Cumberland Fair nixes old-fashioned women's event name, but tradition will continue

Sep. 29—CUMBERLAND, Maine — To be fair, nobody on hand said they were offended by the name. This just seems like a good time to let it go. Time marches on, after all.

On Wednesday, the last-ever, all-women "Powder Puff" ox pulling competition took place at the Cumberland Fair. That's not to say the ox pull is over though.

The event will be back next year with a new name. In 2022, it'll just be the "Ladies Ox Pull."

"The class will be the same. Only the name will change," said pulling superintendent Tammy Sawyer.

The name is an antiquated, vaguely sexist reference to powdered makeup and the puffy bit of cloth used to apply it to a woman's face. Nobody at the ring on Wednesday knew how the event came by this moniker, though some speculated it originated in identically-named auto racing events.

Most people just offered quizzical shrugs when asked.

(For the record, none of the three women competing in the event this year wore any makeup — and neither did the oxen.)

From left: Three men watch the final "Powder Puff" ox pulling competition at the Cumberland Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021; Tammy Sawyer of Falmouth gives her ox team — Dick (left) and Jack — an affectionate scratch after competing in the "Powder Puff" all-women pulling event at the Cumberland Fair; Mckenzie Meserve, 15, of Wales enters the pulling ring at the Cumberland Fair. Meserve entered her first pulling event when she was 7 years old. Credit: Troy R. Bennett/BDN

Sawyer said she hadn't heard of anyone complaining about the old name but couldn't think of a good reason to keep it either. It was better to just be plain spoken instead of couching the legitimate competition in euphemistic language.

"A lot of people who aren't familiar with it don't know what 'powder puff' means anyway," Sawyer said. "It's just a clarification."

Next year's updated name will bring the Cumberland Fair up to speed with most other fairs in Maine, which have already made the change.

For those that don't know: In ox-pulling competitions, teams of yoked animals haul weighted sledges, either for distance, against a time clock or both. It all depends on the individual event. The sport stretches back at least to the middle of the 19th century but only survives in New England.

Oxen used to be ubiquitous in Maine. They pulled plows, hauled granite out of quarries and twitched logs in the woods.

Organized pulling began as friendly contests between farmers at harvest time. Only bragging rights were at stake. Now, small cash prizes and trophies are awarded.

Ox pulling was definitely part of the first Cumberland Fair in 1868.

Traditionally speaking, a steer (neutered bull) must be at least 4 years old and trained for work in a yoke to be called an ox.

From left: Tammy Sawyer stands with her team, Dick (left) and Jack at the Cumberland Fair. Sawyer's sister, mother and niece are all ox drivers as well; Mckenzie Meserve and her team (from left) Junior and Smokey, walk into the pulling arena at the Cumberland Fair; Laura Lane of New Vineyard is all smiles with her blue ribbon after placing first in the all-women "Powder Puff" ox pulling event at the Cumberland Fair Credit: Troy R. Bennett/BDN

Ox drivers use voice commands to steer their animals. They shout "gee" for right and "haw" for left, along with each ox's name. They also whack the oxen with a long wooden wand known as a goad stick, for encouragement and direction.

In practice, pulling is the same — in every way — for both men and women.

"Some of the ladies pull the same load, with oxen just as big, as the men," Sawyer said, "and some ladies compete in the same open classes as the men."

Given these facts, the purpose of the women-only event has always been to encourage new women to get into the sport.

"It's a chance for them to build confidence and let them compete," Sawyer said.

Driver and ox-owner Stacy McConkey said she thought the name change might be coming from sponsors, who don't want to sound like they support sexist fair events.

The current name doesn't bother McConkey, though.

"Oh God no," she said. "It's just changing with the times."

McKenzie Meserve, 15, of Wales was the youngest woman in the event on Wednesday. Meserve entered her first ox-pulling contest when she was just 7 years old.

"I probably would have left it alone," she said, of the change, "but I don't really care. I'm not one to get offended by things. It's just a changing world."

Laura Lane of New Vineyard won the women's competition on Wednesday. Her team of Bullet and Pete weighed in at a combined 2,930 pounds. They hauled 2,200 pounds over 440 feet in just three minutes.

When it was all over, Lane, Meserve and Sawyer had a group hug outside the ring, patting each other's backs. A few people nearby applauded.

Walking away with her blue ribbon and a large smile, Lane beamed at her team and said they'd definitely return next year.

"Oh yes, we'll be back," she said. "It doesn't make a difference to me what it's called."

Horse and ox pulling continues till the end of the week at the Cumberland Fair before migrating to the Fryeburg Fair next week.