Town of Dryden
Tompkins County,
NY
13053
| Government |
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Supervisor: Steven Trumbull
Principal Municipal Offices: 65 East Main Street
Phone: (607) 844-8619
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Town Board members: Stephen Stelick - Deputy Supervisor, Christopher Michaels, Michael Hattery, Martin Christofferson
Town Board meeting times: second Thursday; 7 p.m.
On the web: www.dryden.ny.us
State Senator: James L. Seward
State Delegate: Barbara Lifton
U.S. Representative: Sherwood Boehlert
U.S. Senator: Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton
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| Housing |
Households: 5,455
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| Demographic
and Economic Information |
Population:13,532
Per Capita Income:$22,415
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Median Household Income:$42,559
Median Family Income:$54,886
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Source: 2000 Census
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| Dryden Dairy Day brings town together |
See more Dryden Dairy Days photos
By Clark Merrefield
Special to The Journal
DRYDEN -- On Saturday, June 12, as it has for 20 years, Dryden Dairy Day brought the Dryden community together to celebrate local dairy farming and farmers.
The day included live performances, a parade, quality time with old friends and, of course, inexpensive milk and ice cream.
"I love seeing people I know on a beautiful day and I think it's nice to celebrate agriculture," said Cathy Paddock, who was busy selling chicken halves to benefit Dryden United Methodist Church. "I think we often really forget that that's how we live from day to day."
First-time Dairy Day attendee Tamar Andrews of Ithaca especially liked the fresh ice cream, priced at only a quarter. "I think it's great," she said. "I love chocolate."
The day began with a 9:30 a.m. parade through downtown Dryden. Antique John Deere and Ford tractors rumbled down Main Street, floats bore slogans such as "Be Healthy, Be Fit, Be a Dairy Farmer," fire engines blared their horns, and children happily collected candy tossed from floats.
"As you walk around and get a feel, it's just a real community event where everybody works together," said Kim Schenck, who organized the parade as well as a pie-eating contest.
Ken Hyson took center stage at 11 a.m., singing songs for the kids, such as "The Ants Go Marching," and a few for adults, like "American Pie." Throughout the day, onlookers enjoyed performances by Beyond Measure -- a youth musical group -- the Dryden High School Jazz Band, a classical fencing demonstration, and Irish Step Dancers. More than a few excited children got the chance to dunk adults in a dunk tank.
Tompkins County Dairy Princess Callan Space could not attend the morning festivities because she was taking the ACT exam, but Space was there in the afternoon to fulfill her duties, talking to Dryden community members and promoting the New York dairy industry.
Patty Ard, an administrator at Cornell University and native of New York City, took in Dryden Dairy Day with friend In-Shik Lee, who owns a private architectural firm. When her family moved to Dryden about a decade ago, Ard was pleasantly surprised to find such an uplifting community event.
"It is so quaint, that's what I like about it," she said.
Lee said it felt like a community rebirth after a long winter indoors.
"You pretty much know everybody that's here," she said. "You'll see people you haven't seen all year here."
But ultimately, the goal of Dryden Dairy Day is to promote the welfare of local dairy farmers, an especially important goal considering that New York state ranks third in the nation for milk production.
According to the June 2004 issue of Northeast Dairy Business, a trade publication focused on the dairy industry, the price of milk in February 2004 was $3.60 per gallon compared to $2.50 per gallon in April 1996. The milk producers received $1.01 per gallon in February 2004, down from $1.03 per gallon in April 1996.
Flyers posted at Dryden Dairy Day claimed, "The average price the producer needed to receive to keep up with retail price increases is $1.75 per gallon."
The two largest dairy farms in the Dryden area are the Beck and Space farms, which provide jobs, but also have helped to drive the small farmer out of business.
"The small ones, they just don't have enough cash flow to make it," said Bill Bartlett, a Dryden resident for 59 years and former dairy farmer. "They keep raising taxes."
Bartlett is now a truck driver for Freeville-based RMS gravel. He was selling woven goods -- small rugs and other tapestries -- underneath a blue tarp tent. He has attended Dairy Day since 1987, hawking his wares each year.
Overall, the spirit of 2004 Dryden Dairy Day seemed to be celebrating the efforts of dairy farmers not just in Dryden, but across Upstate New York.
"I think it brings a lot of exposure to the farmers," Schenck said.
Originally published Wednesday, June 16, 2004 |
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The Dryden Central School Marching Band performs in the Dryden Dairy Day parade Saturday morning on Main Street.
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