I spent many days at county fairs in my day. Our family background was farming and 4-H was the thing.
My Grandmother Hanson was the key leader of the Bath-Geneva 4-H Club for many, many years. My mother and her sister "Snookie," Phyllis Hagen, showed many farm animals at the fair back in their day.
My sister and I always looked forward to kids day at the fair because we would get to dress up and take our wagon, doll buggy or the trike to the fair, and a few times we won ride tickets for the carnival.
That was the only time we saw the carnival. Those tickets were it. I didn't like to ride. My sister did, but it made her sick, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the exhibits instead.
We were always a part of the exhibit scene and that only increased as we grew older as we were in 4-H. We also took exhibits to the Ladies Building. My moment of fame probably came when I twirled my baton in my black leotard, which had spangles on it, and I wore my hair in a ponytail.
We usually had Grandmother Hanson along. That was a circus in itself.
We often enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade of the trees behind what is now the historical center. We knew the old log cabin, or for that matter all the buildings, like home. With the age of 4-H, things changed and we were busy from before daybreak until after dark.
There were calves to wash and walk, chickens to take care of, 4-H booths to put up, projects to show including conservation projects, sewing projects, garden vegetables, flowers, pictures, and demonstrations. One year after the fair, we collected the colored corrugated paper from the garbage and used it to line our unfinished bedroom in our cabin at the lake.
Taking down the 4-H booth was a job. I recall one night it poured. We managed to get all our projects in our little red station wagon only to have a flat tire on the way home. Ever change a tire in a down poor, mud up to your ankles, pitch-black night and no flashlight?
Grandma held a piece of poster paper in front of the headlights to give us enough light the change the tire. My sister, Kaye, forgot to put on the hub cap and boy was my dad upset when he discovered it was not on the tire the next morning.
We went back the next day to find it. We couldn't believe how muddy it was where we'd had the flat.
I recall another time we came home from dress revue in our finest creations - heels and all - and had a flat tire on Highway 30, west Ellendale near Russell Nelson’s farm. We had an old, second-hand Cadillac that Dad had gotten for us girls to drive because we were young.
It was old, heavy, and built like a tank. You guessed it: a flat on a wheel that had probably never been off. It was rusted or had machine-tightened lugs that wouldn't give.
Mom finally decided the tire was too far gone to save, so we decided to just drive home. Stupid yes, and we decided to not drive home but go to my aunt’s and walk from there to Grandmother’s house - shoes in hand - in the middle of the night.
The next day of course my father found out and of course was angry, but the fact that the story about the lugs wasn't a lie helped cool his temper a bit.
Dad always felt anything he could do we could do also. He wasn't too interested in fairs, and couldn't understand why we were there.
He was more a workaholic, but we did get him to take us to the State Fair. The State Fair was a continuation of the Freeborn County Fair in those days.
Our friends, the Fergusons, taught us it was more fun to spend days camping at the fair, which meant moving the camper up to the fairgrounds the weekend before while there were still places to park. That was an event too, as back in those days we didn't drive to the cities like we do now.
Camping at the State Fair gave us all more time to look at the things going on. When it was the busiest you could take a break and go back to the camper and rest a bit and then go back when the crowd thinned out a little.
Have you ever eaten at a place where food moved along on a train track/conveyor belt and when it passed, you picked out what you wanted to eat? Well, they had that "event" at the State Fair.
It had its day, but as regulations tightened, it was disbanded because it was not unsanitary. And, if something was exposed to the warm air too long, it could cause food poisoning.
My mother remembers the birth of the corn dog years. They were probably 20 cents back then and sold like hot cakes – no, pronto pops.
Now it is kind of competitive to see what can be sold on a stick. Some ideas are good, but the thought of some things are enough to make you sick.
The dairy building was a favorite because sundaes, malts and great ice cream cones could be consumed while watching the demonstrations or butter sculpture of the dairy queens taking place. Milk by the glass could be bought for a pittance.
I hope that many of you have been able to attend one of our local fairs this year. The Steele County Free Fair is currently taking place. It is a great fair with many different events to take in and enjoy.
And of course, once the fairs are over, summer is over too, and it is time for the school bells to ring again.
Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.
Birthdays and anniversaries:
• Thursday, August 16th: Kaven Dean Vanhal, Haley Deml, Alexander James Dufresne, Mary Lerberg, Shayla Ann Marie Pachoel, Julie Arnold, Wayne & Marie Dobberstein, Harold & Janice Jensen, Mark & Diana Sundwall, Jeff & Julie Schlei, Donny & Gail Turvold.
• Friday, August 17th: Cole Brody Thompson, Katie Klemmensen, Julie Osmundson, Luke Wiersma, Carol Nelson, Dillon Matthew Kubiatowicz, Abbey Beaber, Jackie DeVrient, Sonya Peterson, Cheryl Spurr, Steve Ladlie, Daniel Whelan, Rod & Cheryl Thompson, Tira & James Smith, Tina & Todd Wangen.
• Saturday, August 18th: Donny Bartsch, Ron Johnson, Rick Johnson, John Ross Vermedahl, David Klocek, Michael Ingvaldson, Kelly Schmidt Janning, Connie Robertson, David Rietsema, Gary & Kathy Anderson, Ryan & Jill Hanson, Tamara & David Jepson, Simon & Arlean Lee.
• Sunday, August 19th: Daxter Carter Lee, Jason Langlie, Michelle Peterson, Jennifer Popiel, Cheri Krejci, Ruth Enzenauer, Cynthia Grubish, Lois Johnson Aitchison, Jodi Wayne, David Cooper, Alyssa Kay Jensen, Larry & Karen Carlson, Jackie & Travis Olson, Andy & Julie Arnold, Larry & Mary Ellen Walton, Kayla & Patrick Krause.
• Monday, August 20th: Dale Nelson, John Scrabeck, Tammy Bergland Techau, Andy Christensen, Diane Cleven, Delbert Karsjens, Jozie Annamarie Johnson, Kim Jensen, Jamie Nelson, Larry Pierce, Tianna & Joshua Kubicek.
• Tuesday, August 21st: , Lori Moon, Avery Hullopeter, Abriana Harris, Scott Tracy, Larry Klocek, Viola Klocek, Dawn Dobberstein, Mary Richards, Cindy Anderson, Roger Johnson, Sara Degan Misgen, Jodie Lee, Jaden Jensen, Cody Lembke, Michael Olson, Jasmine Obermoller Evans, David & Cindy Callahan.
• Wednesday, August 22nd: Thayne & Becky Nordland, Ava Moon, Julie Johnson, Kyle Wallerich, La Donna Cummins Fallen, John Butler, John Glynn, Diane Butler, Dale Kelly, Aaron Ladlie, Dale Kelly, Nancy TaBelle.
Wishing you warm friendship and simple joys. Have a wonderful day!
