Spending three days at the N.Y. State Fair gave me a chance
to do something that I don’t always have time to when I travel, talk to the
people I meet. I was able to spend time getting to know the people that work at
and visit the fair. Here are a few of their stories.
Julia
Julia is a twelve year old young lady who I met when I wandered
in to the goat barn. She was working hard, grooming a goat to be shown later
that day. When I asked, she explained that she was doing a favor for a friend,
and she had already shown her goat. I found that kind of helpfulness throughout
the fair. Yes there were competitions, but they were friendly, and everyone
lent a hand when needed. Julie explained that she had been coming to the fair
for thirteen years, that is, even before she was born.
Bruce
Bruce has been a farmer in New York for most of his adult life, as he told me, he even married the farmer’s daughter. However, he only been raising and showing Highland cattle for the past 14 years. He said that when he and his wife traveled to Scotland they fell in love with this breed. He started showing junior Highlands in his local fair and then began coming to the State Fair. He told me that one of the things he really enjoys is spending time with other breeders.
Virginia
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| Virginia (Left) and Samantha |
Virginia is a 4H horse leader from Orange County NY. She has
been bringing students up to the fair for over 20 years. She really enjoys
working with young people and teaching them the skills of both showing and judging
horses and riders. She has come to fair as a judge of equine events, and also
to work in area of Hippology – an
activity in which 4H members can demonstrate their knowledge of equine science
and husbandry in a competitive setting – think college bowl for horses.
Helen
Helen works during the fair as a guide on the free trams
that carry people around the outer edge of the fair grounds. During the rest of
the year she works as a teacher’s assistant in a nearby school district, but
for these twelve days she becomes a font of information for everyone from first
time visitors to fair veterans. She can explain the fastest way to get from one
place to another, tell you the best places for food or just give you some of
the history of the fair grounds.
Mike
Mike runs the antique tractor exhibit. This is a collection
of tractors that are lent to the fair every year by their owners. They range
from the early 20th century to the 1980’s. Mike has done this volunteer job for
the last 9 years, working with a team of 12-15 people. Every year people lend
their tractors in return for passes to the fair and parking permits.
Lorraine
In 1999 Lorraine, a teacher at the time, attended a soap
making demonstration at the N.Y. State Fair. This started her on a journey of
first learning how to make soap, then creating a business, and finally taking
over the demonstrations herself in 2004. Today she gives the demonstrations
with a mix of history and science that brings to life the process back in the
day, and also how anyone could make soap today.
One reason that I enjoy traveling is getting to meet people who have had different experiences that I have had. I don't always have the time to sit and talk with them. This time I did, and I really learned a lot by doing so.
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