Comsog Fall Festival Celebrates Harvest Time on the Island

By ALEXIS TONTI

Sunday was a cold and blustery day, coming at the end of that kind
of weekend, gray all around. Because of all that grayness, the bright
sign stood out even more. Red lettering against a yellow background:
COMSOG Fall Festival, 12-3, Free Soup.

Organizers knew what they were doing with that sign, the promise of
warmth on a chilly afternoon. Though they bundled up to do so, in wool
caps, fleece jackets and thick sweaters, people still came to the
festival, held on the grounds of the Community Solar Greenhouse off New
York avenue in Oak Bluffs.

Festival is almost the wrong word for the event. The afternoon more
had the feel of a sprawling backyard block party. Good food, hot dogs
and baked goods and, of course, the free pumpkin soup supplied by Linda
Jean's. Good neighbors, everyone standing and talking in groups of
three and four. Good fun, face painting for the kids and pony rides. The
greenhouse, a white, tented structure, was open for people to walk
inside and see what it was all about.

The benefit part seemed almost an aside. The member-manned tables
were there, selling everything from homemade jelly to "trifles and
treasures" to plants. And all proceeds will go to COMSOG. But as
COMSOG president Thalia Scanlan admitted, the day isn't
necessarily about profit.

"We'll make a little money, but that's not the
main function," she said. "And who knows this year, with the
day being like it is." She stood a few feet away from the soup
table, with member Arlene Scotland. "We have a good time.
It's a nice, neighborhood thing, with a down-home kind of
feeling."

She explained about the organization. "We have more than 200
members, and we operate the greenhouse on a volunteer basis. We start
seeds and propagate plants. People come in and dig and play, like an
adult sandbox." Ms. Scotland nodded her agreement.

"It's nice in the winter," Ms. Scanlan continued,
"when it's cold and rainy outside. We get the coffee pot
going, people bring in brownies or something. It smells so good in there
with the growing things. We garden together and we're learning
together, but it's nice just to get together."

An older man in blue blazer approached, but Ms. Scanlan stopped him
with a raised palm. "It's being reheated," she said.
"Just a few minutes."

"I need to be reheated," the man said. He smiled and
pulled his blue blazer tighter around him. He moved away and stopped to
listen to the brass musicians playing nearby.

As they waited for the soup (everyone, it seemed, was waiting for
the soup, put off momentarily by Ms. Scanlan and Ms. Scotland), Bill and
Lupe Legge wandered about. They stopped at one display and peered into a
water-filled jar in which a tiny frog swam about.

"We live on the mainland and came over for the weekend,"
Mr. Legge said. "My mom's a member. We figured we'd
come over, walk around, see what's available."

Mrs. Legge tugged at his arm and nodded her head in the direction of
the soup table, where a line of nearly 20 people had materialized.
"The soup's back," she said. And off they went.

Volunteer Joan Fresher stood behind the membership table. Between
bites of hot dog, she helped others with apples and hot cider.
"This is the most public thing we do," she said, considering
the day. "We like to show people how we do things. This is a
community garden, and we need community support. We need this day to
acquaint people with what goes on here."

A few feet away from the membership table, Oak Bluffs residents Carl
and Anne Parsons stood with Jim Davis. "We come every year,"
Mrs. Parsons said. "We have friends who are members. It's
fun, and we like to support the cause. We did some baking, contributed
that to them to sell."

"This is just a nice little, friendly group," Mr.
Parsons said, sweeping his arm in a gesture to indicate the entire
affair. "It's too bad about the weather. Other years, there
have been maybe double the amount of people." He stuffed his hands
back into his jacket pockets.

Robert Potter had come with his wife, Deborah, and their two
children. "We're having a good time," he said.
"We came for the horses for the kids, and to make some donations.

"Yeah, they got two rides this year," he added,
half-addressing his twin girls, Charlotte and Samantha, who smiled up at
him. "Since you were so good, you got a second ride."

They excused themselves and made their way over to the COMSOG Fall
Festival fun photo set-up, with its bales of hay and dried cornstalks.
Mrs. Potter and the children put their faces through cardboard cut-out
holes, their faces becoming those of smiling pumpkins.