It will be all over again tomorrow so if you want some fun to liven up your summer, there’s still time to catch a bit of it at the fairgrounds in Harrison where the 141st Clare County Fair has been in full swing all week long. Better hurry though because after tomorrow it will be all over again for another year.
Meanwhile, the midway is still open this afternoon and tomorrow with rides, fun and games and free shows by , the animals are still on display along with all their ribbons and awards and the FREE shows by Pirates of the Columbian Caribbean Aerial High Wire Thrill Show will be on the midway along with the Ultimate Air Dogs both today and tomorrow!!
In the grandstand, following the small and large animal auctions today, it will be the Mud Mitton Mud Bog tonight and tomorrow evening – The Super Kicker rodeo with Dewayne Spaw to wind up the week.
Talk about making great memories, the Clare County Fair has that for sure. It is the best of old-time county fairs and we all remember those, right?
One of the best things about “getting older” is the memories you have made over the years. I have some really special ones for family holidays, picnics, carnivals and especially county fairs.
County fair time meant the middle of summer back when I was a kid, and it was a special event right in the middle of a long hot vacation from school. It was a welcome break from biking trips, fishing, swimming in the river, neighborhood softball games and building forts or playing “Tarzan” in the tipped over trees on the high side of the curve in the road.
The beginning the of the fair meant only a couple more weeks were left before we all went back to school in new dresses or new midnight blue jeans that were so stiff they could just about stand up alone.
It was time to enjoy almost the very last of the summer fun.
I remember riding a tiny merry-go-round in a pair of my mother’s old high heeled shoes that I simply couldn’t bear to take off when Aunt Ruby and Uncle Sid came to take me to the fair in Roscommon one year.
I remember the delicious aroma of cotton candy and sticky caramel apples and hot French fries spiced with splashes of vinegar. I remember the taste of fresh squeezed lemonade, crunchy corn dogs and flaky elephant ears. Nothing tastes quite like it does at the fair especially when you are under ten years old.
I remember blue ribbons on everything from a youngster’s first sewing to gigantic vegetables and award-winning pies that must have made the judges’ mouths water.
I remember horses that seemed as big as elephants and ponies as small as a big dog.
I remember prize-winning cows and pigs and chickens and ducks all trying to keep cool in their pens or cages while people walked by to see them.
And, sawdust covered paths between booths that sold the most wonderful stuff! Exotic trinkets, costume jewelry and fascinating junk. Even places where you could dress up just like your great-grandparents and have your picture taken.
There were rows of games that promised “a winner every time,” and people walking by carrying enormous stuffed animals to prove that it really was so.
On a trip to the top of the Ferris wheel, it seemed like you could see for miles and some of the other rides were so scary, it would take forever just to get the courage to try a turn.
The house of glass was so winding, you wondered if you would ever get out again, and the haunted castle was full of shadowy creatures, strange noises, cobwebs and long dark halls that made you shiver.
There were horse pulls and tractor pulls and all kinds of events and shows to see. On the Midway, the sights and sounds were of music playing everywhere and carneys calling to the crowds and youngsters screaming as they whizzed by on one of the rides.
There was always more to do than you could manage, even in a long afternoon, and every bit of it was loads of fun.
I remember county fairs.
