remembering good times from days gone by….
The Fair…
My oldest daughter and I took two of the grand kids to the fair yesterday. We had a wonderful time even though the weather was so hot and sticky for a day in late September and sweat continuously rolled down my back the entire time. But that isn’t the topic today. Being with my family and enjoying the fair I have been going to my whole life is … It is weird how you can go to something and see it differently depending on who you are with at the time. Seeing anything through the eyes of a child is always an experience, but seeing the fair of my youth through the eyes of my grandchildren is truly an eye opening one indeed.
The fair has changed, so has everything in my life. We age and things change. It’s a fact of life. Do we really expect everything to stay the same for 50 or 60 years? That isn’t even feasible nor do I think we would want it to. I think having the kids with me reminded me of when I was like them and everything was new and exciting. You don’t have anything to compare it to at that young age, so you just enjoy it. The kids don’t say “why isn’t the burger stand we loved still here” or “I loved that other pizza, what happened to that”… They had both burgers and pizza and didn’t compare them to the ones from long ago, they just enjoyed the ones they were eating today.
I went to the fair with my parents and sister back in the day. We enjoyed going and looked forward to it every year. I would eat myself silly(yes, the burgers and the pizza) and always.. always left with a chameleon pinned to my shirt. It would barely live until we got home, but I so loved those poor little things. Then of course I was a teen ager and couldn’t go with my parents any longer so I went with my friends. We dressed up for the fair, we all wore our wool bermuda shorts, fur blend sweaters, knee high socks and penny loafers. It didn’t matter if the temperature was 89 degrees, that is what we wore. Oh yes, we were very cool back then…and oh so fashionable and trendy… But, we also cared about how we looked and didn’t have half our body hanging out for the world to see or leggings so tight they look like skin.
“The heart, like the mind, has a memory. And in it are kept the most precious keepsakes. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I remember taking my own children to the fair. They loved it and we at one point lived less than a block away so we went almost every day. I told the grands a few stories of their aunts and their Daddy’s days at the fair… which of course they loved hearing. My youngest loved the chameleons too and had one for quite awhile… unbelievably, until it’s inevitable demise. She was crushed of course and buried it in the back yard with it’s head sticking out so she could still see it. Their Daddy would play the game where you would throw pennies and later dimes into glasses and then win all the glasses that you somehow managed to get money into. Needless to say, my supply of glasses were endless. I can still see him walking proudly in the door, arms loaded with a bazillion glasses, and a big smile on his face. I still have many of those glasses to this day.
I think running into friends and family members at the fair was the best part of all. The food, the rides, the side shows…oh the side shows were awesome…but running into family and friends was truly the best back then. That is still the best part for me and yesterday was no different. We met up with family and a few friends and it brought back even more memories for me. We met up with my niece, of course she is all grown up with a fiancé now, but as I looked at her I saw her as a little girl asking me to help her play a game of shooting water into a clowns mouth. We would go to the fair in later years with my Mom, my sister and my 2 nieces and my own 3 kids. There is definitely a big hole in my heart going to the fair now without my Mom and sister who have passed. They both loved the fair, more than any 2 people I know and they went every day it was in town. So to go there without them is hard. And I fully expect to see them pop out any minute as we walk along the midway. But of course that doesn’t happen.
The older we get the more memories we have stored in our hearts. Sometimes those memories are fun to remember and sometimes they roll down our cheeks. Either way, we have them and cherish each and every one… One day I will recall taking these two young children to the fair and telling them the stories I told them yesterday. One day when they are much older….And on that day maybe they will remember me as they take children of their own to the fair.
Do you love going to the fair or anywhere with your kids or grandkids and sharing stories of the past with them?
“Life is a beautiful collage of precious moments and memories, which when pieced all together creates a unique treasured masterpiece.” ~ Melanie M. Koulouris
Went this year for first time in 15 yrs. it’s not like the good ole days anymore. Hardly ate and no Kohrs but I did like the new orange aid. Running into ppl was one reason I wanted to go so that was cool. But honestly I got tired from walking!! Was fun though. Glad you enjoyed ❤️❤️
I will go until I can’t anymore! I go for my mom and sister who loved it…and I go for me too! Thanks Susie!
What lovely memories you have. I don’t have grandkids yet (and hopefully won’t for a while, otherwise questions will be asked!) but I look forward to prising them away from their technology long enough to make happy memories…
Thank you! Making memories with kids and grand kids are the best of times!
Lol! Lots of great memories of the Fair…always love seeing the goats (luckily I got pics from Savannah and Shelly), going to great concerts, and of course eating the best apple dumplings ever! 😍
And don’t forget getting your chameleon, Heather! LOL..and I did send you a pic of an apple dumpling…
I enjoyed reading this. Were the chameleons really pinned to your shirt?!
Thank you Lynda! And yes, they had a little red string tied around their little necks and then pinned to our shirts..
This is LOVELY! I have a lot of good going to the fair memories..It’s been years, though.
Thank you! We never miss it Michelle, actually we are lucky to have 2 fairs to go to….all in Sept!
Well…after I stopped laughing about Heather burying her chameleon with the head sticking out..THAT is so funny! I had forgotten the outfits we wore. Navy blue wool bermuda shorts, gray furblend, etc. We snuck into the fair every night…either over the fence or crawling under the revolving bars. We skipped the fair this year. One of my absolute favorites…Kohrs orangedae…is no longer there. I worked at one of their stands one year, so I kinda remember how to make it. It is so strange that I never even see anyone I know when I go!!! Thanks for the reminders of past visits.
Yep, she sure did bury the poor thing with its head sticking out Peg! And they had orangeade stands all over the place, someone else stepped up…but people said it was just as good as Kohrs…they were making it fresh just like they did…I love the fair!
I moved to York when I was 21 so I have no recollections of the Fair as a youngster. My first time at the Fair was in 1973 when I was single. I had never been to a fair of that size and since I was new to the area there was nobody I knew at the Fair. The only comparison I can make is the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament when I was a kid back in Massachusetts. This was a fair held on city blocks which was sponsored by the Catholic Church which had a Portuguese denomination. I never mastered that language even though I went to school with tons of “Portugee” kids. The reason I went there was to sample the food. I suspect that many people have the same motive attending the York Fair. My son, when he was young, was taken to the Fair a few times and he liked the kiddie rides. I am not a fan of large crowds merging together along the many walkways of the Fair. I had never heard so much country music since I visited my father’s family in the rural South. To those who grew up with the Fair, it must be wonderful to have such memories. Now with Kohr’s backing out of the Fair and the safety of some of the rides in question, it has lost some of its luster. But, to the young and the young at heart, it is an experience worth repeating each and every year. Thanks for the post. Glad that you could enjoy it again this year.
Thanks Andy! We did enjoy it…I know things change but that’s life! So I kinda roll with it. It is good to have traditions, no matter how much they change. At least they had my favorite steak sandwich. And by the way, shelly got on the ride that broke, she said it was probably in better shape than some of the others since it was fixed….she is a dare devil, not sure where she gets that from..LOL.
Renee your words are so beautiful,”The older we get the more memories we have stored in our hearts. Sometimes those memories are fun to remember and sometimes they roll down our cheeks.”!!!!
You really capture memories with those words!
I love the State Fair and missed it this year and it is like missing a meet up with good friend when they are in town.
Oh Haralee, Thank you so much! It means so much to me to have you say that…. <3