Fun at the Hebron Harvest Fair!

This... is what puts the small town of Hebron on the map.

What once ran as a small fair run by the Recreation Council of Hebron some forty years ago (1971) has become something far bigger.  This past weekend from September 4th through 7th the Hebron Lions Club hosted its annual Hebron Harvest Fair.  

Check the aerial view (not very sound friendly though)

If there is one event in this small farm town that brings everyone together and brings outsiders in, it is the Hebron Harvest Fair.  This is one of the biggest fairs in New England every year and it has become an annual historic event for our town.  Families and friends gathered together as they came to eat fried dough, see animals, hear the band play, or go on rides or play games.  There's so much that everyone can do!

It was great to see the support of the Lions Club and the various booths and groups that came together to support our beautiful town. This is the perfect time of year for our home town to have its harvest.
Events at the fair include the Demolition Derby, dog races, tractor pulls, and art showcases!  There was even a music performance by Rodney Atkins on Sunday, September 7th (feel free to share your pictures!).

The 2014 Demolition Derby!

People listening and dancing to music

A beautiful picture of the Ferris Wheel and sunset

Kiddie rides

The fair at a distance

Lights at the fair

More rides!

Giant sunflowers in the art building!

The fair at night

People walking by the booths

Animals at the fair

Pet bunnies at the fair

All in all, 2014 was another successful Hebron Harvest Fair year.  Thank you Hebron, and thank you Lions Club for another successful year!  Hebron definitely brought out its farm town experience!  I hope you didn't miss it!  For more information about the Hebron Harvest Fair, click here to visit the Hebron Harvest Fair website.

What made this 2014 Hebron Harvest Fair different from the rest?  Post your ideas and thoughts here, and as always, please email your fair pictures to hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com and I may present them up on this blog!  I'd also love to share historic Hebron Harvest Fair pictures if you have them from previous years- it can't hurt to share some Hebron History of our biggest annual event.

Hebron Students Kick Off a New School Year!

This past Wednesday students in Hebron returned back to school!  We wish all of our children in Hebron success as they start a new school year, and we hope that they will have an engaging and successful learning experience!

Gilead Hill School (grades Pre-K to 2nd)

Hebron Elementary School (grades 3rd through 6th)

RHAM Middle School (grades 7 and 8)

RHAM High School (grades 9 through 12)

Welcome back to school Hebron students!  We wish you a successful and safe school year for 2014 and 2015.

And for those Hebron old-timers... as we embark on a new school year, let's take a walk in the past and remember the old RHAM High School...

How times have changed, and so will our children as they grow and learn during another year of school.  Here's to making the best of the 2014/2015 school year!

Hebron Day!

I'm a little late in posting this, but I thought it would be great to remember Hebron Day, a fun event offered last Saturday (8/24/14) at Burnt Hill Park.  This is the first time Hebron Day has been held, and the event celebrated our town and residents throughout.

Hebron Day offered much to our beloved town.  Many groups throughout the town came sucha as the Hebron Democrats, the Hebron Republicans, Hebron Baseball, Hebron Cub Scouts, Pattie Dunn's Gymnastics and many other Hebron clubs and groups all came together and to support our town, offer information about their groups and activities, and sell food, goods, and other novelty items.

The Hebron Cub Scouts

Line of booths at Hebron Day

Pam Sawyer, out state representative was present alongside Gayle J. Mulligan, a running-mate she is endorsing to take her spot as the next state representative in our town (Pam Sawyer on left, Gayle J. Mulligan on right).

There was more than just booths at Hebron Day.  There were also activities throughout the park, including a large moonwalk, a horse ride, and face painting.  Children gathered to play wiffle ball on one of the town's baseball fields.  Later on in the evening, Hebron hosted a concert with Gail Wade, from the band "October Moon."  I was unable to stay for the band (pictures would be greatly appreciated), but the event contributed to an overall successful day.  There were also various activities headed by Parks and Recreation throughout the day, like the hool-a-hoops challenge.

The moon walk adventure

Farmer's Cow cows

Hebron horse rides!

The event was well acclaimed.  Attendance was high, with many families and friends enjoying a fun day.  It is always great to see our town come together and share in the joy of the place we live and love.  When you look out onto one of the baseball fields at the event, and see children playing a game of wiffle ball, and you look around and see lots of activities to keep everyone busy, lots of clubs and organizations sharing their town pride, and lots of smiles and friends, then you know you're at an amazing event for such a wonderful town.

