Greenlawn set for pickle festival

By Michael R. Ebert
michael.ebert@newsday.com

If you like pickles, then why not try some pickle-flavored popcorn? Or a garlic dill? Or how about some half-sour pickles sold the old-fashioned way right out of the barrel?

And that’s just the beginning. The pickle-serving styles are endless at the 2007 Pickle Festival hosted by the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association this weekend. The finger-licking event, which is in its 28th year, is ready to welcome some 2,000 residents to the John Gardiner Farm at the corner of Park Avenue and Little Plains Road, Greenlawn, for a variety of jams, jellies and pickled products.

“It’s amazing how many people love pickles,” said Deanne Rathke, executive director of the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association. “This is our way of paying tribute to Greenlawn’s early pickle industry, which had a big impact on building up the village.”

For the second straight year, the festival takes place at the historic Gardiner Farm, which is fitting since Alexander Gardiner is considered to be Greenlawn’s “Pickle Pioneer,” Rathke said. In the late 1800s, Gardiner proposed that local farmers try growing pickles, while building processing plants and establishing a freight depot along the railroad tracks.

The local pickle industry boomed until a white pickle blight struck in the 1920s, Rathke said. Some 80 years later, the farm was donated to the historical association when Gardiner’s grandson passed away in 2003. The festival was moved to the farm in 2006.

“The original farmhouse was built in the 1750s,” said Rathke, noting that little has changed since the 1860s, except for the addition of a bay window and central heat in 1910. “The house remains without bathroom facilities and with running water only in the kitchen.”

During the festival, part of the three-acre farm will be transformed into a corn maze, with hayrides also available for those wishing to tour the grounds. Farm-fresh pumpkins and other produce will also be offered, along with homemade cakes, cookies, and pies. Glen Cove-based Allen Pickleworks, Inc. will be supplying the thousands of pickles.

“Up until five years ago, we would actually can and jar all the pickles ourselves,” said Rathke of the historical association. “Not anymore. It’s a time-consuming process.”

The Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association’s 2007 Pickle Festival is slated for 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday at the John Gardiner Farm, 900 Park Avenue, Greenlawn. Donations are $2 for adults and free for children under 12. Everyone donating receives a Heinz pickle pin. For more information, call the historical association at 631-754-1180.