County Fairs of Old

Taking nothing away from our modern day county fairs I can say “They just don’t make them like they used to.” At least not from a little country boy’s point of view. I believe in those late 40s and 50s the county fair was a little more inclined to cater to the younger generations. As country kids growing up on the local farms we had very little access to any entertainment except maybe seeing a western movie now and then. So whenever that fair time came around we couldn’t wait to go. It usually lasted three or four days but my dad would go for only one evening and night so I had to take it all in in one trip.

One of the most things looked forward to was the exhibits of the new cars for the new model year. Car dealers from all over the county would have their new models on exhibit. Of course in this time period there were no such things as “imports.” All of these models were made in the good ole USA. Each model had their distinctive body style and one could tell from ¼ mile away the make and model of an upcoming car. There were Chevys, Fords, Pontiacs, Buicks, Olds, Rambler, Mercury, International and a few more I can’t come up with at this time. I’ll never forget the year the “Edsel” came about. Everyone said “man, what an ugly looking car.” But people still bought them so I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There were many scheduled events held around the fairgrounds, most of them free of charge. So when I saw a crowd gathering I’d rush over knowing a free show was about to start. This time a man was putting on a show with his wife. He would do magic tricks, balancing acts, juggling and he also did a stunt with his bull whip. His wife would hold a cotton candy paper cone in her mouth and he would cut off small pieces at a time until he got within two inches of her face. How thrilling! Then she climbed into a large wooden box with slots in it. He proceeded to stick long swords into this box, one at a time. After he finished inserting the last of about ten swords, he would charge five cents for the kids to climb on a stool and look over the top of this box and see how the wife was all twisted up in there to avoid being punctured.

Next there was a high wire act. A cable was stretched from a 50 ft. tower at a 45 degree angle and anchored into the ground. Then a performer ascended this cable and performed many tricks on this tight wire. This was all done without a harness or a net.

I cannot forget to mention Bozo the clown. He always had a bunch of kids following him around. He had on these huge oversized shoes that flopped as he walked. He had his baggy pants pockets full of balloons, trinkets and small toys that he gave out to the youngsters. I remember one toy. It was a stick with a wooden cup on one end. There was a small rubber ball attached to the stick handle by a rubber band. The trick was to swing this ball outward and try to catch it in the wooden cup. There were dozens of kids following him around and trying their luck at it. There was also a miniature train going around and around in one area. The tracks to the operating train were only about 12” wide. The conductor was a fully grown man and he pulled behind him about 10 cars – each holding a small child. I never got to ride this train because the lines of kids were too long and I had too many other things to see and do that night. One thing I remember is when Bozo the clown attempted to cross this miniature track. He supposedly got his huge foot stuck in it. As the train was coming closer and closer, he desperately tried to free himself. On impulse I almost ran out there to help him but at the last instant he jerked his foot loose and did a somersault backwards to the shouts of relief from all the kids. How exciting for us at that time.

Besides seeing many more I shall mention one more stunt. I have seen this only that one night. I guess it was prohibited later on due to the fact that it was too dangerous. Too dangerous for the spectators, that is. There was this huge wooden cistern about 16’ high and about 16’ in diameter. A motorcycle was parked in the bottom of this cistern. This was one stunt you had to pay to see. So after enough tickets were sold, we were to climb steps leading to a platform at the top of this tank. We would all crowd around the tank and peer over the top. Then the cycle driver would rev up the bike and as he went round and round in this cistern in a horizontal position, he gained more speed. Pretty soon he was going so fast he was just a blur as he weaved up and down along the walls! I can see why they outlawed this stunt. It was done without any barriers or safety precautions towards the people looking over the top. I shudder to think of the consequences involved if that bike came over the top and flew into the crowd. But for a young boy like me, this was something I will never forget.

Soon it was time to go home. We had come in a 1949 International pickup truck. My older brother, George, and I had to ride in the truck bed because the cab was small and there was room only for Mom and Dad and my older sister, Georgia. A blue norther blew up as we were enjoying the festivities. It turned very cold that night and as George and I huddled in the back of that truck going home, we agreed that it was all worth it and couldn’t wait for next year.