Another week is upon us, and it’s amazing to me how fast summer is flying by. I always feel like county fair week is the beginning to the end of summer. It’s a week earlier this year, so maybe not so much. Even so, school will be here before you know it. Sorry I said it, but it’s true!
A hearty congratulations to those who made Greenfield Chamber Main Street’s first annual Lake Fest such a big success. They report over 500 people are estimated to have come, and I believe it. The family fun was alive and well and the music was excellent. I’m a firm believer that every town needs an annual festival, so I hope this is a tradition we keep going for years to come.
That being said, I know there are just as many or more people who have been working hard to get the 2023 Adair County Fair off the ground, and it was due to start Wednesday. The weather was due to be soggy, so who knows what it will look like, as I write this Tuesday morning.
Unlike a lot of the stories I write about, I’ve lived the words to the poem I’m posting below. I had an entire editorial dreamt up, then I saw this poem and it fit really well.
The only other thing I was going to say is that you can never underestimate the lessons a child learns through an experience like getting projects ready for the fair. If the stain on the wood project is runny, if the mat on the photo doesn’t match colors, if the calf doesn’t cooperate, those are all lessons the child can take away later in life.
My parents helped me on 4-H projects, but not a lot. Their parents didn’t help them a ton either on theirs. There are lessons to be learned in the hard work. Congratulations to all who have embraced that. It’s one of the things that makes the fair such a meaningful week.
The below poem was first printed in the American Farm Publications in 2018. Written by their staff, it’s a well-done piece that encapsulates fair week well. Enjoy the fair! Give it all the support you can. It’s a good one!
“Twas the Night Before Fair”
‘Twas the night before fair
And all through the farm
The family was hurrying
On the verge of alarm
Entry tags scattered
Across the kitchen table
As the kids picked one-by-one
Of their projects to label
The next day they will go
To the fairgrounds loaded
With all the trinkets and items
Properly set, distinctly coded
Though they were far from that now
And the hour was getting late
Nothing would stop them
From making the date
They worked far too hard
To not complete the mission
Besides, staying up late
Had become a tradition
The youngest of the bunch,
Age ten and three-quarters
Was charged with taping
Photos to matte borders
“This one better place,”She said with complete confidence
Of a shot of her horse, Darling
Behind a split-rail fence
To her right was the oldest,Her last year in 4-HSewing the hem on a dress|Trimmed out in lace
Her last record book written Her last Fashion Revue
In a few months it’s college
And everything’s new
On the floor near the door
Sat what the kids made at camp:
A birdhouse, a glass mosaic, A decoupaged lamp
Laundry and dishes
Each piled high
Put on hold until
After the fair has gone by
The stovetop was glowing
Each burner ablaze
Steadily blanching vegetables
For jars they will save
The oven was filled
With cakes from each child
Soon to come out
And get decoratively styled
The two middle children
Twin boys age thirteen
Were back from the barn
Keeping the animals clean
Two steers, three hogs and a lamb
They will be taking tomorrow
Tack and gear all loaded
For the seasons’ first show
Show pants washed and ironed
And shirts just the same
All part of the process
To reach livestock ring fame
The Dad stayed outside
Beneath a towering oak
Fixing lights on the trailer
He just remembered were broke
Then there’s the Mother
Rock of the crew
Directing the traffic
Of what’s next to do
“Time for bed,” she says
”Tomorrow we’ll finish”
They may be worn out
But their spirit won’t diminish
Up to their rooms they trudge
Destined for slumber
Stepping over woodworking projects
That started as lumber
The next morning after breakfast
To the garden they’ll go,Rounding up more entries
From each weeded row
With the van fully packed
They all make the haul
Exhausted, but ready
Knowing they’ll have a ball!
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