HANDMADE HISTORY

Holiday Craft Bazaar started back in 1981

In its 44^th year, Greybull’s Holiday Craft Bazaar will be held at the Herb Asp Community Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Vendors are set to bring fudge, baked goods, knitted and sewn creations, tamales, honey, brittle, local photography and 3D printed items to name a few. New this year, Curtis and Libby Winkler will bring in Nerdy Thrifting; cards, video games and toys; everything geeky and fun. The majority of items are locally handmade.

The bazaar started in 1981 under Bob Holcroft, before the rec district was even formed. In 1994, the rec district took it over from the Beta Sigma Phi group. 

“The most (vendors) we can fit in is the 67 tables, so that’s what we have every year,” said Greybull Recreation District Director Heather Howe. “We usually fill that and have a waiting list.”

THE REGULARS

A longtime Holiday Craft Bazaar vendor is Reg Henderson with his Basin Brittle Company. 

“I was with my grandson back in Michigan and we were going to make blueberry pancakes, but we didn’t have any blueberries,” Henderson recalled. “So, we got the Cap’n Crunch and I took all of the blueberries out of the Cap’n Crunch and we made Cap’n Crunch pancakes.”

Later, at a little café, Henderson was talking to a woman who told him peanut brittle could be made in the microwave. He figured, if he didn’t have peanuts, why not use Cap’n Crunch? It was the first of 106 flavors of gourmet peanut brittle Henderson has developed, which he has sold at the bazaar for at least eight years. 

“You can get regular peanut brittle anywhere, but you can’t get peanut brittle with, for instance… Chili Cheese Fritos with jalapeño, which sounds kind of offbeat, but you know, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, it’s pretty good,” Henderson said. “Sometimes I just wake up in the middle of the night and say hey, let’s try this.”

Any cereal or dried fruit will work, minus cornflakes. Henderson brings his 10 most popular flavors to the craft show, including smoked almond bacon jalapeño. At two to three batches a day in the microwave, it takes him about a month to prepare for a show. Henderson has also developed a recipe book and takes custom orders. 

Another bazaar staple is Morris Smith, who brings in Smith Buggy and Livestock wares. Smith started his business in 1984 as a wagon and buggy building and restoration endeavor. After helping him with 13 sales at the Basin fairgrounds, Smith’s wife Sandra passed in 2010 due to cancer. 

“I downsized it and just kept it going…” Smith said. “I enjoy what I do.”

Smith combines metal and woodworking to create all kinds of art – milk crate bar stools and horseshoe Christmas trees are some of his specialties. He also brings in antiques from Waverly Horse Sale in Iowa, with some items up to 100 years old. 

“A lot of people out there don’t even know what they are. Some of the old timers – Veda Gerrard, 95 years old – it’s hard to fool them,” Smith said. 

Among Smith’s collection sits a little wooden moose. “Poopsy” drops an M&M when his head is pressed. 

“You’ve got to pet the calf to catch the cow. If you get the kid to stop and look, mother will probably buy something. That’s my logic,” Smith said. 

“Curiosity kills the cat. They come back to see, what does Morris got this time?”

Linda Patrick of River Road Honey has been at the Bazaar since at least 1988. She was the rec center’s first secretary, and she’s sure Holcroft roped her into it. She remembered the event started out smaller and has grown over the years – her family has never missed one. 

The Patricks purchased River Road Honey in 1984 and Linda became a full-time beekeeper. The bazaar has been a place for them to display their product in jars as small as two ounces and as large as five gallons, with buyers swarming to their booth for both gifts and personal use. 

This year, Linda’s son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Bree Patrick, will be running the show. They have a few new ideas hidden up their sleeve, which Linda was “not supposed to share.”

A GREYBULL TRADITION

Howe credits the bazaar’s success over the years to its written-in-stone date of the first Saturday in December, prime Christmas shopping season. Vendor fees also remain low compared to nearby sales. 

“I do the best right here in Greybull,” Smith reported. This year, it will be the only show he attends. 

Another reason for the bazaar’s continuation is the sense of community it brings. 

“There’s a lot of visiting and a lot of catching up every year. It’s been going on so long it’s kind of a social event. It has kind of become a tradition for people. You see the same people come together every year to shop,” Howe said. 

Henderson, Smith and Patrick all agreed that one of the best parts is the people. 

“When you go to a craft show, it’s almost a family reunion once a year,” Henderson said. 

“My favorite part is seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time,” Patrick said. 

“I’ll keep coming back as long as I’m able,” Smith said.