by Dr. Larry Moses
No one asked me but… It’s Fair time, its Fair time, its Fair time. I feel like Snoopy dancing around his dinner dish singing “It’s Dinner Time”. I love a good Fair. My wife and I are Fair people.
I was raised in Des Moines, Iowa, the home of the Iowa State Fair, arguably the best Fair in the world. I attended the Fair every year until I was 20 years old and left town. This was before the ban on sideshows where you could see the oddities of nature. It was before the days of civilized sensibilities and many people were on display for some physical oddity. The bearded lady, the fat lady and sometimes the fat bearded lady. They had a girlie show but I never got in so I only know what the big boys told me. I do remember the church ladies protesting each year but to no avail.
By the time I was old enough to buy a ticket, I was working at the Fair for Pepsi Cola and never had time to see a show. Bonnie and Clyde’s car was on display. There must have been a large number of 1934 Ford’s with suicide doors shot full of bullet holes, but I was always sure the real one was at the Iowa State Fair. I think the original is now on display at State Line (Primm, Nevada).
The stock car races were a favorite. Cars were taken right from the dealerships in those days and raced on the track. They were true stock cars just like the ones your daddy drove. One of my favorites was the 1951 Hudson Hornet. You had to have a ticket to the grandstand to watch the races, but my brother and I found a hole in the fence where we could watch, but we always had to run when the cars got close because they threw dirt clods through the hole.
There was the carnival with the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Double Ferris-Wheel and a multitude of other rides. There were food booths by the hundreds. It seemed that every church in Iowa had a food booth. One thing we learned in Iowa was you never ordered raisin pie at the Fair. The raisins looked too much like the flies that also attended the food booths. There were fly traps, strips of sticky paper that caught the flies, that hung from the tops of the food tents. These dangled above your head and plates like rows of raisins. Where was the health department in those days?
There were buildings with displays of home made goods; pies, cakes and canned fruits and vegetables. During the last days of the Fair these bottled goods had ribbons of various colors on them. Iowa ladies took great pride in the awards they won at the Fair.
There were barns and barns full of pigs and cows and horses. Some of those animals were huge. Farm boys in blue jackets were always leading animals around and us city boys would hang around making fun of them. You would have thought we would have learned not to mess with someone who was leading what look like a 2000 lb. bull around by the nose.
This being said, the best local Fair I have ever been to is once again being held right here in Logandale. The Clark County Fair and Rodeo includes the Fair, Rodeo, Junior Livestock Show, a concert and a carnival. What more could a man ask for? Most local fairs can be seen in an hour or two; however, a full day can be had at the Clark County Fair and Rodeo. We will spend most of the four days just taking in the grandeur of the event. Thursday is the best day for locals, as most the Vegas people won’t be here until Friday and then the crowds begin. Thursday is the day of the concert featuring Emerson Drive.
Over 70,000 people attended the Fair last year. If you live on Whipple, or a street that intersects Whipple, things get downright exciting. There have been times when traffic has been lined up back to the freeway. That’s 70,000 people who spend money in the community as well as at the Fair. The motels are full for this week as entertainers and some out of down visitors need places to stay. While most eat at the Fair I am sure the local eateries see some of the dollars as well as does the market and hardware stores. There is one lady who comes all the way from London, England each year to see our Fair. A Utah couple has been known to helicopter in to the Fair.
Much to the chagrin of the Clark County School District, even school becomes of secondary importance. Working the Fair has to be an excused absence. The Fair depends on hundreds of volunteers to operate and it is a sign of civic responsibility. Those students who volunteer their labor ought to receive extra credit in their civics class. What better way to teach a student they have a role in society beyond merely receiving benefits? Students can make some money helping set up the Fair and many will find jobs with the food vendors. Much will be learned during those days that cannot be taught in the classroom.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
Comment on this story. Send a letter to the editor by email, click here: EMAIL US
