Maplesville celebrates Heritage Day

Published 5:04 pm Monday, April 16, 2018

By Joyanna Love

By JOYANNA LOVE/Senior Staff Writer

Overcast skies kept some of the usual attendees from the Maplesville Heritage Day this year, but those who did attend enjoyed the day.

For several of the vendors and booths, it was their first time participating in the event.

Erika Moore said she had attended the event previously, but it was her first time to participate as a vendor.

“We’ve always come to this,” Moore said. “We’ve always enjoyed it.”

Her screen-printed T-shirts promoting Maplesville and towels with Alabama themes were for sale.

“It’s been good,” Moore said. “Business has been good.”

Melonie Evans and Jennifer Edge were also enjoying the day selling their soaps and beauty products.

Evans said she enjoyed meeting all the people at the event.

The business partners met because their children were in band together. Edge said it was her first time to attend Maplesville Heritage Day.

First-time vendor Jennifer Jarrett said she was interested in the event because a friend of her family is a volunteer with the Maplesville Fire Department, which hosts the event.

She was selling her homemade jewelry. She said she first started making jewelry after her mom gave her a jewelry-making kit for Christmas.

It was also the first time for Greg Akers of the American Legion his first time attending. He, along with members of Post 216, were talking to attendees about the organization.

“It is a good chance to see local community, see all the crafts, the friendships and the comradery,” Akers said.

Several new members signed up with the organization during the event.

Other attendees have come for multiple years in the past.

“I never miss it,” Billy Singleton said. “It is a wonderful celebration that celebrates the history and heritage of Maplesville that we are all very proud of.”

He said he enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people and see the community support the event.

This year, Singleton was helping run the Chilton County 150th booth, letting people know upcoming events to celebrate the historic occasion.

“Essentially, what we are trying to do is to coordinate activities of the different municipalities to celebrate the establishment of Chilton County. What we are trying to do is encourage the different towns to celebrate that history in their own way,” Singleton said.

Patsy Ratliff, who was attending her fourth Heritage Day, said her favorite part was seeing everyone that comes.

This year, she was selling homemade pies, aprons and rolling pins to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Gay West and the Chilton County Extension Office had a craft set up for children to make birdfeeders out of toasted oat cereal.

Organizer Christine Epperson said the weather did impact the number of vendors, but “all in all, it’s been good.”

Her favorite part is “the fellowship, seeing people come to our small town.”

Funds raised by selling vendors spots benefit the Maplesville Fire Department.

“We are trying to finish our new addition that we have put on to the Fire Department, so we are wanting to buy some new tables and some new chairs and a new TV,” Epperson said.

A larger TV will allow the fire department to complete additional training.

“We have so many videos we were not able to watch because we have a small (TV),” Epperson said. “We just love our small town.”

This was the fourth year that MFD has coordinated the event, but the ninth year for the event to be held.

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