VAUGHN -- Blue ribbons and fair entries are part of the history but the Benton County Fair has evolved some since their childhoods, senior citizens visiting the fairgrounds said Thursday.
The fair was held for many years in September, said Betty Cherry, 76, of Rogers. She remembers marching in the fair parade around downtown Bentonville with schoolmates from Rocky Comfort. Once the parade was over the children scattered to explore the fair.
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"It would always be hot," Cherry said.
As a 17-year-old she was a contestant for Benton County Fair Queen as Miss Cave Springs. She had a green, strapless gown with yellow flowers. All the contestants made daily appearances at the fair and stayed all week at the Massey Hotel in downtown Bentonville. It was her first time away from home for so long, Cherry said.
Bob White, 90, of Centerton, lived as a child on a farm near Rainbow Curve. It wasn't considered part of Bentonville then.
"Back when I was a kid we'd go to the fair in the wagon with the horses," White said.
When fair time came around his mother would cook fried chicken and the family would pack up for a day on the fairgrounds.
The old timers will remember the days when there were horse races as part of the Benton County Fair, said Allen Kinyon, 91, from the Centerton area. He remembers attending the races in about 1939.
The races were set up on the old football fields behind Bentonville Fire Station No. 1, Kinyon said.
Race horses were brought into town. Farmers entered their plow horses to run, he said. They knew the workhorses would not win, but entered them just for fun.
The fair moved from downtown Bentonville to its Vaughn location in 2007. News reports from that time stated the fair had been held in the same location since 1904.
Cherry said she liked the new location better because of the newer buildings. White said he wasn't sold because the buildings were more spread out with more walking.
The lack of parking and repairs needed on the buildings pushed the fair to move, said Janice Shofner, county 4-H agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Services.
Seniors said they remembered ribbons won, the days when as school children they piled in the back of a truck and headed off to the fair as a special treat and their own children's and grandchildren's entries.
Ava Griffin, 92, 0f the Logan Community said she watched her 4-year-old great-grandson show his own cow Wednesday night. He placed in showmanship. Griffin, the superintendent for educational booths, touted the entries of all the children.
Thursday morning she was crowned as Ms. Senior Benton County, her third time to hold the title. After the crowning she went back the the exhibit hall, talking to children there.
James Lendal Wilks, 85, took Mr. Senior Benton County, also for the third time.
Griffin has been involved in 4-H clubs in Benton County since the early 1940s, she said. When her mother lived on South Main Street she would bring her Highfill 4-H group to stay the week so they could be close to the fair.
"I learn something new every year," Griffin said.
There are 22 4-H clubs with 600 members in Benton County, Shofner said. People think 4-H is about the animals but one of the clubs is dedicated to robotics, Shofner said.
There's a sense of accomplishment as children walk through the exhibit building and see their creations on display, she said.
Entries are open to more than 4-H and FFA members, Shofner said, and include more than sewing and cooking. Entomology entries, leaf and rock collections and photography entries are open too.
Benton County has a strong showing at the state fair in crafts, Shofner said.
The location and the time of year for the fair may have changed, but not the ideals, said Jessica Street, county 4-H agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Services.
"The foundation of it is still the same," Street said.
"It's still about the youth and some adults showing what they've accomplished over the year," Shofner said.
NW News on 08/14/2015