I made the first early morning trip to the fairgrounds about 9:00 in order to drop off my entry into the "100 years of the Kansas State Fair memorabilia" section of the Oz Building. I hauled in my grandfather and great-uncles' trophy for their Morgan horse entry from 1912, plus two photos of them and the horse that won, neatly tucked into a clear scrapbook sleeve. I got there just a few minutes before 9 a.m. and found a 12-person line waiting at the door. Glad I got there early because by the time I left at 9:40, the line was probably 30 people deep. Lots of folks take this "entering stuff in the fair" quite seriously.
You know, having never worked at the fair, I cannot even imagine all of the pre-planning that must take place in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, once the fair's run begins. It's definitely NOT a one person show. In the Oz Building alone, I counted over 20 workers, all of them scurrying back and forth trying to figure out where the different items being brought in should be placed. There was a bit of a wait and most folks standing in the line with me just expected that. Heck, most of those folks looked like they had done this before. In fact, I loved the shirt that one woman was wearing just ahead of me in line. It was my first time to see one like it~"Been here. Done this. Back again!' I thought it was most appropriate for the occasion.
By the time I made it to the check in area, it was already 9:15 but even with a few glitches in store (they couldn't find my form that said I was pre-registered or had no record of my having bought 6-$3.00 gate admission tickets) I STILL was headed back towards home before 10:00. When I made a second journey back at noon to deliver another item for the trophy display, I found the entire parking lot full and the inside of the Oz Building looking like it had seen several visitors since I had been there two hours prior. The fair workers were laughing at the great amount of belongings that people had brought in. They weren't sure where on earth they would even be able to store everything. But they were not complaining~it's what THIS fair is all about!
Besides my entry there was only one other one in the category for memorabilia from the original 1912 Kansas State Fair. I guess at this point in time I am a "shoe in" for either first or second place (LOL). But actually, with two more days to deliver things to the buildings chances are more than good that there will be many for the judges to look at and decide upon.
It was weird, the same thing happened this time around as it did when I entered the trophy in the fair a few years back. A total stranger, just like last time, came up to me and offered to buy the trophy from me at the end of the fair. When it happened in 2008, I was asked to sell it to them for $100. I said "no" because there was no way I could part with it. This year, I didn't even bother to wait for their monetary offer.
"It's on the over my dead body list" that I have at home I explained. The trophy would be going nowhere else any time soon....excepting maybe MY house on East 14th Street. There are still a few things in this life of ours that money cannot buy. The Brown Brothers trophy is one of them.
Have a good rest of this Labor Day Monday my friends and family. Tomorrow it's back to work for all of us.
May the best memorabilia win! It's fun to enter, even if it goes nowhere. I'm honoring my grandfather and his brothers by doing so.
You know, having never worked at the fair, I cannot even imagine all of the pre-planning that must take place in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, once the fair's run begins. It's definitely NOT a one person show. In the Oz Building alone, I counted over 20 workers, all of them scurrying back and forth trying to figure out where the different items being brought in should be placed. There was a bit of a wait and most folks standing in the line with me just expected that. Heck, most of those folks looked like they had done this before. In fact, I loved the shirt that one woman was wearing just ahead of me in line. It was my first time to see one like it~"Been here. Done this. Back again!' I thought it was most appropriate for the occasion.
By the time I made it to the check in area, it was already 9:15 but even with a few glitches in store (they couldn't find my form that said I was pre-registered or had no record of my having bought 6-$3.00 gate admission tickets) I STILL was headed back towards home before 10:00. When I made a second journey back at noon to deliver another item for the trophy display, I found the entire parking lot full and the inside of the Oz Building looking like it had seen several visitors since I had been there two hours prior. The fair workers were laughing at the great amount of belongings that people had brought in. They weren't sure where on earth they would even be able to store everything. But they were not complaining~it's what THIS fair is all about!
Besides my entry there was only one other one in the category for memorabilia from the original 1912 Kansas State Fair. I guess at this point in time I am a "shoe in" for either first or second place (LOL). But actually, with two more days to deliver things to the buildings chances are more than good that there will be many for the judges to look at and decide upon.
It was weird, the same thing happened this time around as it did when I entered the trophy in the fair a few years back. A total stranger, just like last time, came up to me and offered to buy the trophy from me at the end of the fair. When it happened in 2008, I was asked to sell it to them for $100. I said "no" because there was no way I could part with it. This year, I didn't even bother to wait for their monetary offer.
"It's on the over my dead body list" that I have at home I explained. The trophy would be going nowhere else any time soon....excepting maybe MY house on East 14th Street. There are still a few things in this life of ours that money cannot buy. The Brown Brothers trophy is one of them.
Have a good rest of this Labor Day Monday my friends and family. Tomorrow it's back to work for all of us.
May the best memorabilia win! It's fun to enter, even if it goes nowhere. I'm honoring my grandfather and his brothers by doing so.
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