Brittni Bates, executive director of the Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce, holds a jar of apple butter on the cover of ‘Rural Missouri Magazine’, marking the fourth time in a row Apple Butter Makin’ Days has won the publications’ Best Community Event honor. The annual has hosted roughly 100,000 attendees in each of the past two years. This year, crowds will again gather on the square to celebrate the festival, but this time, for the 60th anniversary of Apple Butter Makin’ Days. This year’s event will also line up with the 100th anniversary celebration of Route 66 and the United States of America’s 250th birthday, which will hopefully make the festival bigger than ever, said Bates…