Howard Fair

[L Hendricks]

I am game - at one time, I thought the idea of a GW, WL, EK, CQ county combination - the total population would be about the same as Butler Co - but you would have a ton of roads...You could eliminate all the duplication in services with the C/H but your road infrasture cost probably wouldn't decrease and that is the large part of these small county budgets... 1.2 million this last year and probably going up next year. 

[DanCookson]

Why do we need a court house?

You know Patrick....

Pay taxes, buy deer permits, get tags, register to vote, GO TO COURT......Tell time on the clock.......register deeds......ahhhhh


I don't know why we couldn't do that in a much smaller building with about 4 employees.......


OK, I get you now

[W. Gray]

Howard County surveyed with 2,677 miles of 66 foot wide section roads.

Many have been abandoned but there is a hunk left in both Elk And Chautauqua.

Does anyone know just how many miles Elk has?

When times were simpler and there was no gravel, the local farmers were hired to maintain apportioned stretches.

Grass  and weed cutting was required only once a year.

Don't know how farmers graded but I would imagine they used their plow and harrow.

[Tobina+1]

OK, I've been gone a week and it took me 2 hours to read this thread all the way through!  (Of course, I was working, too...)

As a "come here", I've always been dismayed by the lack of COUNTY community efforts in regards to the fair.  I've said it before, and I'll say it publicly... 2 fairs is DUMB and a waste of money.  Just think about the local businesses; they probably feel like they have to help support both fairs and donate items and/or money to each fair.  If there was only one fair, they could donate twice as much!  The ribbon/award money would really increase!  The attendance would increase!  The activities would increase! 

I can say that I went to the 4-H fair in Howard last year for the first time, and I was sorely disappointed.  Not by the 4-H kids' projects, by any means, but by the amount of people and support that was there.  And by the facilities.  No one took pride in the fair.  To be honest with you, if there was one fair with more events and activities, I'd drive clear across the county to attend.  It wouldn't matter where it was if it was good.  We used to drive to the dreaded "Oberlin" (our biggest school rival) from Atwood just to attend their awesome Decatur County Fair and HOME OWNED AND OPERATED Carnival.  No kidding; all the rides are owned and operated by the people in that county.  They make enough money each year to get a new ride or activity to add to the carnival, making it bigger and better each year.  No scary "carnies" to run the rides, either.  You could let the kids run wild with their alloted amount of tickets and they'd find you when they ran out.

So, who are the fair board members?  Are they elected?  Where does the money go from each of the fairs?  I don't remember a scholarship fund, but I could be wrong.  Is the fair simply a "for profit" event for the members of the board?  Who has the power to make the boards combine?  Do the fair boards own the land and buildings at each of the fair grounds (I think the Howard Fair board owns the land at Moline rodeo facility)? 

I believe that 4-H is an important part of the county fair; that's half the reason to go!  My dad would spend most of his time at the Decatur county fair just looking at the livestock (and comparing ours to theirs).  The Lions club sold cotton candy and popcorn.  The Livestock Association sold hamburgers and sausage burgers (and sold out if you didn't get there early).  There were multiple buildings that had different things to look at (and they doubled to house the carnival rides during the rest of the year).  Eventually, they even got some great concerts!  I got my picture taken with Toby Keith (during his first stint in country music)! 

BTW, PEP... some kids at our 4-H fair would even receive a WHITE ribbon if the project wasn't good enough.  But our project judging also included an interview process; the kids had to meet with the judge and review their projects and the judge would explain what they did right and what they could improve on the next year. 

[Rudy Taylor]

Having one fair in Elk County would make it much better to promote. As a newspaper, we have trouble getting every merchant lined up to sponsor our fair edition(s), then we must wait until both fairs are completed before we can print all the results. That delay creates a loss of oomph.

I'm not in on the inner workings of the fair, but anytime I have asked questions, I've been told there are strong feelings both ways. Obviously, the folks in Longton want their fair to continue --- it's the oldest in the area. And, nobody would suggest that we do away with the Howard fair.  But I would think that a true rotation would work better than the way they're now scheduled. 

We're facing the same situation over in Sedan. Their fair has been split and it has really impacted the event in a negative way. But you'd be surprised how many people think it's just great --- as long as a dirty carnival is found right in the middle of it.

[pepelect]

I say give up the Howard fair and spend all the energy on the River Festival.  If Longton wants to have a fair great....

The same people work every event every time.
Why not market to a larger crowd not just because we have always done it.  I want people to see ELK county not how it used to be but how it is now.  I think fairs have served there time very well but as times change the events we hold should change.   

I would love to see a combined fair/festival to have the downtown events with the fair events showcasing the actual agricultural life we live.   The rest of the country has no idea what our area is like until we show it to them.  We market livestock differently than we did even 20 years ago.  The farming game is more high tech now than we could have ever imagined.  This life is still very much envied across the nation just not on TV.   We need to pull more of our youth out of the house and in to the real life.

[Jo McDonald]

Wonderful idea, PEP
We had friends from Russell KS and another couple from Aransas Pass, TX call us a week or so ago and wanted to come see where we are, during the summer.  We were delighted of course, and the next day I called them back and suggested they get off 400 and come 99 through OUR part of Kansas.  They had never been in this part of the state before and were amazed and delighted with the rivers, creeks, timber, crops and trees -- just the over all beauty of our Elk county. 
Fred and I took all the credit for all the beauty that they enjoyed  ( no, just kidding) but we were so happy they got to see and enjoy it.  Kansas has beauty that other states do not have, especially in the east and south eastern part.
 

[L Hendricks]

Tobina - you may have a good idea (or two...) Has anyone been to the Kiddie Park in Bartlesville... don't know all the particular but it is a permanent kiddie park with little people rides ran by teenagers in the summer time... all the rides are like $.25... (I believe it was left to the city and is probably funded with public funds or the estate).  We have a lot of talented people around here... how about it - any of you welders want to turn out a ferris wheel...we can turn the fair grounds into a mini amusement park...

[sixdogsmom]

How about an animated Hubbels Rubble?