Italian Culture Meets the County Fair

A Southern Belle dressed for the fair

An email announcing the arrival of my friend, Laura, from Milan, Italy, recently sent me scurrying for some varied activities for the weekend. The Wilson County Fair was a long way removed from the sophisticated life of this friend who married countries rather than men. First France, then Italy. But I knew she began life as a GRIT – a Girl Raised In The South. Maybe her early years in Charleston, South Carolina would reveal an appreciation for the simpler life

…so straight from the airport to the fair we went.



Laura steps back in time



Dayle's agricultural college training kicks in

It was a steamy, hot August night, the kind etched in our memories by Neil Diamond's serenades.


Julie & Laura both true patriots


Meeting up with two friends, we found a childlike enjoyment in such simple things as climbing aboard an old antique tractor, cheering pigs and ducks racing around a track,
watching sheep dog trials.

Mesmerized, we watched hands shaping wet clay on a potter's wheel. A Percheron horse plodded obediently on a wooden ramp, hitched to an ice cream churn, and our wait was rewarded when we stood outside the old barn dipping spoons into a shared cup of creamy homemade ice cream. Nothing ever tasted so good!

When did we lose touch with the quiet, steady beat of the earth, or take time to watch the stars rotate across the sky marking the seasons? That night we met folk whose hands were rough from repairing farm ploughs, eyes crinkled from years in the sun, boots muddy with manure, hats oiled with the sweat of honest work. Friendly welcomes with sweet Southern charm, stories of families and home remedies, samplings of moonshine jelly, and the humid night dancing to the rhythm of Bluegrass fiddles and banjos.


 

The crowds jostled amongst all the food vendors. Fresh squeezed oranges,






Julie & Laura dip into the decadent funnel cake

 

butter dripping off ears of corn, powdered sugar mixed with the sweet, irresistible dough of hot funnel cakes.




Winning quilts each tell a story

 

Rides, sideshows, exhibit halls, arts and crafts. The fair was filled with prize-winning talent.

 




The fun of the fair is infectious for Julie B., Julie D. and Laura

 

It took us all back to our roots, days when the agricultural fair was the biggest deal of the year. Laura admitted in surprise “This reminds me of my childhood. It’s wonderful!”






The aristocratic Jacobin pigeon

 

We often hear Barred owls (Hoot owls) calling to each other on still nights



Before the birds went to roost for the night, we admired their feathered finery. My best friend Julie has her own bevy of colorful chickens, and we wandered through the parade of roosters, hens, ducks, geese, and pigeons, all dressed as though going to a ball.

It was a return for all of us to the earthy aroma of life, and we wandered the dusty roads in wide-eyed wonder, carefree kids on the loose.

We voted this corn Best of the Wilson County Fair