Editor’s Note: These are from our Wordle Word Stories. Some of these are dated. But in this case, the Fair is not far away.
The Fair By Linda Stowe
The Fair Week. When I was a kid, my brother and I lived for fair week because our parents always volunteered at the Grange or church food tents. We probably weren’t at the fair as often as I recall, but I will bet that we got in two or three good long days. My brother and I were free to explore the fairgrounds while our mom worked at the food tent. For my dad, the fair meant setting up and tearing down the tent and spending maybe one night there to secure the tent.
We all loved the fair, but the fair was much more important to our mother because she always exhibited things in the agricultural barn. Things like pies with crusts so tender they would just flake if you looked at them, or intricately sewn items, or things she’d grown in her garden. My mother’s hard work helped her to claim her share of ribbons. Occasionally tempers would flare as the judges evaluated the entries. My mother was not one of those who became angry about losing. If she did not do as well as she expected, she learned from her mistakes and tried again the following year. That and the importance of volunteering in the community were two life lessons our parents taught us without saying a word.
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Polly here. I simply love every word of this. The images it conjures in my mind are warm and tender. The way Linda described her mother’s care for her craft was wonderful.
I never knew what a “county fair” was until I moved to Preble County. Not really. I went to the Ohio State Fair when I was 18. That was my first one of its kind.
I think there are so many great things about county fairs. There is a certain wholesomeness about so much of them. Especially the competitions where the hopes for blue ribbons abound. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from all of this. And as Linda mentioned, sometimes we learn these life lessons without anyone saying a single word.
