“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is gravy.”
— Bette Davis
Have you ever given much thought to the immeasurable amount of work required to put on a county fair?
For the average Joe who shows up and buys a ticket, there is no doubt much of the sweat that has gone on behind the scenes for months would never glimmer in his subconscious mind.
This year, with great-nieces and great-nephews taking projects, we were reminded of some of this and decided to go cheer them on when show day came around.
We watched the veteran of this group as he masterfully showed a Holstein cow in senior showmanship. As Oliver led the milk cow around the coliseum, he maintained eye contact with the judge, kept his cow moving and set her up nicely.
He responded to questions asked by the judge and then answered the call by the judge to stand in first place as senior grand champion showman. He later would be named supreme showman. The cow he showed later won grand champion Holstein and went on to win supreme dairy champion.
We checked the sheep barn where great-nephew Warren kept busy prepping for his own show day and then on to the rabbit barn where great-niece Brynn took her turn in the show ring. The amount of hustle and bustle was entertaining, as many of the rabbit showmen were first-timers.
One woman said to me, “I am trying to learn all of this right along with my daughter, and it’s surprisingly fun for me, too!”
The dairy barn offered a cow dummy complete with udder for the kids to try their hand at milking, which proved to be a popular draw.
Oliver’s younger brother Johnny, who showed chickens for the first time this year, quickly relieved me of the pitchfork after I volunteered to be on clean-up duty in the dairy barn while their dad walked one of the Holstein cows to the coliseum for the youngest, Autumn.
As Monday’s show day wore on, parents and kids alike started showing signs of wearing down. With so much demanded of each person, maintaining calm amidst the chaos should earn its own ribbon.
As we took in the sights and sounds of our Ashland County Fair, among the last in Ohio’s long county fair season, I couldn’t help but think of all that goes on behind the scenes.
I spent years covering our county fairs for newspapers and gained knowledge about all that makes each fair successful. People giving tirelessly in the many off-months is what helps make one week shine for all who attend and participate.
Today, as livestock trailers carry all the animals away from the fairgrounds, tired kids and parents alike are surely ready for a very long nap.
