Easy as pie

Event growing 'in baby steps'

GEORGE — When they called it a giant cherry pie, the residents of George weren't lying.

The pie, an impressive size at 8 feet by 8 feet, was the biggest draw in a virtual smorgasbord of big draws, as the town of George marked its 48th year, and 48th Independence Day all-day celebration Monday.

People gathered around a little before noon to see and snap photos of the pie, and came back after noon to get their free piece. Some headed off in search of ice cream to top their piece off a la mode, but many just ate it right there.

Participants also had the opportunity to shop several vendors' booths of merchandise, get their face painted, listen to live music and watch or partake in a cherry pit spitting contest and pie eating contest.

It was Sam Besel's first year at the event, as he recently moved to an Ephrata assisted living facility from Hawaii. But Besel had a connection to the town's history: He had worked as a stockboy in a Toppenish drugstore owned by George town founder Charlie Brown about 60 years ago.

"I was working at the restaurant across the street, and he said, 'You work full time?'" Besel recalled. "I said 'Yeah,' and he said, 'You have any spare time?' I said 'Yeah,' and he said, 'Well, we need a stockboy, especially on weekends.' I said 'OK, I'll be your stockboy.'" Besel worked for Brown for about two years.

Besel remembered Brown as "the best. That man didn't mistreat anybody, he was kind and he gave you the benefit of the doubt."

Sherly Fischer said she had probably attended 20 of the George celebrations, and was in attendance even though she has since moved on to Seattle.

"I miss everybody," she said. "(The celebration) gets everybody together, working together. We have a wonderful time."

George resident Sara Jane Prchal said she has been coming about 13 or 14 years.

"Just the local people — you get to see everybody," Prchal said of her reasons to keep coming back. "It's your local people, so you just know everybody and it's really fun."

Hannah Paine, 10, came in first in the pie eating contest for the under-12 set by finishing her piece the quickest.

"It was really hard, but I just kept going and just never give up," she said. Hannah was on vacation in George from Spokane.

Quincy resident Trevor Hyer said he wasn't sure how he was victorious in the over-12 pie eating contest.

"I just sucked it up," he said of finishing his slice the fastest, adding that he's been in attendance ever since he can remember. "This place has great atmosphere, lot of fun stuff to do, lot of food, lot of drinks, lot of people to see, lot of friends to chat with."

With a distance of 39 feet, Robbie Wilson, 13, also on vacation, was the big winner in the pit spitting contest, his first time participating.

"I just had to spit as hard as I could to get it as far as I could," he said of his secret to success.

Event staff member Mary Lou Krautscheid, a member of the George Community Hall board and a member of the womens' service club, the George Burkettes, has also been a participant for 20 years.

"This is our future, it's our past and if we don't continue having this event, it will die," she said. "We started out with a small town here. Everybody moved here, nobody had family. This is where everybody met, this is where families did their stuff together on the Fourth of July." Krautscheid said the fun part is getting people who aren't from around the community, but have heard somehow about the event and come from elsewhere in the country.

"People on the East Coast do not know that there's a George, Washington," she added, noting that she went to Washington, D.C. last September with several other George residents. "People back there thought we were making a joke when we told them that we were from George, Washington. So the East Coast doesn't know we exist."

Krautscheid noted that in two years, the town of George will be 50 years old. She and other members of the George Hall board are hoping to make the event larger, with the possibility of adding a carnival and more things to do. Small towns can put on big events, she said, but it takes everybody helping and the donations from those who turn out for the event and those living in the outlying areas.

"Right now, it's just a few people just trying to do it all," she said. "It's a lot of work. We're trying to make it grow a little bit each year, but it's growing in baby steps, not giant steps at all."