And just remember that this meaning of this event was held to celebrate our beloved town!  There was something for everyone at any age, and our town was well represented by Hebron Parks and Recreation and its various organizations.  This was a Hebron event that concluded our summer with a bang.

As always, please share any pictures you'd like posted of this event by sending them to hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com.

Hebron Fireworks!

The 4th of July is coming and Hebron has had its annual fireworks show at the Lions Fairgrounds this past Saturday (6/28/14).  It was a successful event that brought in a large crowd.  Lots of people there picnicking before the actual fireworks show!  It was free admission to get in and there were various activities to keep people occupied before the fireworks (Hebron Fire Trucks, inflatable slide, hay rides, etc).  Lots of families and friends were making their own fun as well!

But best of all, it was a time for families and friends to come together and enjoy Independence Day in our loving town, Hebron, Connecticut.

Below you will see pictures I took of the fireworks show.  As always, you can email more (or pictures of the picnic and/or summer Hebron pictures) to hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com and I will post them up as soon as I can!  Thank you all for reading and have a great Independence Day!

What's Trending? Brain Freezers!

It's been about just a year since Brain Freezers has come to Hebron, but since then it's been trending.  I've heard tons of residents talking about Brain Freezers even during the winter, including children who insist on going there after school or summer camp days conclude.  I even saw a kid wearing a Brain Freezers t-shirt... I never once imagined Brain Freezers to have fan t-shirts, but hey, that's what's hip and happening in Hebron these days.

Located on 65 Main Street, right next to Gina Marie's, Brain Freezers is a unique hot spot in Hebron.  I have yet to see an ice cream place like it around here.  Brain Freezers offers self-serve ice cream so that you can make your own frozen treat by choosing from 18 flavors and 50 different toppings (info from http://www.brainfreezersct.com/).  And trust me, I've been there.  There is a lot of variety in the toppings to choose from.  Sometimes you can't even decide because you want them all.

Brain Freezers offers a welcoming environment.  Inside it is very clean, and there are tables to sit at, almost like a typical restaurant.  There are also benches and tables outside for people to gather, eat ice cream, and chat.  I guess you wouldn't expect an ice cream place to be so fancy, but we must consider Brain Freezers as the "Frozen Yogurt Cafe."  It fits this title well.

Not only is the place rather unique on the inside, but the ice cream flavors are unique, with flavors like Wild Cherry, Triple Chocolate, Grasshopper Pie, and Cherry Lime Spritzers each offering their own twist in taste. There's enough flavors so that you won't get bored.  To check out the flavors and toppings, check out Brain Freezer's website here: http://www.brainfreezersct.com/toppings/

I urge you to go and try Brain Freezers for at least once this summer.  It's an adventure different from going to a regular ice cream place around town.  And trust me, if you don't go, your kids will want you to go.  It can be quite the family hangout in the summer, and it's what's trending in Hebron these days.

If you have any pictures of you or your friends at Brain Freezers, eating Brain Freezers ice cream, or wearing Brain Freezers t-shirts, or of any Brain Freezers merchandise, then please email me at hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com and I will upload your pictures to this blog post.  Additionally, please post your comments about Brain Freezers here.

Maybe even later this month we can vote on our favorite Brain Freezer's ice cream... who knows.

Snow!

Well, we here in Hebron are at the end of our winter months and we've gotten quite a few snowstorms in the past week.  There's lots of snow outside piled and piled from on and off days of snow and Northeasters coming through the town.  School has been cancelled for quite a few days, and the amount of days piles up with the amount of make-up days for school.  Other than the snow, not much else for news.

I'd be happy to share some of your Hebron snow photos if you email me at hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com.  I will put them on the blog's main page as a post.  A lot of us are sick of the snow, but why not enjoy it while it lasts?  No worries.  The Maple Fest is right around the corner and spring will be here soon.

Just checking to make sure no one is hibernating too much,

Hebron Maple Leaf

           

Hebron: Still a Farm Town?

