Back to the final night of the Uke Fest... At the Sunday night jam, it was decided that everybody who wanted to go to Sechler's would meet in the hotel lobby at 10:00 a.m. Four of us showed up at the appointed time, and we formed a mini caravan to St. Joe -- Sechler's home base. When we arrived, we found we had just missed a tour, so would be waiting 20 minutes or so in the gift shop. No problem! We had a great time there checking out the pickles and pickle-related merch.
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| Sal and Bruce, wearing the required hair and beard nets, posing by a photo of Frank Sinatra -- a fan of Sechler's products. |
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| Sal with some of the pickles Sechler's makes. I never knew there were so many varieties! |
After we had been perusing the jars of pickles for a while, it was time to start our tour. As the ladies began to don their hairnets, it was discovered that something was amiss. Tabitha was not wearing closed-toe shoes, which are required. The tour guide asked if she had other shoes in the car. She had Crocs. Nope -- Crocs are too slippery. Tour denied!
Tabitha generously encouraged the rest of us to go on the tour, which we did. As we left her, it was suggested that she write a song about her sad plight while waiting for us to return.
The tour was very interesting! I won't give details about the pickle-making process, but if you are ever near St. Joe, Indiana, I highly recommend going to Sechler's! You will learn a lot and have fun, too.
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| One little taste of the tour... These giant wood vats hold thousands of pounds of cucumbers in brine. They age in them for 3-9 months before being processed into delicious pickles. |
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| Sal with our friendly and informative tour guide. |
At the end of the tour, I wanted to buy some pickles to take home, but I'm not really a pickle person. I consulted with our tour guide, who suggested that I accompany her to the pickle tasting bar and try the Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles. They were delicious, so I bought four jars -- one for myself and three for gifts. (One lucky person has not yet received her jar of pickles. Are you hoping it's you?)
There was a sign in the shop suggesting that visitors pose for a photo with the "giant pickle." Of course we had to do this!
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| Our little group. Notice Tabitha's open-toed shoes, and lack of hairnet. Maybe next year... |
Tabitha made good use of her time while the rest of us were on the tour. She did write a song! We ended up playing and singing it at a picnic table next to the factory. A few other visitors came by and talked with us, and then a Sechler's employee asked if she could take a video for their Facebook page. Of course we agreed! Click here to watch it!
If you would like to sing Tabitha's funny song, here are the lyrics. They are to be sung to the tune of You Are My Sunshine.
I went to Woodburn, to lovely Woodburn,
to sing and play my mighty uke.
Then went to Sechler's, a-wearin' sandals,
and I could not see the cukes.
I love them pickles, them crunchy pickles,
but alas I could not go.
For wearin' sandals, in pickle factories,
is apparently a big no-no!
In my endless quest for photo ops for Sal, I saw a cornfield across the street and decided to ask my companions if they would be willing to do another faux busking shot there. Being the extremely cool people they are, they said "yes," and a nice lady took the pictures for us.
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| Who would busk in front of a cornfield? The Cleveland Jumping Fleas! |
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| Too much fun! |
We could put it off no longer. It really was time to go home.... Sigh...
On a happier note... while going from ukulele paradise to real life is always tough, this fun stop made the transition a lot less painful. Perhaps stopping at the pickle factory will become a post-Uke Fest tradition...
Thanks Sechler's! I'm really enjoying my Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles -- and some great memories, too! :)
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