Duane A. Lienemann UNL Extension Educator,
Webster County July 17, 2011 Edition
I am finally sitting in air-conditioned comfort in my easy chair and reflecting on the past couple of weeks. After months of planning, tons of paperwork and organization, a big part of the summer experience is over. It is hard to believe that our County Fair is over and we will soon be getting ready for the Nebraska State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben! In that rumination, it came to me how gratifying it was to see so many people pull together to make their respective county fairs happen. It is what makes the rural areas what they are. It is indeed a piece of Americana and a validation of the Midwest work ethic. This year it was doubly important for our fair in that it was extremely hot and humid and full of threats of severe weather. I cannot remember in all my years of working fairs such a long stretch of hot and I might add HUMID weather. It really made for challenges for our exhibitors, our livestock and the people putting on the fair.
It doesn’t matter what county you are in or what time of summer it is, county fairs are special. I know I am not alone appreciating all those that come together to pull off what has become the largest social event of rural America. If you didn’t get a chance to attend your local fair, let me paint a little picture for you. The old adage says “If you can't smell the livestock, you are not at an authentic county fair.” Anyone that walked through the sheep, swine and beef barn knows that aroma and knows it is what makes the fair tick. There was the incessant sound of always hungry beef, sheep, goats, hogs and the cackling of nervous hens, roosters, ducks and geese. It is so nice to see those bright, smiling and sunburned faces of those young kids in their 4-H T-shirts, excited for the day and for another adventure at the Fair.
Then throw in the running kids, the lights and sounds of the carnival, the infusion of funnel cakes, 4-H “Yum-Yums”, and the Methodist church pies. This really is a slice of America that persists here amid the grueling heat of summer.
Rockwellion it may be, but it's something we dare not let go of because it's so real. It becomes a big family reunion, with a sense of camaraderie among people who perhaps haven't seen one another all year. And beneath it all, there lurks the spirit of competition, whether it's for the best sewn dress or the Grand Champion Market Steer.
You would have seen young people, leaders, parents and even grandparents all helping the exhibitors as they washed, blew out, clipped, combed, and applied various dressing and prepare their respective animal to parade, with hopeful others, in front of the judge who determines the ribbon placing and perhaps their chance at a championship run. You would have seen appreciative audiences “oohing and ahhing” at the show animals and betting each other on which one will come to the top or perhaps trying to outguess that judge. It’s a mixture of old and the new 4-H and FFA exhibitor t-shirts, cowboy hats, seed corn caps, and sunburned faces. It is a site that only people who frequent livestock shows and fairs understand
It's not all livestock, of course. There was the open class entries, static exhibits of photographs, clothing, foods, and all kinds of things in the buildings outside of the livestock area. The sounds and excitement of the rodeo, music by the band that blasted from the open air auditorium as the sun went down. You would have seen people sitting in the now-empty show arena, just relaxing and talking over the day or taking protection from a fast moving storm. You would have had seen giggling kids running through the grounds and petting the plethora of animals that just love the attention. You would have seen future 4-Hers being rolled around in strollers by mothers and fathers who talk about their days at the fair.
There were of course the older folks who walked through the barns and the grounds and reminisced about how it used to be. You have to be cognizant of the smells of cream can stew, bratwurst or hamburgers on a grill in little community of camping trailers, the hot coffee and the sounds of crowing roosters, squealing pigs, bleating lambs, and hungry beef. In the evenings, there were the barbeques and lines of people excited for the night’s entertainment and rodeo. The racing of engines and clash of metal-to-metal was evidence that you were at the annual demolition derby that is nearby. On the last day you would have heard the chant of the auctioneer as the fair came ever closer to an end and the big crocodile tears of young exhibitors saying goodbye to their animal friends. You would have seen kids and adults that get too close getting pushed into the water tank or exhibitors dousing each other and anyone else close enough with buckets of water. Placards are placed over the Champions and the animals are bedded down for their last night of the fair. Those things are what make the fair a special thing to people in rural America. That is what it is all about. That is what makes it real.
I want to congratulate all of our exhibitors, for not only their accomplishments, but also for their demeanor and conduct. I always hear admiration from the judges. I want to personally thank everyone who is involved with the local county fair. Not just those at Webster County, but all the county fairs across the country. There are so many volunteers all across our state who work hard to keep this tradition alive and well. Thank those folks and the local ag society or fair board for all they do. Don’t forget the 4-H and FFA leaders who help guide our youth. I, for one, am proud to be a part of that tradition and am determined to help insure that the Rockwell picture continues. I cannot even think of summer without the County Fair! I still approach the fair as the wide-eyed kid that saw the championship animals and that big Ferris-wheel at the Franklin County Fair so many year’s ago! It is so good to see people pull together to prepare, put on and clean up after another great county fair. That is what it is all about. The county fair is community. It is “Family owned, farm raised and county proud!”
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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