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Today’s work on the Newborn House was slightly delayed by one of the major annual events on the Newborn social calendar … The Newborn Festival and Hornyhead Fishing Tournament.
In addition to the usual festival activities — parade, barbecue, bluegrass singin’, arts and crafts, and booths selling everything from flowers to Vidalia onions — the Newborn festival features a horneyhead fishing contest. Anglers of all ages flock to the streams around town in search of these wily creatures of the deep. The horneyhead is a chub (or minnow) fish that grows to 5 to 7 inches in length. A really big one weighs upwards of five ounces. Don’t ask me why the festival planners have chosen the horneyhead, but one of the welcome-to-Newborn signs does brag that the town is the Home of the Horneyhead Fishing Association.
As a kid, I caught a few horneyheads in the creeks and streams during some of our outdoor adventures. I even took Candice fishing in Big Haynes Creek when she was about 3. Her first catch was a horneyhead. However, I have never participated in a competitive fishing event, and I didn’t have time to start this year.
But we did take out time for the parade that started at the Newborn School House and passed directly in front of our house. What it lacked in size it more that made up for in charm. The parade was led by flags of all stripes. A group of kids from the local Methodist church rode in a hay wagon and threw candy. A handsome pair of matched mules pulled a fancy wagon. The mayor and local state representative each rode by in separate pickup trucks.
We did get some work done, and I’ll post a report and pictures soon. Stay tuned.
