For the 130th year, kids threw rings onto glass bottles and balls into milk cans. They chucked baseballs at wooden dolls, threw darts at a target and competed in a pie eating contest. Farmers put their fresh produce and flowers on exhibit, and people bought raffle tickets in a penny sale.

Continuing a tradition that began in 1894, the Dartmouth Grange held its annual Dartmouth Grange Rural Community Fair on Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7.

The event raises money for the Dartmouth Grange, but the fair is more than just a fundraiser, said Sam Manley, who organized the event.

“It’s a community service project and a way to highlight the grange and the people of Dartmouth,” he said, adding that every year the fair draws around 1,000 visitors.

Founded in 1888, the Dartmouth Grange is a fraternal organization and social outlet for the rural community, according to Manley.

“We definitely try to stay true to the spirit of the original fairs and the Grange as a whole,” he said. “You won’t find carnival rides here [and] some of the games are older than I am.”

Auctioning the produce and the penny sale are a “highlight” of the fair, Manley said.

In the penny sale, visitors entered a raffle for donated items. This year items up for sale included a jar of honey, Thomas the Train train cars and a meditating frog statue.

Traditionally, people could buy a ticket for one penny to try and win any item of their choosing.

“A hundred years ago it was one cent, but now it’s $2 for one ticket and $5 for three,” said Sharon Andrade, a volunteer at the penny sale table.

Besides this price increase, the fair has stayed close to its roots.

“It would be very familiar to somebody coming from 1894,” Manley said.

The wooden dolls kids threw baseballs at were some of the oldest toys at the event.

“I can’t imagine how long they’ve been here,” said Paul Doran, who has volunteered at the fair for the past six years. “Someone recently repainted them and gave them new dresses.”

The fair means more to Dartmouth residents than its over a century-long history.

“It’s a nice representation of Dartmouth and a fun thing to be involved in,” said Marlaina Trepanier, who has gone to the fair for the “past few handfuls of years” with her sons.

This year Trepanier and her oldest son came to the fair as volunteers.

“My older son was eager to help out,” Trepanier said. “He’s attended before and actually wanted to be on the other side this time.”

Andrade, who has been volunteering at the fair for “dozens and dozens of years” said the event was one chance she got to see people in the community and it’s one of the reasons why she volunteers every year.

“That’s really what we’re trying to do,” Manley said, “Get the people together.”