Friday, July 10, 2009

Torrey's Big Apple Day Parade and Pie Eating Contest

Every summer on the Saturday nearest Independence Day, people from across the state and nation arrive in Torrey to celebrate Big Apple Days. The festivities begin with the Boy Scout Breakfast at 7:00 AM and conclude with a dance that night at the Big Apple pavilion. Throughout the day visitors, neighbors, families and friends gather to watch the parade, go to the swap meet, participate in the Little Miss Apple Day Pageant and cheer at the pie eating contest.

Since I hadn't seen any large apple orchards, I asked our neighbor why it was called Big Apple Days. She said she'd heard that, in the early days of settlement, many towns in the west held boxing matches in local arenas. While watching a match in Torrey, one of the local men said, "This is more fun than the Big Apple." The boxing arena (now the dance pavilion) was called the Big Apple ever after. And now, instead of boxing, we celebrate Big Apple Days.

2 comments:

  1. Mary and Scott,

    I can't tell you how excited I was to find out that someone else is building a straw bale home in Wayne County. It has been my dream for 15 years to build a straw bale home. As soon as we sell our home in Provo we will be moving down to Wayne County. Probably somewhere near Fremont. We are still looking for property but are getting close to nailing it down. I have a number of questions for you in regards to working with the county. If you could email me aaron@healthymarriage.org I would appreciate it. Thanks, Aaron Larson

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember as a child attending dances on hot summer nights at the Big Apple on Main Street in Torrey. We would walk from my Great-Grandmother's house to the dances where I would sit on my grandfather's shoulders and watch people from all over Wayne County cut a rug. Do the residents of Torrey still put on these monthly dances? mikethompson@usa.com

    ReplyDelete