It’s a serious afFAIR in Pomeroy!

For most rural farming communities, fair weekend is a big deal, and the Garfield County Fair in Pomeroy holds true to this tradition. Over the course of the past week conversations revolved around the fair, signs reading “See you at the fair” appeared on storefront windows, and traffic going through town seemed to increase -- but don’t get frazzled, it still wasn’t nearly as bad as Cape traffic during the summer. A sense of community spirit spread through town and brought with it a heartwarming feeling. I had the opportunity to volunteer at the fair and later enjoy it with Kate, and no I’m not talking in the third person. My volunteer duties involved manning the cabin with Susie and sucking up my hatred of balloons to keep the children happy and teenagers talking in funny voices. Somehow, I managed to survive the painful sound and unbearable feel of balloons. On a side note, the cabin actually has quite the history. The hospital acquired it some time ago and moved it from its original location to the fairgrounds. A family of six or so lived in this one room with a loft house thats about the size of medium sized bathroom, minus the toilet and tub. It became the joke that Suzanne kicked me out and I now live in the cabin. Better get some heavier long johns for the winter! On my off time, I did get to look around at the exhibits, animals, and events. And I surely enjoyed the majority of it. So what’s there, you ask? Well, there’s a showcase of farm animals including chickens, cows, lambs, sheep, bunnies, pigeons… you name it, they’ve raised it. And by “they” I mean the FFA and 4-H youths (we’re talking 6-18 year olds), as well as adults. And these aren’t just your standard moo-cows or roosters. Just about every breed, color, size you can imagine are well represented. It’s amazing to see how much work and dedication these kids put into raising and showing their animals. And I must say those kids look quite adorable in their cowboy boots and hats. Makes my childhood look rather unproductive. Besides the animals, displays of flower and wheat arrangements, photography, paintings, old tractors and farming equipment were spread throughout the fairgrounds… and then the lawn mower races. On Saturday night, Kate and I went down to the beer garden, located right beside the track for racing dirt bikes, ATV’s, and…. lawn mowers. These lawn mowers had some serious bunny speed, but unfortunately 6 out of the 8 didn’t last more than 2 laps and eventually all the lawn mowers broke down. Bummed, we called it a night for the fair and watched classic movies instead. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for Sunday’s festivities. The first event of the day left me seriously dumbstruck -- the chicken scramble. And no, it’s not who can make the best scrambled eggs. Picture this. Groups of small children separated by grade starting at elementary school. Three grown chickens. “Ready. Set. Go.” And the kids racing like mad to tackle the nearest chicken and claim their prize. Borderline animal cruelty? I’m not sure. But I can’t say I ever thought I’d witness something as absurdly bizarre as what I did. And this seemed to be a theme for the remainder of the day. Afterwards, we walked through the agricultural museum which Suzanne’s brother Gary has done a tremendous amount of work organizing. Inside, machines from the early 1900s and a full size kitchen equipped with antique utensils and appliances brought an eclectic spectacle of life in the old days. One of the more impressive displays, which we had the opportunity to talk with the artist behind it, was a wooden half-sized replica of a plow from 1918. Inspired by a picture found in a magazine, he spent 3 years intricately putting together this astonishing piece of work all by his own interpretation of how to create it. Then, the rodeo. So, I’ve never experienced a rodeo before other than what I’ve seen on TV and in movies. I honestly never knew what to make of it other than I felt badly for the animals and the riders getting trampled. Not my idea of entertainment, but with my “you can’t judge it until you experience it” attitude, I had to witness the rodeo for myself. So Kate and I headed over to the stands and saw a small town rodeo at its finest. The first event, sheep riding. Who rode? Four year olds, maybe pushing five or six? In my eyes, still too young to get bucked by a sheep. And yes, those sheep do get wild. Between all the odd events, roping took place. This pained me. Teams and individuals tried their hand at lassoing steers running around the course. I found the two person roping worst because the poor cow got pulled from the hind leg and horn causing it to split. And looking more like pulling its leg straight out of the socket. Horrible. I cringed at the sight. Then came the wild cow milking. Ready to pounce on the victims of cow trampling, I witnessed grown men chase cows and at times tackling them just to gain control and get some milk. I mean, I guess that sounds fun? Luckily, or more like amazingly, no one required medical attention. One individual just needed a new pair of jeans after the steer bounced all over him. The only mildly entertaining, and cute, part of the rodeo weren’t the men in cowboy hats, but the little kids who untied ribbons off goat’s tails. So needless to say, my fair experience brought with it some really interesting memories and things I never imagined I would witness. In the end, I’d do it again. But maybe minus the wind carrying the scent of hamburgers in my direction. And don’t worry, I refrained from saying, “Man, I could really go for a veggie burger right now!”