Why the County Fair Matters

 

On the Midway of the Monroe County

(Ill.) Fair. July 24 2014

      Until I moved away to the big city almost 20 years ago, the Monroe County Fair in Waterloo, Ill., was a big deal for this agriculture-based community. 
 My first job out of college was with the hometown newspaper. If participating in the fair as a 4-H'er and FFA Chapter member wasn’t enough, covering it for the newspaper was over the top. And I enjoyed every minute of it. It involved taking pictures of everything including grand champion hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, goats and rabbits, all with a smiling fair queen handing out the trophies.

Canned goods of all kinds in the fine arts building. 

For the past 67 years Monroe County residents, farmers and townspeople alike,  have gathered in the late summer or early fall for the county fair in Waterloo. As a young member of the local 4-H Club and High School Future Farmers of American chapter member, fair week in early August last week in July, was a welcome respite from the monotony of farm life. It was also a chance to socialize, and show off your 4-H garden products, farm animals and fine arts. I have to mention that tractor pulls, demolition derbies (one for cars and one for combines). There are lots of fond memories when it comes to the fair. The arrival of fair week was also a subtle signal that school would start before you knew it.

Farm youth with market animals wait for their turn in the auction ring. 4-H and FFA members gain valuable life lessons showing animals. 

Only July 24, I took the family to the fair and my five-year-old loved it. Lured by the promise of riding the Ferris wheel and perhaps a roller coaster, we arrived well before the rides opened. A little disappointing for sure, but extra time to see all the other sights and sounds. We headed to the livestock barns, which have expanded greatly in recent years. There must’ve been a few hundred rabbits and poultry on display, and we had to study just about every rabbit on display. 

Rabbits are popular at this year's exposition

It cannot be said by this five year old that if you’ve seen one rabbit you’ve seen them all. Next up, goats and sheep, hogs, dairy cattle and beef cattle. The rides still aren’t opened, but the foods stands are coming to life.

If one had attended the fair 30 years ago and again in 2014 it wouldn’t go without noticing that most, if not all, of the food vendors – local civic, church and school organizations staffed by volunteers -- are exactly the same. This is a testament to the quality and value of food. However, I noticed one local group was peddling poultry sandwiches manufactured by a national chain. This seemed out of place to me but I will refrain from further snarky comments.

Sleepy and mostly quiet in mid afternoon, the County Fair Midway was soon a 

bee hive of activity. 

     A hamburger, nachos sno-cone and ice cream cone later, the young one was ready for the carnival rides. Maybe he should let his food settle first. That was a good time to check out all the tractors.

     Finally! The rides opened and they were a hit, and a great fun finale to celebrate the fair and all it has to offer.

Terrified and thrilled at the same time. 

 It’s hard to put into words why county fairs are important. It’s simply that agriculture matters; a robust farm economy matters, and farmers are important. They are the ultimate conservationists. Farmers have known for a long time that conserving soil and humane treatment of farm animals is, besides the right thing to do, good for business.

Ultimately keeping folks employed and nourished helps keep the peace. American farmers understand this and do a good job at it.  And it didn’t go unnoticed that all the ag product entries – and there were hundreds of them – were the products of family farmers.

Hot and dry, cloudy and cold. Weather during fair week varies from year to year. Dairy cattle enjoy a cool midweek this year. 

So if you are a city dweller concerned about how farmers treat the environment and animals, or maybe you want to to know more about the food on your table,  go to a county fair in your area and talk to a farmer. By talk to, I don’t mean talk at. Have a conversation. Ask questions. Be informed. Have fun and ride the rides.

Farming, gardening, textiles, crafts and photography. There is an opportunity for anyone to showcase their creativity at the Fair. 

    

    

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Wheat harvest is underway in southwestern Illinois. I got this shot of my brother combining today. 

Why are members of congress paid by the federal government

You hear it all the time. Those bums in the U.S. congress -- your elected Senators and Representatives -- are overpaid, get cushy pensions and exemp themselves from most of the laws they pass. Lately this organization doesn't seem to accomplish much either.

Maybe there is a solution to a few of these shortcomings. I've begun to ask myself why members of the U.S. Congress on the federal government payroll in the first place? Pick a Senator, any Senator. How about Harry Reed of Nevada? He's probably the least liked but better-known members of the Senate. Why does my federal income tax pay his salary? Shouldn't the fine folks of the state of Nevada pay his salary?  He represents the state of Nevada and lives there, too. Then there's my two senators in Missouri, Roy Blount and Claire McCaskell. Not that the wonderful folks of Missouri couldn't do better. At least we don't have Harry Reed. But that's not the point of this essay. Roy and Claire represent me and every resident of the tax paying citizens of Missouri. Simply put, our congressional delegations should be paid by the state which they represent.

This idea upsets the apple cart in so many ways; some good and some not as good. The state legislatures would set the salaries of their congressional delegations, including pension and healthcare  benefits. That means senator from Florida and a Senator from Iowa would be paid different amounts. So what? The whole body would no longer be able to vote themselves pay raises. That also means congress folk would be under the pension systems of the states they represent. We could go on and on.

I'm just throwing out this idea. I can't believe I would be the first one to think of it, but it's time to do something.

StayCation

We have decided this year to stick close to home this week. There's something to be said for staycation. I have been doing lots of reading and catching up cataloging and organizing my photo collection. Every day we try to see a sight close to home, and here in St. Louis there's lots to see. Yesterday afternoon we left home, not knowing exactly where we would end up. Then we ended up at the Arch. I've been going up in the Arch for 40 plus years. Then last year I don't know what happened, but I'll just say I'd rather not go up in the Arch anymore. I've always been afraid of heights anyway. But my son and wife don't mind the ride, so while they were up on the observation deck I stayed on firm ground and got some photos.

Which leads to what else I've been doing. As a very amateur photo hack I always shoot in JPEG. Then I've been reading articles about how you get much better control shooting RAW files, fiddling with them in a program like PS Elements and then converting to JPEG. I'm liking the results.

A picturesque Country Church

St John's UCC, originally uploaded by edrahe.

I grew up attending a little church much like this one a few miles outside of Hermann, Missouri. I only had time for a few quick shots, and it was very cold. This is definitely on to revisit in the springtime, if I remember how to get there.