Why do you go to the fair? I think probably the most quoted reason is to visit with friends. There are people who definitely live within the county that I do not see at any other time of the year.

Even though I am out and about with my volunteer duties there are some people that I only visit with at the fair. The generous number of benches that line the walkways make it the perfect place to observe the people passing by. If you see a friend sitting there, just stop and visit.

The whole family is there, but they are and out as duty calls. There are animals at home so some travel back and forth. Others have to go to work. I recall one year my son went home and did not return for a long time. That was the year of a storm that went through the area washing out roads and fences. They had a lot of repair work to do before they returned.

The tornado that went through this area this summer did a lot of damage to the Erie Co. New York Fairgrounds. I saw pictures on the internet of the damage. I am sure volunteers worked around the clock doing necessary repairs.

This year I did not enter anything but I still will check the buildings to see how others did. My granddaughter and I used to bake up a storm – that is before she started showing cows. I promised her mother that year that I would put an end to our baking entries since everything has to be done at the last minute.

Our family has been involved with the dairy industry so participating in 4H has been part of our history. My children took calves and participated in 4H. Once I returned to college to work on my certification that ended. There was simply not enough time.

Our daughter surprised us when she ran for Fair Queen. When she won that really turned things around. She was working at the time so she had to request time off to complete her responsibilities.

That fall I was elected to the fair board. I was partnered with another lady to head up the publicity committee. This was a long time ago so things were a lot different. While I was doing the publicity we set up an e-mail but had to submit ads as hard copy. I remember that we conducted a survey one year collecting responses daily to see how people found out about the fair. We met daily to go over the responses. We used our findings to allocate our budget for the next year.

It was not long until I did most of the writing for various publications because I had contacts with the news media. I completed interviews with fair participants for feature pieces. It was always interesting to talk with people such as the lady who won the most ribbons, an avid quilter who won many ribbons for her work, the men who volunteered to sweep out the pavilion each morning, and the girl who showed her horse for many years.

Of course, I did the interviews with the stars as well. I never knew who might be on my phone when I picked it up. I stayed home from a family wedding to interview Eddie Rabbit. Holly Dunn was doing dishes as she responded to my questions. Garth Brooks was most gracious as he sat backstage for his interview. Tracy Byrd answered all of my questions then excused himself for a golf outing. Trace Adkins held my two-month old granddaughter for pictures. Brad Paisley and I discussed farming. He often visited his grandfather’s farm. Sawyer Brown just called me and I had to gather my information quickly to be ready. Mark Lowry conducted his interview on the computer responding to my questions in writing. I did get to meet him later.

I did my homework before each interview to be sure I did not ask questions that I already had the answer for. The stars seemed to like that approach since they knew I was not wasting their time.

Some people like the rides. I remember the year the amusement company brought a new Ferris wheel with gondola seats. It was set up at the top of the midway so that made the vantage point even higher. Camera in hand I boarded the ride to take some aerial shots. That became an annual event because you could capture such a neat view of the fair. Often, I went up on Friday afternoon to check the parking lot and the traffic pattern so I could go on the air to tell fairgoers the best route on to the grounds.

When the new road went in it was a big deal. There were now two entrances and exits helping traffic flow smoother. We spent a lot of time getting the word out that year. The year we switched to pay-on-price was also a big deal. We had to get the word out that the fair was now family friendly.

I spent nineteen years on the board, all of it doing the publicity and later the advertising. By the time the fair arrived my work was done except for getting people to interview with radio stations.

Now, I relax in the campgrounds, walk my dog, watch the grandchildren show their cows, help In the fair food booth, and visit. Yes, folks, the fair is definitely the place to visit with friends.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, PA. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.