The first time I saw a large amusement park ride was at the county fair. I remember several rides packed onto a small baseball field, surrounded by all kinds of carnival games. There wasn’t anything like it so close to home. I stayed away from the most extreme rides, but there were several that I enjoyed. I would work my way up from the standard Carousel to the Ferris Wheel. From there, head over to the Tilt-a-Whirl and then to my personal favorite, the Scrambler. After I hit all the rides I wanted, it was time for cotton candy or a funnel cake. If there was still money in my pocket, I might try to win a stuffed animal at a carnival game. Mostly, that was throwing money away, but I did win a stuffed snake that I was proud of – you didn’t see those at the toy stores.
As I got a little older, the rides didn’t seem all that great anymore. By then, Six Flags was open and had a lot more to offer. But, it was still a fun place to hang out once a year. As a member of the Key Club in high school, I got to help out working at the fair too. I think the Kiwanis Club has been running the Henry County fair all my life.
To me, though, the county fair was all about entertainment. I guess my grandfather felt that way, too, and it wasn’t all that important. I heard a story that the school buses would run and take children to the county fair. But, that wasn’t an option for my dad and his siblings – they had work to do (at least that year). When the bus came, they ducked down in the field so no one would see they had to work.
It was not always just entertainment. In earlier days, the fairs were more focused on farming and homemaking. That isn’t surprising since most people were farmers, and there wasn’t much time for recreation. If you look back into the newspapers from 100 years ago, you get the sense that the county fair was much more important back then. There was a parade in the morning and speeches/demonstrations all day long. There were many exhibits representing farm life and lots of prizes awarded. They might not sound like much to us today, but I’m sure they were meaningful to those fortunate enough to win one.
In 1912, if you entered the competition for ‘Best, largest exhibit of housework (sewing, canning, cooking, etc.),’ first place would have gotten you a 10-pound bucket of lard. First prizes for ‘Best ten ears of corn’ and ‘Best five stalks of cotton’ were a half-ton of fertilizer. If you were more into cash prizes, you could get $5 for the best colt. Most of the second-place awards were $1.
It’s hard to read the stories of days gone by and not feel like we’ve lost something along the way. In the movie A Century of Living, one centenarian explained it this way: “We’ve gone from hard labor into the easiest kind of life during my time, but there will be greater things…and I don’t think they’ll all be for the best. I think we’ve had the best.” I think she might be right.