Third Visit 2014 - The Old Heritage Square

Sunday, August 31, 2014
I had never been to Heritage Square when it existed as described above. I didn't even know it was there.

Third Visit 2014 - History and Heritage Center

Sunday, August 31, 2014
Photo from 1976

State Fair 2013 - Midway

Next we took a rather thorough tour of the Midway. We didn't play any games. We didn't ride any rides. We just watched. It was crowded and noisy but, oh, what a good time people were having. It was really quite fun to watch. I remember being at the Fair when I was little. My younger brother Sam was in a stroller  which would have made him one or two and me four or five. Grandma Alice and Grandpa Louie were in town from up north to go visit the fair with us. We were just outside the midway because I remember looking in at all all the bright lights. Grandma had gotten a little stuffed toy somewhere at the Fair and I remember her handing it to Sam in his stroller. It don't recall us going in the Midway but I do remember the appeal and excitement that it seemed to offer. It was dark and probably just about time for us to leave so Sam and I coulc get to bed. It's still a lot of fun - even if you just watch.

In Leavenworth

I'm in Leavenworth, KS visiting my brother Sam and his family (he's in the military, not the prison). We went to a rib joint for dinner tonight and were reminiscing about going to the fair as kids.  I talked about saving money a little bit at a time for the whole year and also saving some of the Eisenhower silver dollars that Grandma Alice would give us for our birthdays and on holidays. I remember one year we went, Mom pulled out a light jacket for me since it was starting to get cool at night aroud the time of the fair and finding 20 dollars in the jacket pocket. I really felt like a big spender that year. We talked about starting out at the Mexican Village and getting Mexican food, which I loved, and then shopping in the market after that. We also talked about getting our photographs taken and having them put onto buttons that we could wear. I asked Sam if he knew the difference between corn dogs and pronto pups. He didn't. I told him that I had only found out in the last couple years - a pronto pup batter is flour based and a corn dog's batter is corn based. These buttons were probably taken in 1973 and 1974.

State Fair 2012 - The Giant Slide 1972 - 2012

I haven't been on the Giant Slide in about 40 years. I decided to give it a try again this year. Dale and I got tickets and made our way up the stairs to the top. As a six year old I remember it feeling like I was having the air knocked out of me as I went over every bump. As a 46 year old it was just plain fun. Forty years was worth the wait!

Photo taken Friday August 24, 2012

Lillian Colton

Following is the obituary for Lillian Colton from the Owatonna, Minnesota People's Press and is dated March 22, 2007. The obituary was written by Jeffrey Jackson.

"Famed Owatonna crop artist Lillian Colton, whose work was displayed prominently at the Minnesota State Fair and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, died Tuesday at her home, her family announced"

"She was 95"

"Colton, who was also a long-time superintendent of the fine arts at the Steele County Free Fair, had gained a national and even international reputation for her work, which used parts of plants, including seeds, stems and other structures, to produce art."

"She first entered her art work in competition at the Minnesota State Fair in 1965. In her second year of competition, she earned a second-place ribbon. In 1973, she won 'Best of Show' for the fair and earned 12 such 'Best of Show' awards from the state fair before retiring from competition in 1982."

"Since that time, she worked for the state fair as a demonstrator of crop art."

"'They put her on the payroll,' said her son Jon Colton of Owatonna."

I took the above photo at the 2011 State Fair. In the picture are a few of the many works of Lillian Colton which were on loan by her family. I've always enjoyed looking at the crop art. I don't know if it's because I'm fascinated that people can sit around and make art out of plants or that it's just kitschy or both.

MN State Fair 2011 Day 2

In this morning's Strib there was a photo of the State Fair's Giant Slide with the caption:

"The Giant Slide is a staple at the State Fair, just as the State Fair is a staple of summer's end in Minnesota. The fair, which opened Thursday, runs through Labor Day."

I believe I've only tried the Giant Slide once way back when I was a just a kid. I was probably about 6 years old so it would have been in the early 1970's. I went by myself as Mom, Dad and Sam didn't want to go. As you can see in the above photo, you need to walk up a long set of stairs. At the top of the slide is a landing with a bunch of burlap potato sacks. You grab a sack to slide on on your way down. Once you're up the only way down is the slide unless you want to push through all the folks on the crowded set of stairs. I had second thoughts once I made it to the top but, being a good mid-westerner, I didn't want to chance bothering anyone by pushing my way back down the stairs. I grabbed a sack and down I went. I hated it. I felt like the air was being pushed out of me as I went over every bump. Oddly, despite this bad experience, I still have fond memories of the Giant Slide.

Minnesota State Fair Memories

I have some very early memories of attending the Minnesota State Fair. I remember going with my Mom and Dad and my Grandma and Grandpa (on my Dad's side) in what would have been the late sixties or very early 1970s. In some ways the Fair is like Christmas. It comes but once a year, it's exciting, I have memories of it that go way back, it brings to mind a specific time of year, and the anticipation preceding it (especially as a kid) is intense!