MCCLURE -- The 125th annual McClure Bean Soup Festival and Fair kicked off Monday and folks flocked for a taste.
"We come here every year. I love the bean soup. We had one bowl already, and I have a feeling we might have another one before we're ready to go home,” said Mel Wentzel of Middleburg.
The soup simmers over the fire, made the same way it was back in the Civil War.
The celebration started by Civil War veterans and Joanne Hall of McClure says her grandfather helped start it all.
“He lived here in town, and he helped start the first ones off. He went to every one but one in all his years."
Remembering how it all got started is important for folks in McClure.
"I think it's real important. I'm a history buff, and I think it's real important,” said Samuel Hall of McClure.
"I've been coming here since I've been a very little girl and that's over 50 years!” laughed Martha Wentzel of Middleburg.
It's a tradition that's being handed down to a new generation.
"He loves food in general, but he's really taking a liking to this,” said Kari Davis of Danville.
There's a lot of new additions to the festival, games and rides, other food, too, but slurping the soup is the main tradition for many.
"I love it! Some people don't like it, but I love it! It tastes a lot like Great Northern Beans. That's what they make it with and hamburger," said Michael Blazer of Beaver Springs.
The festival runs through Saturday. For more information, click here.
