser. Ruritans also sell fries at the Columbiana County Fair and Springfield School District football games.

Snyder said the club’s first french fry booth at Canfield was a 10-by-16-feet wooden stand with four burners. The club now has a trailer customized by Caravans Unlimited with new fryers and a heat lamp.

Snyder said the club uses Idaho potatoes No. 1 and 2. Potatoes are washed but not peeled, and then run through a cutter. “We only use peanut oil to fry,” he said. “We think it makes better-tasting fries.”

Read more about their tasty treat and the club's projects in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.