By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… It is time for my annual Fair column. It’s Fair time! It’s Fair time! It’s 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. We were raised in Des Moines, Iowa, the home of the Iowa State Fair – arguably the best State Fair in the world.
The original versions of the musical show State Fair was set at the Iowa State Fair. In the 1962 version, it was set in Texas, but it was never as good as the original.
I attended the Fair every year until I joined the Marine Corps and left town. This was before the ban on sideshows where you could see the oddities of nature. 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.
Here in Logandale, there will be a carnival with a multitude of rides. There will be food booths by the dozens. One thing I learned at the Iowa State Fair was you never ordered raisin pie. The raisins looked too much like the flies that also attended the Fair. There will be no girlie show in Logandale!
There will be displays of home-made goods: pies, cakes and canned fruits and vegetables. During the last days of the Fair, these bottled and baked goods will have ribbons of various colors on them. Those who enter these exhibits take great pride in the awards won at the Fair.
I am glad to report that the best local Fair I have ever attended – and that is a multitude – is held right here in Logandale.
The Clark County Fair and Rodeo includes the Fair, the Rodeo, the Junior Livestock Show, a number of ground shows, and a carnival. What more could a man ask for?
Most local Fairs can be seen in an hour or two; however, an enjoyable full day can be had at the Clark County Fair and Rodeo. We will spend most of the five days just taking in the grandeur of the event.
Wednesday and Thursday are the best days for locals, as most of the Vegas people won’t be here until Friday.
If you live on Whipple, or a street that intersects Whipple, things get downright exciting.
More that 70,000 people will descend on our community. These are people who will spend money in our community as well as at the Fair. The motels are full for this week as entertainers and some out of town visitors will need a place to stay. While most eat at the Fair, I am sure the local eateries will see some of the dollars as well as does Lin’s and both of our hardware stores. A Utah couple has been known to helicopter into the Fair.
Much to the chagrin of the Clark County School District, even school becomes of secondary importance. Working the Fair has for years been an excused absence. The Fair depends on hundreds of volunteers to operate it and it is a sign of civic responsibility. Those students who volunteer their labor ought to receive extra credit in their civics class. 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.
The rodeo held each night of the fair is one of the top events of its kind in the country. The large quantity of prize money and points are earned toward a spot at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
The best cowboys in America will show up to compete in Logandale. While I am not a great fan of Rodeo, I always root for the bull, I will be going Saturday night.
I must admit it even though I have been known to throw the bull, I have never desired to ride one. I am convinced that bull riding was invented by a couple of drunk cowboys who, one boring evening, bet one another that they could stay on the back of a bull longer than the other. Someone finally realized eight-seconds was more than enough.
The Junior Livestock Show is a great event and it is an opportunity to see farm animals up close and personal. There are pigs, sheep, goats, and steers on display. You and your kids will love the Small Animal Barn. Many of these animals, raised by the kids, will be auctioned on Saturday.
Sponsors of the FFA kids will spend a whole lot more money than the animals are worth; but that is just cowboys and farmers being cowboys and farmers. They are great supporters of the kids and give the program a great boost.
The money raised will help send some of the kids to college and others will use the money for their project next year.
The kids in my neighborhood were known to raise pigs, But the kids have grown up. I really miss the kids more than the pigs.
For those of you who remember the days of Commissioner Tom Collins – you will appreciate this story. Tom was not the most popular man in the valley but he was a great booster of Moapa Valley. He at least knew where we were. He even owned land in the valley.
Tom bid on a goat at the end of the Fair Auction and won the goat. Now Tom was a cowboy not a goat herder. But to help a child he bought the goat.
As he picked his goat up he saw a young girl crying. Tom inquired as to why she was so sad. The young girl explained that someone had bought the goat she had raised and now they would eat it.
Tom explained that he had bought the goat and he promised not to eat it. For a number of years you could go by Tom’s pasture and see one old goat amongst his cattle. Maybe two old goats if Tom were there. I wonder what Tom is doing today?
My family will be here Saturday and we will all descend on the Fair and finish the evening at the Rodeo. This will be the only time during the year that the Moses clan will be cowboys, but it will be a great time. We will eat our way through the Fair.
Thought for the week… There is just something that feels so all-American about a county fair.
