Dear editor:

As most area residents know, the weather played a trick on us this year.  High winds early Friday morning wreaked havoc on the grounds of the Four Flags Area Apple Festival. Tents were blown down and damaged, paper was everywhere; trash cans were blown over.  The wind didn’t subside until the afternoon.
The many reporters from area television and newspapers who saw the site did not believe we could clean up in time to have the festival.
We did have to cancel he Exceptional Citizens event that is held every year on the Friday of Apple Festival weekend as there were no tents for them to gather in and it was not safe for the rides to run.
However, we were blessed that the many firefighters and electricians who volunteer at the exceptional citizens event showed up to help.  Instead of leaving, they pitched in to restore the festival to its pre-storm condition.
Many other volunteers also worked throughout the day lifting, moving and cleaning as needed.  Guests who arrived at 3 p.m., which is the normal opening time for Friday would not have known the mess that we had in the morning.  Our Friday entertainment was delayed one hour as we had to have our tent contractors put the 80-by-100-foot entertainment tent back up and we had to reset the stage but our gracious guests were very understanding.
So our hats are off to all who helped to make the 39th annual festival a success.  Thanks so much to the City of Niles, the local police and firemen and IBEW Local 153 electricians and all others who helped.
We look forward to our 40th year in 2012.

Pat Teeter
Board of Directors Member