CENTER OF ACTIVITY — In addition to being a frequent center of attention, the World’s Largest Teapot in Chester was the center of a festival, with food, music and craft and other vendors, offered at its site near the intersection of state Route 2 and U.S. Route 30 Saturday. -- Warren Scott

CHESTER — A festival held Saturday around the World’s Largest Teapot was part of a weekend full of memories for present and former residents of the Chester area.

In its ninth year, Teapot Day has drawn many visitors to see the 14-foot-high, 14-foot-wide structure while partaking of some food, listening to music and browsing through crafts and other merchandise for sale.

But this year’s event also was attended by many in the city for a reunion of Chester High School’s Classes of 1964, 1965 and 1966, noted Susan Hineman.

Hineman and her husband, Tom, are among volunteers who take steps to maintain the teapot, which can range from repainting it to cutting the grassy lot near state Route 2 and U.S. Route 30 on which it stands.

She said this year the group is raising money to replace its electrical wiring through the festival and sales of assorted teapot memorabilia, including T-shirts, plastic replicas produced with a 3-D computer printer and Christmas ornaments produced by Homer-Laughlin China.

The local china producer donates half of about 144 of the ornaments it produces in its Fiestaware style, while the group behind the teapot pays for the other half.

Those looking for a unique Christmas decoration or present may place an order for them by calling (330) 843-3215.

The group sells hot dogs and nachos from inside the teapot, an endeavor supported by donations from Pat Chaney and the Orchards, a local nursing home and rehabilitation center.

The festival offers other organizations a chance to raise money for their own projects.

Among them is the Chester Arts Club, formerly the Chester Garden Club, which was selling jigsaw puzzles bearing an image of the cabin that once served as the first aid station for Rock Springs Park, an amusement park that once existed not far away.

Kat Rossy, a member of the group staffing the booth, recalled attending picnics there at the end of the school year. She said at the time the park included a merry-go-round and at least two rollercoasters.

She noted the cabin was moved to a private residence in the city after the park closed.

Rossy said proceeds from the puzzles’ sales will be used to maintain planters of flowers and decorations used to beautify public areas of the city year-round. She added they may be purchased after the festival at Davis Brothers Pharmacy.

Stepping up to the Chester Arts Club’s booth was her cousin, Sally Rossy Riley, who was Chester’s mayor when efforts to relocate and refurbish the teapot began.

The structure began as a giant wooden hogshead barrel used to advertise Hire’s Root Bear in Pennsylvania before it was moved by its builder, William “Babe” Devon, to Carolina Avenue, which is part of state Route 2 in Chester.

The ball also has changed hands over the years, with Devon selling it, after World War II, to Mary Wucherer and Rhelda Cain, who sold china and lawn and garden and novelty items there.

By 1971 it had become the property of Cecil and Alice Fletcher, who sold pottery and other items there until 1984.

It sat vacant for several years afterward and when the land was obtained by C&P Telephone, it was donated to the city. But it faced demolition until a group of residents spoke out against that and led a fundraising campaign to support its preservation.

Riley recalled lobbying officials with the West Virginia Division of Highways for use of its present site until one relented, saying, “I know you’re never going to shut up.”

She said her husband, Michael, and Frank DeCapio poured the concrete base where it was placed after being transported to the site on a flatbed truck.

Riley said fundraisers held to support its restoration included the sale of 100 ceramic teapots and community dances held at Chester City Hall.

She revealed life has taken her from Chester to many places, including her present home in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

She was among many returning for the three-year class reunion.

Also visiting the site was Jocelyn Collins Phillips of Patterson Heights, Pa., who said she was the last to work in the teapot when it was owned by the Fletchers.

Phillips said her brother had been killed while serving in Vietnam and her family was going through a stressful time when Alice Fletcher invited her to work there.

“She loved my mom and she gave me a job,” she recalled, adding she sold hot dogs and other snacks, and Alice allowed her to have an item from her nearby gift shop to give to her mother on Mother’s Day and other special occasions.

Also on hand at the festival were members of the Chester Lions Club, who were selling snow cones, popcorn and brooms.

Jodie Juszczak, the club’s president, said its efforts include providing aid to recent tornado victims and placing banners of local heroes, including veterans, emergency first responders, teachers and others, at Virginia Gardens Memorial Park on special occasions.

She added the group will be teaming with Oak Glen High School officials to provide school supplies to local students at a back-to-school event set for Aug. 23 and holding its Great Pumpkin Patch event on Sept. 14 at the park.

At the latter event, the club sells food, pumpkins, hay bales and other items for fall decorating; children are invited to paint pumpkins and a character known as the Great Pumpkin Head appears.

“We’re a small group, but we have a lot of fun, and we have a lot of hard workers,” said Juszczak.

In addition to perusing assorted crafts, jewelry, tumblers and other items, many attending the festival grabbed a picture of the giant teapot.

Among them was Bill Pattison, a former Chester resident now living in Asheville, N.C., who said, “I’ve often told my wife about this, and I have to get photos to show her when I get back.”