EDITORIAL: Fairs offer something for everyone
It’s time to breathe in the aroma of fried dough, listen to shouts of excitement from rides, and check out the apple pie contests and 4-H exhibits.
Fair season in Greene, Fayette and Washington counties has officially arrived.
Today, the Jacktown Fair opens the gates for its 159th season, kicking off weeks of summertime entertainment and education in the area.
Over the past year, fair boards and volunteers have worked tirelessly to put together the best experience possible, providing something for everyone to do or see.
Those attractions vary from fair to fair, but the common thread among them is the memories people make when they walk through the gates.
The fairs in our area are rich with history. We thought it appropriate to take a look at some of the most interesting tidbits to get everyone ready for fair season.
“You can’t die happy ’til you’ve been to the Jacktown Fair,” the slogan of the Wind Ridge fair, was first found in an area newspaper in 1931. The wording wasn’t quite the same – “Visit Jacktown and die happy” is how it was written in the Waynesburg Democrat Messenger. Over the years, the wording has been tweaked to the present day slogan.
Drawing around 100,000 attendees each year, the Fayette County Fair is one of the largest in the state. When it started 70 years ago, two secretaries handled all of the paperwork for the event. To keep up with its growth, about 300 volunteers, 100 volunteer committee members and a 13-person board of directors are necessary today.
When the Greene County Fair premiered in 1867, it offered a number of attractions. One of the most controversial was gambling. It was scandalous at the time, and area newspapers offered scathing criticisms. The gambling included a shooting gallery, shell game and spinning a wheel of fortune.
The first fair in Washington County took place in October 1798, making it one of the longest-running fairs in the state. Over the years, it moved several times (including to a lot on East Maiden Street) before settling at its 100-acre home in Arden in 1911. Past attractions included a lime-crushing contest, mule racing and trick flying.
The West Alexander Fair was founded after a fair just across the state line in West Virginia closed down in 1905. The following year, men who were involved in that fair brought it back to West Alexander. When the fairgrounds were purchased in 1906, the 57 acres cost $7,500. Hot air balloon ascensions were a major attraction until 1951, when the wind carried one away. It dropped into a neighbor’s cornfield.
So, whether you spend all week at the fair or just an evening, savor the experience. Before you know it, another fair season will be gone.