Cullen Baker Fair News

* Instead of just a car show at the Cullen Baker Country Fair in November, this year’s event will include cars, trucks and motorcycles, according to organizer, Michael Endsley. He does plan to put them in categories but the rest will be The People’s Choice.

The show, which will be held in the school’s parking lot, begins at 10 a.m. on Nov. 5, the day of the fair. At that time, participants can register their vehicles. Entry fee for each car, truck or motorcycle is $20.

Michael is well known in the local area as a car, truck and motorcycle enthusiast. He was one of the original members of the local Back Yard Customs group. You can contact him on Facebook. * Step inside this lovely home in Bloomburg and be greeted by covered walls, busy corners and rooms packed with the arts & crafts of Terry Coleman Payne. She has been doing a “little of it” all her working life. Now that she is retired she will have her first booth ever at Atlanta’s arts and crafts show on Oct. 8. Her second show is scheduled for Nov. 5, in Bloomburg where she and husband, Stan, live. They will soon celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Their children still live in Katy, Texas. They both retired in 2020. He stays busy doing retiree jobs in his shop. They both work at remodeling their house.

Terry is the perfect booth person. Friendly, talkative and in charge. As the transportation supervisor for the Katy School District, she honed her speaking skills by often having to deal with the parents of children who had misbehaved on the buses in her care.

She also had to communicate well with groups of teachers and is now ready to further practice her verbal skills selling what she loves arts and crafts.

The name of her booth is, ‘Sawdust & Lace’ Designs.’ Look for it in Atlanta, then again in Bloomburg and after that maybe a few other places.

Terry and Stan lived most of their lives in Katy but fell in love with the local area when visiting friends in Linden. They are now in Bloomburg and are actively taking part in the Cullen Baker Committee meetings on Thursday nights.

Terry is originally from Savannah, Georgia. She loves to make something beautiful from wood and the lids of barrels and, yes, she does her own woodwork from start to finish. Her ideas come from herself, as well as, friends, relatives, Pinterest and YouTube.

So far, 64 vendors have registered for booths on Cullen Baker Day. * If you’ve been in this area in the last 30 years, you probably got the Chip Bricker-Music connection. The man is master of the keyboard, good bass player and oh can he sing. He probably has other talents that I have missed over the years.

These listed are just some that he had when he was 15 and I knew him well.

I’ll never forget the time I asked Chip about playing ‘saloon’ piano for the Jr. Historian western drama we had he was a budding, dedicated piano student but he didn’t think he could do the saloon type. And, at first glance, it does seem to be forbiddingly difficult all over the piano as it is. But Chip Bricker did it at the age of 15. He was a smash hit back then, too.

Then there was the time he came to me with a new difficult song I wanted him to do. It had a booger of a measure in it that Chip said he couldn’t do.

Well, I was tired that day and short on kid diplomacy. To tell the truth, I wished this kid and his problem would go away and leave me in peace, so I said, “Oh, just go over it a hundred times till you get it.” He went away and I thought nothing of it till the next morning and this kid stood beside me once again. He was very happy about something.

“Mrs. Vestal,” he said politely, “I did what you said and I can play it now.”

“What?” I replied bumfuzzled. “You know, you said to play it a hundred times. I did and I can play it now.” Well, I was dumbstruck but that turned out to be Chip Bricker. He has continued to work with music all his life, until, I suspect, he can successfully conquer any musical selection he wants to. Now he uses that talent in the church as a Music Director.

And we who know and remember are especially proud. Chip also had his own music studio for years. But that’s another story. Right now he is in the dad mode with his son, Lane, a coach who plays and sings all over the Ark-La-Tex.

You can see them on stage together at the Cullen Baker Country Fair here November 5. The time will be announced later. Much love to Chip Bricker & Company. He is a local product and he gave us some unforgettable memories. Remember him as the Fonz when he rode his motorcycle in the gym? Fun time!