Special places. Special memories.
For me, one such place was the West Virginia State Fair. My parents took me as a child. I later took my children and then my grandchildren. You never tire of a State Fair and West Virginia’s showcase in Fairleigh, WV was always special.
In the summer of 1956, I was still getting used to small town life in Lewisburg, population 2,000, after moving there from a much larger Beckley, WV – 20,000 or more. But I had made some friends, found a few fishing holes and was looking forward to being able to have my own shotgun and going hunting that fall.
Since I had moved, all I ever heard was “The Fair”. People spoke almost reverently about the two-week event in late August.
Big deal, I thought. How could this little hick town have even a decent fair? I was soon to find out.,
Daddy got tickets and we fought the heavy traffic leading to nearby Fairlea (population of about 200 counting house pets). Daddy, as an FBI agent, could park within the gates and we set out from there. I was immediately overwhelmed by the enticing smells of donuts and elephant ears, country ham and popcorn. I was at once hungry and made quick work of an Italian Sausage Sandwich.
Our first stop was the agricultural area and I was disappointed. I had wanted to ride the rides and toss balls to win a prize, but the animals it would be.
Daddy took us to the hog barn where he inspected each of the massive animals and struck up conversations with several. As a boy, Daddy had a pet hog and apparently learned its language. Daddy snorted, and they snorted back. It was quite a conversation. Next we saw the 4H kids as they auctioned off their prize steers, then watched the sheep-shearing contests. We saw ducks and chickens and cows and rabbits and just about every bird and animal that could live on a farm. I was actually disappointed when we left for the midway, the rides and amusement area.
That night, we returned to the fair for a grandstand show and the West Virginia Fair always had big name stars. Over the years, there was John Denver, Ray Stevens, Reba McIntire, Glen Campbell, Alabama and countless others. They had first-class entertainment. Still do. This year, Jeff Foxworthy preformed.
At the Fair, we enjoyed the horse-pulling contests, the pig races and vegetable and flower judging contests. Ultimately, the rides became secondary.
Another memory I have of the Fair was the summer of the year after high school graduation. Mike, Dave, Bill and I had finagled permission from our parents to rent a cottage at Myrtle Beach, stay there for a week, then top it off with a trip to the Southern 500 Stock Car Race in Darlington.
Now, all we needed was the money to do it and I didn’t have a job. Daddy suggested I apply at the fair and Coach Gabbert, our high school coach and math teacher, recommended me to a “carney” with a snow cone, popcorn and candy apple booth. I worked the booth for a week and had a blast. It wasn’t really work to be able to talk with thousands of people and serve them yummy treats. I was paid 75c an hour and earned enough to go to the beach, and return with almost a dollar remaining in my pocket. The West Virginia State Fair had come through.
Another memory came the first year I took my youngsters, Angelin and Jimmie, ages 6 and 4. Each begged for a toy as we left the fair grounds. I don’t remember what Angelin chose, but my 4-year old son wanted a rubber rattlesnake, an extremely realistic-looking reptile coiled up as if ready to strike. Jimmie was so excited that he slept with his toy snake, then begged to take it to his play group the next morning for show-and-tell. We agreed since it was just a harmless rubber snake and Jimmie carefully put the snake in a cardboard box along with some straw and grass. It looked to all the world like a real snake.
When Jimmie opened the box and proudly displayed his “pet snake”, Jane Moore, our good friend and the leader of the play group that day, shrieked in horror. Jane was petrified of snakes. Jimmie swore it was just a toy, but she didn’t care. She closed the box, put a dozen books on top and called Nancy to come take the snake home and save the children at the play group.
We chuckle about that even today – one of the many, many great memories of the West Virginia State Fair.