The Otoe county fair opens Monday in Syracuse and that means a lot of 4-Hers and FFA students will be competing for coveted honors.
There have been a number of years of county fairs "under the bridge" since this reporter showed his not-so-champion Shorthorn heifer down in Kansas.
I thought Tippy was about the greatest calf in the country and it was a sad day when the judge chose another calf for the big ribbon.
Just like the kids today . . . we slept in the barns with the livestock . . . and that was before there were so many sprays and we all looked like freckled boys the next morning . . . thanks to the flies.
The Otoe county fair has many dedicated people like Marvin Hoffman, Elmer Gellerman and Orville Koch who serve in positions that require rounding up the many volunteers who get the job done.
The fair at Syracuse has been more of a home fair for me than in my hometown in Kansas, mostly because I've come to know so many gracious people . . . the gals at the church foodstands have been generous with servings in the dinner lines.
County fairs probably will always be the place for family togetherness. And they should.
The events are not completely saturated with hogs, cattle and sheep and purple ribbons.
There are many little cuties making their debut modeling clothes they made under the supervision of 4-H membership.
And it's not uncommon for a girl to win a top award for her dress or apron and show a grand champion in the livestock show.
Believe it was Dr. and Mrs. Harry Baker's daughter who walked away with those prizes.
The late Frank Sorrell took the county fair to heart and it was at the county fair that Frank died. Although he was seemingly every place during the livestock and other shows, he most certainly was the grand master in front of the Syracuse band.
He had just concluded his share of marching with the Syracuse band from downtown Syracuse to the fairgrounds when he had his fatal heart attack.
I'll always remember Frank strutting in front of the Syracuse band. He loved that band and the fair.
There was a time when the horse pulling contests were the big features of county fairs . . . then came the tractor pulling contests and that is getting into some real rigs.
But there is another . . . as Larry Briley can testify.
Garden tractor pulling contests. They're held over at Percival, there will be one at Hamburg's popcorn festival and understand another will be held at Bill Stites' Ponda Rosa.