New Bethlehem went nuts for peanuts last weekend for the annual Peanut Butter Festival.
Among the special guests was a Rouen duck named Ozzy.
Ozzy’s owner, Heather Hrynko of Rural Valley, kept her per duck on a leash. She was there for the Jeep invasion Saturday with her duck-themed Jeep. She is a member of the Wild Jeepers club.
“We feed them the feed you get at a store but we have a hot tub at home and sometimes we fill it with water and dump minnows in it. The ducks love to go fishing,” she said.
The Redbank Valley Historical Society put on a Toys of the Past show that brought back pleasant memories for many of the festival attendees.
“It has been very steady,” said Deb Huffman, president of the society. “Everyone had a toy when they were a kid and you can hear people saying, “oh, I had one of those when I was a kid.’ People relate to these toys.”
Huffman had a number of her toys on display including rare porcelain Cabbage Patch Doll. “I saw this in an antique store and had to have it,” she said.
“With the success of the Barbie movie we had to include a Barbie display,” she said. On display was a two-story 1970s Barbie Dream House complete with a pink car and a pink three-wheeler.
“This is my original sled,” he said. “We used to ride down spilly piles.”
He also displayed his Marx Toy Company toy train. “That was made in Erie,” he said. “If I had a transformer it would still work.”
Shilling also brought his original erector set. “I built a Ferris Wheel in our living room one time. I put the little electric motor on it and away it went,” he said.
A steel John Deere tractor that belonged to his son and a mobile home was a gift to the kids because he and his wife had a similar vehicle.
“My old yo-yo is on display. I used to be pretty good at it but I tried it the other day and it doesn’t work so good,” he said.
“There are a lot of memories in here,” he said.
The festival opened Friday and continued Saturday with a 5K race, a peanut butter cook off, a Jeep invasion, pizza eating contest and the parade.
Sunday featured the Knight Cruiser car show, the New Bethlehem Fire Department Chicken BBQ dinner, a duck race and local talent on stage.