Politics and Barbecue Share Stage at Fancy Farm Picnic

On a warm August afternoon, the smell of barbecue meat mixes with the heated words of a dozen politicians to make the small community of Fancy Farm, Kentucky the political center of the state. Fancy Farm is a small community in western Kentucky that has held an annual picnic and barbecue for 129 years. It has been an important stop for state candidates for the last 75 years.

The speakers gather at the old school grounds to orate to several thousand residents and picnic visitors. Many other picnic goers come to purchase some of the 19,000 pounds of barbecue meat, eat a traditional home cooked meal, and to play bingo and other games. The picnic is run by local residents as a fund raiser for St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church in Fancy Farm. Since its founding in the 1830s, Fancy Farm has been almost entirely a Catholic community.

Fancy Farm is located on Kentucky Highway 80 about 10 miles west of Mayfield Kentucky. Fewer than 1000 people actually live in Fancy Farm though the zip code for the town and nearby rural areas registered 1696 residents in the 2000 census.

The barbecue is prepared on-site in long pits the night before. Mutton, pork, beef, and chicken are all sold by the pound or as sandwiches. The Fancy Farm Picnic was recognized by the 1984 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as "The World's Largest Picnic".

Politicians attend traditional speaking event.

The political scene is reminiscent of an old time political event where candidates deliver short stump speeches to voters without benefit of carefully screened audiences or TelePrompTers. Crowds are not always respectful. Hecklers, sometimes organized into bands, have been known to attempt to drown out speakers they disagree with. Still, it does give voters as well as the new media a chance to see candidates for the same office sitting side by side, and sometimes addressing each other directly and pointedly.

Local and state wide newspapers and television stations give the picnic extensive coverage since it is the unofficial kickoff of the fall campaign season. That is why most statewide candidates regularly speak at Fancy Farm despite the heat and possibility of being heckled.

The first annual picnic was held in 1880. The event was likely scheduled in early August because of the down time for farmers that occur a few weeks before the tobacco harvest. By the 1930s, politicians started making speeches to the gatherings. The picnic was popularized by A. B. "Happy" Chandler (1898-1991) who spoke in 1931 during his first statewide race for lieutenant governor. He later served two terms as governor and last ran unsuccessfully for the office in 1971. He continued speaking at the picnic occasionally even after he was no longer a candidate.

Heat and hostile audience can be a challenge.

Other notable politicians who spoke at the picnic include Alben W. Barkley (1877-1956) who was born on a farm about six miles away in a log cabin. He served the state as senator and was elected vice president in 1948 along with President Harry Truman. Albert Gore, Jr. (1948- ) spoke at the picnic in 1992 while running successfully for vice president with Bill Clinton. George C. Wallace (1919-1998) who ran for president as an independent in 1968, and ran for the Democratic nomination in 1964, 1972, and 1976, attracted a large crowd to the picnic when he spoke in 1975.

The political temperature at the August 1, 2009 picnic will be turned down a notch since there are no state wide races this year, and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has announced that he will be vacationing with his family instead of appearing. Kentucky US Senator Jim Bunning has announced that he will not seeking re-election in 2010 and will not attend. Bunning has said after previous picnics that the hecklers in the crowd were getting out of hand. Senator Mitch McConnell and local Congressman Ed Whitfield are also not attending this year.

Candidates for the US Senate will be the political highlight of the picnic.

Those who are scheduled to attend include: Republicans Trey Grayson and Rand Paul (son of 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul), both of whom have formed exploratory committees to look at possible runs for U.S. Senate. Businessman Bill Johnson Will also attend as a candidate for the Senate.

On the Democratic side of the Senate race, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway are speaking, as has former U.S. Customs agent Darlene Fitzgerald Price. Louisville businessman Maurice Sweeney, who is also running for the Senate in 2010, will also attend.

Fancy Farm and much of rural western Kentucky were once heavily Democratic in their voting preference, but that has changed considerably over the last few decades. Republican John McCain won 63 per cent of the vote in Graves County (the county containing Fancy Farm) in November 2008. George W. Bush won 61 per cent in 2004.

The economy in western Kentucky and Graves County has also been in decline, perhaps giving voters added reason to listen to the promises of the speakers. Most of the manufacturing jobs that once sustained the region, are closed. About 1300 jobs were lost in 2007 when the General Tire plant in Mayfield ceased production.

Agriculture is still important to the community though tobacco farming, a very labor intensive occupation, has declined in importance. Most farms have too small an acreage to support a family and most farmers have full time jobs as well.

Though the community has had rough economic times, homes and barns are generally well maintained as might be expected in a close knit community that has been occupied by the same families for seven generations. The name "Fancy Farm" was given to the community about 1843 by a postal inspector who came to see about opening a post office and was impressed by the "fancy farm" of his host, John Peebles.

Beyond the politics, to the residents of Fancy Farm the picnic is a family reunion as many people who grew up there, return to catch up on a year's worth of gossip. And especially it continues a tradition that connects the generations and wears everyone out with all the work.