Martin, Sally and Powerful Katrina emerged as the winners of the Ramona Grange #632 Scarecrow contest.
And the responsibilities of that title weighed lightly on their straw-filled shoulders.
The contest was conceived by Grange officials as a fun family activity and an ode to Ramona’s agricultural past, said Karen Carlson, who reorganized the defunct organization earlier this year.
She thought the community might enjoy making some “friends” for a scarecrow she found as she was cleaning up the Grange building that members had named Lyle McScaredypants.
Scarecrows — figures resembling humans that are stuffed with hay or straw and dressed in clothing — are placed in the middle of farm fields to scare off crows and other pests from eating the crops.
The contest-winning scarecrows were outstanding in their fields. They were judged on creativity on Oct. 23 by Michelle Armendariz, Grange lecturer, and Julian Prieto, owner of Wild Life Ranch in Ramona, and were on display through Oct. 26.
Martin Colwell took first place honors in the Ramona Grange #632 Scarecrow Contest. (Stephanie Ogilvie)
Each one was built by a Ramona family, less to keep away any errant birds from imaginary crops at the Grange parking lot, but more to celebrate fall and enjoy a family collaboration.
Martin took first place honors. The youngest members of his human family were “jumping up and down when they heard,” said Amanda Colwell. The family, including her husband, Ben, and their three children, daughter Maeve, 7; son Beau, 4 and son Wren, 1 1/2, were involved in every aspect of creating Martin.
With shoulder-length straw-colored hair matching his straw hat, Martin was dressed in a red flannel shirt and distressed jeans held up by a pair of black suspenders.
“We homeschool and we thought it would be a fun way to get the kids involved in something outside of our home,” Amanda Colwell said. “It took a few days to gather all the supplies and for our youngest to make a torrential mess with the hay.”
Sally Carson, the second place winner, was created by Vencie Carson, her son and daughter-in-law Nic and Michelle Carson, and grandson Nicholas Carson, 15.
“We decided to take part in the contest at the last minute,” Vencie Carson said. “Making the scarecrow be a female seemed a natural choice.”
Scarecrow Martin was the creation of the Colwell family, including from left, Beau, 4; Wren, 1 1/2 and Maeve, 7. Their parents, Ben and Amanda Colwell, said the youngsters were involved in every aspect of Martin’s creation. (Courtesy Colwell family)
Sally wore Carson’s orange plaid long-sleeved shirt, dark orange overalls and orange flowers in her straw hat purchased from Goodwill.
Sally was created in about an hour.
“We made a mess and we had fun,” Nic Carson said. “We’re new to the scarecrow world and we thought we did a good job, and weren’t expecting to win.”
Powerful Katrina took third place in the contest, much to the delight of her maker, Carol Anne Drastal-Chan, owner of Indian Iron Farms along with her husband, Stephan Chan.
Powerful Katrina, third place winner in the Scarecrow contest, with her creator, Carol Anne Drastal-Chan, owner of Indian Iron Farms with her husband, Stephan Chan. (Stephanie Ogilvie)
The scarecrow was an homage to her childhood as well as one of her two Great Pyrenees dogs, 4-year-old Odin.
“As a child, I was the baby of the family. I was six years younger than my brothers and was always helping my dad with everything, whether it was mechanical, electrical or plumbing,” Drastal-Chan said. “My nickname was Powerful Katrina.”
Katrina sported a pumpkin head, straw hat, brown pants and a bright yellow T-shirt with the saying, “Any woman can be a mother, but it takes someone special to be a Great Pyrenees mom.”
The scarecrow stood beside Drastal-Chan’s booth at the farmers market, where she was selling mushrooms grown on her Ramona ranch.
“Each scarecrow had their own personality. Our first scarecrow had ‘farm dad’ vibes, the second had ‘garden enthusiast farm mom’ vibes and the third had ‘grandpa’ vibes,” said judge Michelle Armendariz.
In addition to bragging rights, participants received baskets loaded with generous amounts of goods from the market.
For more information about the Grange, visit: www.ramonagrange.org.