By Kathryn Ross,
WELLSVILLE – The Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce is inviting the public to enter its Scarecrow Contest on the library lawn.
Entry applications are available at the library and at the Chamber and must be submitted by Oct. 10th. There is no fee.
Those entering scarecrows in the contest will be eligible for prizes in three categories, Most Traditional, Most Creative and Youth (for those under 16). Winners in each category will each receive $50 in Chamber Gift Certificates. The public will do the judging and may submit their choices at the Chamber or Library. The Awards will be presented on Oct. 30. The scarecrows will be on display until Nov. 4th.
The rules of the contest require that the entries be non-political, not religious and without explicit content. The Chamber reserves the right to disqualify any of the scarecrows displayed.
Guidelines are available at the Chamber office.
The use of scarecrows to scare crows and other crop eating mammals is centuries old dating from 2500 BC. Indigenous tribes on the North American Continent used scarecrows or bird scarers to protect their crops. German immigrants to the United States made human looking scarecrows dressed in old clothes with a large bandana they called bootzamon which was Americanized into bogeyman.
