Santa Barter Fair a self-sustaining cultural tradition

This past weekend's Santa Barter Fair is a throwback to a nearly obsolete system of commerce in this country where various goods are exchanged for items of equal value. It is proudly touted by those who were there when it started as the last free barter fair in the Pacific Northwest.

It started in Santa, Idaho, in 1979 by the self-described "elders," who spoke about preserving their traditions by passing them on to the next generation. Although barter and trade were big in the Pacific Northwest around the early 1800s, this fair takes its traditions from the late 1960s.

Everywhere Saturday and Sunday were the sounds of children playing, live old-timey folk music and official and unofficial vendors expounding on their wares in an attempt to make a good trade. Barterers not set up under tents or showing merchandise from the back of their cars simply become traveling salesmen.

For Arlene Falcon, owner of Tye Dye Everything in Moscow, her first Santa Barter Fair was in 1983. It was where she first started selling tie-dyed clothes and apparel.

"I've got my roots here," she said from under her tent Saturday. "(Santa's) become such a tradition for some of us. I'm like one of the elders of the fair here."

While many seasoned vendors at the barter fair have prices attached to their products, they will gladly listen to a sales pitch and assess the gains.

Falcon advises people trying to get the best bang for their merchandise to be selective, realistic and flexible - food can always be used, she added. One girl came up to Falcon proffering hemp peace necklaces - Falcon noted she would like to have them dyed - but she determined their value wasn't equal to a skirt the girl wanted.

"Most kids, they've got all these Zens of things that I'm never going to use," Falcon said, adding the necklaces would have been nice if the trade were better.

Vendors

Many vendors like Falcon prefer to deal in homemade merchandise, typically with sustainable materials or items pulled straight from the ground.

Scott Harris, a Santa vendor of 14 years, received help Saturday from his nephew and godchild, Carson Sines, 9, selling homemade light-up necklaces, carved walking sticks and other items.

"This is my right-hand man," Harris said as Sines gave a confident sales pitch to an older couple, even taking items out of glass cases to explain how they were made. "This is his third year vending with me. I'm giving him commission, and he isn't even 10 yet."

While the couple didn't buy anything from Sines that day, the man patted Sines on the shoulder and applauded his efforts.

"You guys do fine work and you're a good salesman, sir," the man told Sines, who smiled and went back to work.

John Dawson of St. Maries offered up samples Saturday of various jams and jellies he makes with his wife, Kimberley. His garden provides jalapenos for his spicy jelly while, he said, he picks wild black raspberries and huckleberries for the rest.

Dawson used to be a cook at the Homestead restaurant in Worley, Idaho, he said, but when the business went under he found himself without a job and trying to pay the mortgage, so he decided to try out the barter fair.

"I'm a cook and it was a steady income," he said, adding he enjoys making the product more than selling it because it puts him outdoors. "It's a lot of fun picking (berries). Lots of moose out there."

The Peepshow

Falcon recommends The Peepshow for anyone who hasn't been to the Santa Barter Fair, which she said is a tradition. Despite the name, it is a family-friendly experience that only costs 50 cents a peek. Run by a scraggly old man who goes by "Hey George," the attraction revolves around four slots cut into a simple wood building. Once "Hey George" has enticed an audience to pay for the 20-second show, he seats his customers at four seats facing the holes and pulls out the piece of wood blocking them.

"This is food for the mind and it's the cheapest date you're going to have here," he said, though he was very adamant about protecting the truth behind The Peepshow as to not scare normal folk. He quickly recovered when he realized "just by getting close to The Peepshow, you get a medication that makes you forget."

The potluck

The elders of the barter fair brought together a circle of attendees around 7:30 p.m. Saturday - several picnic tables in the middle with food donated by multiple patrons for a collective feast.

Holding hands, an elder, Don, took the opportunity to remind everyone of the significance of the last free barter fair in the Pacific Northwest, and the struggle to keep it that way as costs continue to mount against a fair committee desperately in need of donations. The goal set this year was $1,500 - tacking on the newly added cost of insurance for the public space 50 miles north of Moscow on the outskirts of the St. Joe National Forest.

After Don's speech, a moment of silence followed and was then broken by the sound of the elders making a deep, constant hum comparable to Buddhist throat singing. Then everyone raised their hands and let out a whoop and the circle broke and several dozen people descended on the potluck table.

The parade

Sleepy campers, spread out around the fairgrounds, woke up Sunday to the sound of horns and drums, and the main thoroughfare was flooded with men, women and children waving bright banners and flags as another round of barterers made their way to find breakfast or the next best deal.

Dottie Palmer of Santa tries to come to the fair every year, and always brings her Earth flag with a NASA photo taken from space. She said she uses the flag that usually hangs outside her home because it is territorially neutral.

"We are one Earth, and when they got to the moon and saw the Earth as one entity, it changed the concept," she said. "You don't see any lines between the countries, do you?"

The future of Santa

Taking on their third run as barter fair organizers, Millissa Reeves and Anna Marsh are some of the youth who stepped up to the plate, said Falcon. Saturday, they had raised about $500 and were at about $1,000 by early afternoon Sunday, Reeves said. Part of Saturday's revenues came from about 200 raffle tickets sold for a chance to win items donated by various vendors at a drawing after the potluck.

Reeves said she was hopeful that the $1,500 goal would be met by the end of Sunday, adding the new insurance cost was a big hit for the event.

"It drained our bank account for this," she said, "but everybody's donating really good."

One idea to bring the cost back down is to use private land not far from the current public location for next year's event.

"Everyone tells us this is their favorite barter fair," Reeves said. "It brings a lot of difference to the area that we need."

Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by e-mail to bmacz@dnews.com.