Pictured are some of the estimated 25,000 folks who are expected to visit the Prairie Peddler this year near Butler. Son Brian and daughter-in-law Kathy are in the right foreground in gray/blue denim shirts as they wander the picturesque, wooded setting.

THE PRAIRIE PEDDLER—

It is a crafter’s extravaganza in the hills of rural Richland County near Butler and is celebrating its 20th season with this year’s back-to-back weekends; two days in late September and finishing on October 6th and 7th.

Officials expect more than 25,000 folks to visit the four-day event this year held at the facility’s 130 acre rolling, wooded site.

It is a juried event meaning crafters have to meet rigorous standards in the quality and variety of the products they make and offer for sale.

Each crafter has a booth area which, itself, must meet the style of an old prairie village and crafters themselves are costumed in dress of the old west or even earlier, colonial period.

This year’s show features more than 180 booths with an additional 20 plus vendors of food delights.

Fans also are treated to musical entertainment and craft demonstrations every ½ hour throughout the days.

Top that off with horse-drawn wagon rides, a petting zoo and an opportunity to pan for gold to satisfy your entertainment pallet.

Another popular attraction this year was a live scarecrow which simply lurked quietly near a booth and sent unsuspecting passers-by scurrying off in fits of hilarity enjoyed by both the victims and observers.

Event officials were reluctant to discuss the magnitude of business done during the show but simply multiplying an attendance of 25,000 folks by a conservative guess of each visitor spending an average of, say, $50 and those four days could account for more than 1.25 millions bucks of entrepreneurial commerce.

I noticed tastefully small debit/credit card advertisements in many booths. Since there is very little electrical power either visible or utilized by the vendors I inquired of one exhibitor how they managed to do such modern sales transactions.

She promptly reached under her counter and produced a battery powered, credit card scanner equipped with a keyboard and an antenna, and informed me she simply directed her gadget toward a satellite and had an approved transaction in less than 30 seconds.

And, all this while her colleague stood at his trundle powered lathe and worked on the production of their next, hand-crafted creation.