by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
Like many of the other communities in the area, South Brunswick used to be a lot more rural than it is today.
Over the years development has spread over the land, creating the bustling town that exists today. While a drive down Route 1 in rush hour might convince many that the country aspects of the municipality of completely vanished, there still are some traditions from the town’s farming days that are alive and well.
On Saturday, one of those traditions will take center stage when Miller Memorial Presbyterian Church on Ridge Road holds its annual Strawberry Festival from 4 to 7 p.m. on church grounds. The festival has been held every year for nearly 50 years, according the Rev. John Maltby.
”In the late 1950s, in small towns, it was traditional to do social things related to agriculture,” the Rev. Maltby said. “Unlike now, everyone was growing stuff back then. Today, we like to pretend we are still country, but I guess we are pretty suburban.”
The festival was first organized in the late 1950s and early 1960s by a church group called the Woman’s Association, led by church members Ruth Barnard and Evelyn Corbett.
In its early years, church members would go out in the evening and pick strawberries from the Hugo Bishoff farm on Major Road, and then prepare various dishes with them for the festival. The Rev. Maltby estimated that about 40 people attended the first festival, when he was still relatively new to the church. He said he did not know at the time that the festival would still be running a half-century later.
”I thought we would do it for a couple years and that would be it,” the Rev. Maltby said. “It has really become a big tradition here though.”
Today the festival draws about 120 people every year, and is run by an ad hoc committee. The festival will feature strawberries grown locally at the Von Thuns Farm on Ridge Road, that were collected by volunteers and purchased with donations, according to festival organizers Gina Grennen and Betty Mertz.
On sale will be strawberry shortcake and other strawberry dishes, along with Sloppy Joe sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers. Also available will be apple and strawberry rhubarb pies prepared by the Rev. Maltby. All proceeds will benefit the local mission of the church.
”Everyone in the community is welcome to come, it is a great way to meet other people in the area,” Ms. Mertz said.
This will be the Rev. Maltby’s final strawberry festival as pastor of the church, as he is set to retire at the end of July after 50 years of service at the church.
He will be on hand to share some pictures, memorabilia and stories of the church and its members.
