The County Fair

The fair is truly an amazing event.  With roots going back over 150 years into our nation's history, it is a chance to step back into simpler times.  Only a few generations back, a man would move out west with nothing more than his wife, a wagon full of supplies, and a dream.  The dream was simple: start a new life, a better life, a life where he and he alone was his own master.  Many men died on such a journey, but many more succeeded, and it was through the courage of men like this that the Western United States was founded.

Just like today, men in those days complained of overcrowding.  The first people to arrive got their pick of the choicest land.  The land was pure and untouched by the western world.  They were far enough away from civilization to where they felt like the only person on earth, and at the same time just close enough to others in case of an emergency.  However, as more and more people moved west, neighbors became a nuisance.  People would complain about being able to see their neighbor's chimney smoke on a clear summer day.

Circumstances have changed a lot over the last couple centuries, but one thing that has not changed is people's need for community.  With all this adventure and isolation, people still had the need for community, and one thing that they would do is go to the county fair.  People lived off the land: they ate what they could  grow or kill, they wore clothes that they made themselves, and their hobbies were making trinkets with their own two hands.  However once a year people would bring all these items together in one central place to share a sense of community and engage in some neighborly competition.

Technology and modern culture have absolutely had their effect on fairs over the decades, but what strikes me most about the fair is how much has not changed.  Yes there are the shows, and the rides, and all the vendors in the sides of semi-trucks.  But when I went through the different exhibition halls and look at the quilting displays, and the crafts, and the painting, I was brought back to a simpler time, when these things would have been the center point of culture.  It was an amazing journey back into the history pages of our country.

However, after my little jaunt of nostalgia, I needed modern-day thrill.  I got three other friends and went on the meanest, wildest ride I could find.  It was awesome!!