Trending
It's Trumbull County Fair week! Hopefully, you have already made it to the fair, but if not, there is still time. This year marks the 180th fair, and fair week has always made me nostalgic.
Growing up, I showed rabbits and later pigs, and I spent much of the week working with the Junior Fair Board. Fair week was easily one of my favorite times of the year, even though I rarely made it down to the midway.
Each summer, my mom packed our motorhome with food, extra clothes, towels and just about anything else she thought we might need. Then we moved ourselves to the Trumbull County Fairgrounds for the week. It never failed that fair week seemed to bring the hottest weather of the summer, followed by one of the stormiest weekends on record. There was always a joke that the fairgrounds must sit on cursed land because the weather could never cooperate for one full week in July.
For 4-H kids, though, the midway was never the center of the fair. There was too much work -- and too much fun -- to be had in what we called the barns.
Early mornings in the barns were quiet and peaceful, interrupted only by cows mooing and bellowing for breakfast. As the day went on, the chores began. Animals needed to be fed, washed, clipped and kept cool. Stalls had to be cleaned and everything had to be ready for the next show or inspection.
Somehow, there was always time for fun, too. There were water balloon fights, barn games and naps on hay bales -- or even on cows. Nothing tasted better than a Dairy Barn milkshake and a sandwich my mom shoved into my hands as I raced back out the door.
Show days were their own kind of chaos. Animals had to be washed and trimmed early in the morning. Then came the challenge of putting on clean show clothes and somehow keeping them clean while handling a hot, cranky animal that would much rather be napping than parading through a loud barn. Once the showing was finished, though, it was back to spending time with friends.
Saturday was one of the most exciting days because it was sale day, when a year of work finally came together. The animals entered the ring, and we showed them to the best of our ability while waiting to hear what buyers were willing to pay.
Local residents, businesses, families, friends and organizations such as the Trumbull County Farm Bureau filled the auction to support the exhibitors and help them receive strong prices for their animals. Much of that money went toward the following year's project or into savings for college.
Then came Sunday night, which was always the hardest.
The sale barns emptied, and the animals left for their final destinations. The barns filled with hugs, tears and the kind of heartbreak that comes with raising livestock for a commercial purpose. It was one of the hardest lessons of 4-H, but also one of the most important.
Even in the sadness, there was one final tradition. After the last trucks pulled away, 4-H kids and their families gathered along the back road of the fairgrounds to watch the closing fireworks.
New friends and old friends stood together for one last happy moment at the end of a week filled with hard work, memories and lessons that would last far beyond the fair.
That is why, when you visit the Trumbull County Fair, I hope you take time to walk through the barns. Stop and look at the animals. Talk to the kids who raised them. Notice the signs hanging above the stalls and the names of the families and organizations that continue to support youth agriculture.
The fair's roots are in agriculture and that tradition is still very much alive through the work of 4-H members, their families, local buyers and groups such as the Trumbull County Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau's involvement can be seen throughout the fairgrounds, from its booth and activities to the signs recognizing members and their animals in the barns.
The midway may have the lights, rides, games, and food, but the barns hold the heart of the fair.
That is where the real work happens, friendships grow, lessons are learned and another generation discovers what it means to care for something larger than themselves.
Clemson is a member of the Trumbull County Farm Bureau and completed her Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University. She and her family have a farm in Mecca.