People often
say that they see the same food stands year after year....well how about this from "The History of The Bloomsburg Fair."
 The Oyster Stand was opened by C.L. Rupert in 1864 when Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States and is still being operated under the name of Cole's Oyster
Stand by the fourth and fifth generation of the family (Peggy Cole Stewart, her husband Fred "Stew" Stewart and sons Mark and Gregg.) Rupert opened the stand in the days when no breakfast service was available for the cattlemen who had to stay with their animals all night. He saw a need and met it with hot oyster chowder. In view of the fact that he was a fish merchant, oysters seemed the best food that
could be prepared and sold on the Fair Grounds. His oysters were shipped to him in barrels and shucked right there as needed. That feature in itself was an  attraction, and the quality was there too. The 25-by-25 foot stand moved in the early 1930's from the Leonard Street entrance to its present spot, just off the midway
beside the horse track entrance by the Paddock. Later that decade the ingredients were switched from a chowder to a brothy mixture of milk, butter, salt, clams and oysters because of the need for efficiency. That's the same reason workers at Cole's shucked their last shells in 1938. Since then, the family has received all the main ingredients packaged fresh from Robbins Brothers, a Port Norris, New Jersey seafood farming
company also in its fifth generation of family operation. And you still get served with real china bowls. For a long time it was the only eating place, other than the Church Stand, where tables were allowed for serving food.
 An old-timer, "Cobble" May, who is no longer around, was a "regular" at the Fifth Street gate
for years. He was loved by young and old because he was a natural showman; he always had a crowd around his stand to hear his lingo. Today the second, third and fourth generations of Cobble May's family operates the May's Bar-B-Que, Ice Cream & Waffle and Hot Dog Stands. Tell Us About Your Favorite Food!
Below is what some of you have said about the food at the Bloomsburg Fair. Click HERE to add your comments!
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