Imagine yourself two years ago, entering a building with these words etched across the front: "Hebron Pharmacy."  A typical pharmacy containing medicine, holiday and birthday cards, candy, and comic books.  But there's something more.  You make your way to the back, and hanging on the wall are pictures.  Pictures of sports teams.  Sports teams that Hebron, specifically the Hebron Pharmacy, sponsored.  Everyone knew where the pharmacy was; it was a centerpiece, and trademark of the town, aside from Ted's.

Flash to the present day and we see an empty building with nothing there.  Across the street, past the new streetlights, lies the relocated building, now named CVS.  Inside looks much the same.  Many items are similar to what the Hebron Pharmacy offered and sold.  But there are some minor differences.  There's no more sports teams pictures- the sponsors are gone.  Just plain wall, except for some posters supporting CVS.

Today, just ending in 2013, and starting in 2014, we see the Hebron Pharmacy relocate to a bigger store across the street from Ted's.  Two years ago, the store was known as the "Hebron Pharmacy", and it was located right in the Ted's lot- the lot with the largest hustle and bustle in the town.  Now that lot may be challenged.

The Ted's lot is still the most prominent and widely known lot in the town, but across the street, the new CVS store is generating some buzz.  It is a bigger store than the original store in the Ted's lot, and right outside is a large parking lot, similar to the kind you'd find at a Manchester or Glastonbury retail store.  On the street, right in front of the store, is Hebron's new stoplight.  Six months ago, Hebron had two stoplights.  Now the town has three.

 It might not seem like a vast difference, but to those who imagined a more rural farm town are surprised to see a built-up suburban town.

Hebron, known for its quaintness and agricultural make-up, is easily becoming more commercialized right before our eyes. What was once a small farming town with a rusty high school, two small gas stations, and a bakery is now replaced with a new and improved high school, a large gas station with a convenience store, a Dunkin' Donuts, and a CVS.

A lot of these changes have just happened in the past twelve years.  It doesn't really feel like that much, but if one were to go back and look at Hebron 15 years ago, several parts of the town would look a lot different.  So, the new stoplight isn't a big change; however, it is a change to the town, and a reminder that the town might just be headed in another direction.

Whether you hope Hebron will remain the small farm town that it has always been, or you hope the town will advance to a larger more commercialized suburban town, one thing is for sure.  Hebron is changing, just like the world is changing all around us.  As we enter 2014 and put the past behind us, we must learn to embrace and accept our town as we move forward with these changes among us.

The Hebron Harvester - New Blog!

Dear Hebronians and other blog viewers,

My name is Hebron Maple Leaf (or Mr. Maple Leaf), and I have been the mascot entertaining families during the Hebron Maple Festivals.  I first started working at the Hebron Maple Festival back in 2010.  At that time, people didn't really know my name, but I was there.  I didn't gain prominence until 2012, when the name "Mr. Maple Leaf" was posted to my leaf.  Since then, I have been in the Journal Inquirer and various other newspapers covering the story of the Hebron Maple Festival.  Some of the papers have incorrectly stated my name, but hey, that's okay.  They're starting to get it right.  In any case, I have a lot of pride for my hometown and I love to share this pride with my fellow Hebronians.  That's one reason why I've made this blog...

This blog is dedicated to our beloved town, Hebron Connecticut.  In this blog you will learn about news, updates, places, and history surrounding the town of Hebron, Connecticut.  This blog is in no way connected to the newspapers or news sources that cover the town (though I hope someday the news will notice the blog is here and take notice to the information contained in this blog).  This is a resident-made blog accounting the various activities taking place in Hebron, Connecticut.

I have lived in Hebron all my life and I'm a happy and strong Hebronian.  I'm recounting the town's significance not because I have to, but because I want to.  I feel it is my duty to provide commentary and news for our beloved town.  Your input and comments are always appreciated.

If you have any suggestions or stories you wish to be reviewed and posted on this blog, please email "Mr. Maple Leaf" at hebronmapleleaf@gmail.com.  You can also find me on Facebook as the "Hebron Maple Leaf."  My profile is located here: https://www.facebook.com/hebron.leaf.  My Facebook fan page is here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hebron-Maple-Leaf/407415369327154.

I thank you all for viewing my page, and I hope you will all contribute and post to make our Hebron experience fun and enjoyable!

Mr. "Hebron" Maple Leaf