I have lots of memories of the Utah State Fair. When I was young, my Aunt Betty worked in the Home Arts Building. We always went to the fair and stopped to see her along with the lovely sewing and cooking entries. We also knew that my Grandma J's sewing surpassed anything we saw there and she would have had Sweepstakes ribbons if she had entered her work. Since I inherited her interest in sewing, this has always been my favorite exhibit. Betty's husband, my Uncle Wayne, also participated in the fair as a second, temp job while he worked as a Driver License Examiner and later he was involved as a Utah Highway Patrolman. He used his influence to help me get my first job there. I worked in one of the industrial buildings selling homemade fudge and candy. It was the display where they had the big taffy pulling machine as the attention-grabber. This is when I first learned to count change - a skill I'm still grateful for. In this day of computer-thinking, many cashiers couldn't function if the machine was on the blink.
My mother worked at least one year in concessions to earn Christmas money. I know it was difficult for her because of health problems and she needed surgery at the time.
As a pre-teen I remember going to the fair with my cousin Kathy and looking for boys. I also remember seeing the actress who played "My Little Margie" - a short-lived television show we liked. (I entered cookies in the 4H exhibit of the county fair and won a blue ribbon.) Steve reminded me of how we used to save milk cartons (Meadow Gold) for Fair entry. I had forgotten about those things we would do to manage admission. We also sometimes got special deals because of the family members working there.
As an adult I took the kids a few times, when I could afford the price of admission. We carefully avoided the carnival due to high priced rides and kind of a scary environment.
Three years ago I decided I wanted to go to the fair partly for "old times' sake" (I had unsuccessfully tried to find someone to accompany me for several years). I went alone, listened to Kenny Rogers outside the Home Arts Building so I didn't have to pay for entry to the concert and I really enjoyed it. It was a groundbreaking experience for me when I realized I really could do what I wanted to do and did not have to be restricted by what others wanted (or didn't). I kind of claimed my independence there. The last two years Steve went with me because he didn't like the idea that I might go there alone again (I think he felt it was still kind of scary). He didn't really want to go but I only recently learned of that - he hid it well! He wanted me to be happy and not alone. Gotta love true friends!
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I feel like I practically grew up at the Utah State Fair. My dad and grandpa had a storm windows booth every year. Craig and I were there pretty much every day of the fair (if it was a school, day we went in the evening with Mom). I could work the booth as good as Dad!
ReplyDeleteOne of our family's favorite memories was seeing the band, the Jack 'D Johns, there every year. We can sing all their silly songs still. We think we may be their only fans, but we are loyal!
I rarely go to a fair as an adult, but when I do it brings back very very fond memories.