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Ag-Venture brings it all into perspective
CANFIELD
This marks my third year covering the Canfield Fair as a reporter.
Despite the many hours I’ve logged at the fairgrounds, my knowledge of the fair, admittedly, tends to center around fair food.
I’ve made a lemon shake. I’ve stood in line for cinnamon rolls. I’ve craved Molnar’s steak sandwiches. And I’ve gotten to know the place better than I ever thought I would.
The aspect of the fair about which I know less is the agricultural side.
Besides stopping in the barns to see the animals and the pumpkins, I really didn’t know much about the fair’s agriculture exhibits.
That’s a shame, since agriculture plays a huge role in the fair. There is daily judging of animals, followed by animal auctions. In addition to the animal barns, there are buildings dedicated to hays, grains and vegetables.
There’s a milking parlor, and a whole section of the fair devoted to Junior Fair members’ animals.
This year was my agriculture year.
I covered my first animal auction this week and talked to some Junior Fair members about the work that goes into raising their animals. I was amazed to learn about all the hard work they put into it, from keeping detailed financial records to lining up potential buyers for their animals.
I also decided to go on the Canfield Fair “Ag-Venture,” sponsored by Deerfield Ag Services. Instructions for the ag-venture are printed in the fair program. Fairgoers are invited to stop at 11 spots around the fairgrounds that have to do with agriculture: the pony palace, poultry barn, antique equipment area, Old McDonald’s barn, the milking parlor, the hay & grain building, a beekeeping exhibit, the 4-H projects building, the vegetables/granges building, the Junior Fair small/exotic animals area and Deerfield’s station. At each location, you get a stamp to mark that you’ve been there.
I didn’t make it to every location, but I made the most of each stop.
My first stop was the poultry bard, where I got a stamp from poultry worker Richard Bryce.
Bryce told me that the fair drew 1,073 chickens, ducks and geese.
What was even more interesting to me, though, was learning that Bryce, who now lives in New Hampshire and comes back to the area to work at the fair each year, has been coming to the fair for 70 years.
“Everybody who works at the poultry barn is family,” he said.
After stopping to look at some of the birds – including some roosters who demanded my attention – I talked with Katie Ricketts of New Waterford, who marks the third generation of her family who’s worked at the poultry barn.
She told me that 52 exhibitors from across Ohio and Pennsylvania showed poultry this year.
She also told me why she keeps coming back year after year, getting to the poultry barn about 7 a.m. and staying past closing time at 11 p.m.
“I just really enjoy what I do here. We take care of the animals all day long. We feed and water them twice a day,” she said.
My next stop was Old McDonald’s Barn, where Mill Creek MetroParks brings dozens of animals, including a donkey, sheep, cows, miniature goats, alpacas, rabbits, turkeys, and baby chickens and ducks.
There, I got to hold a duckling. It doesn’t get much cuter than that.
I talked with David Westfall, who works at the MetroParks Farm. He said that while the barn is a big draw for kids, it’s also popular with adults.
He’s been working at the barn during fair week for almost two decades. His favorite part, he said, is “the camaraderie of all the people enjoying Old McDonald’s barn.”
My next stop was the beekeepers exhibit in the hay & grain building, where I talked with Jim Santini of Lisbon.
Children and adults alike eagerly gathered around as Santini showed them a beehive and explained its inner workings.
He pointed out the queen bee, marked with a white dot.
“She’s the mom. Everyone else in there is her child,” he explained.
Santini told me that a hive at its peak might contain up to 50,000 bees. He explained, too, that worker bees live just six or so weeks, and that the queen bee lays 1,000 to 1,500 eggs per day.
“There’s no freeloading in this hive,” he said.
Every bee has a job to do, which is part of what makes beekeeping interesting to him.
Santini’s wife got him interested in beekeeping, and he’s led the exhibit at the fair for the last few years.
“It’s fun with the kids,” he said. “The kids are fascinated.”
Next up was the 4-H projects building, where numerous Junior Fair youth organizations maintain exhibits.
There I met Claire Deemer, who said she served as a 4-H adviser for 30 years.
Deemer has been coming to the fair for 60 years, ever since her family moved to Ohio. She said she’s only missed two or so fairs in all those years.
Her favorite part of fair week is “renewing friendships,” she said.
She also told me about the value she sees in 4-H.
“It gives the youth a challenge. There’s lots of projects. They meet friends,” she said. It’s about “learning to accomplish what you started.”
My last stop proved a little tricky to find, because it turns out I had never been inside the vegetables-granges building. I’m glad I found it, though.
There, I saw “garden giants” such as watermelons, cucumbers and cantaloupes.
I saw garden vegetables lined up in bright clusters of red, orange, yellow and green.
I saw a fairy garden exhibit and a “Dress a Veggie” display in which a vegetable Energizer Bunny took home the top prize.
I also met building superintendent Mike Miller. When I asked how long he’s been coming to the fair, he asked if I had time to listen to a story. I told him I did.
Miller told me about how he and his wife moved from Struthers to Canfield 10 or so years ago, to a property on 6 acres.
“We didn’t know what to do with it,” he said.
So Miller, who had never even driven a tractor before, bought one and started farming garlic.
“Next thing you know, I’m growing 100,000 heads of garlic a year,” he said.
His foray into garlic farming led him to get involved with the fair’s granges exhibits. He would come to the granges building and hang out.
Although he got out of the garlic business, Miller has stayed active with the fair.
He “wouldn’t miss the fair,” he said.
When I asked what he likes the most about it, his reply is quick: “The people. The looks on their faces. You see kids light up over peppers and tomatoes.”
He marvels, “Wow, a kid actually cared about a tomato.”
That concluded my “ag-venture.”
My tour of the fair’s agricultural exhibits gave me a chance to do my favorite aspects of my job: learn something new and listen to people’s stories.
Looking at and learning about the agriculture exhibits further impressed on me the importance of agriculture – not just at the fair, but in our daily lives.
Even better to me, though, was getting to talk to people about what these exhibits mean to them and why they choose to come back again and again.
Over the last three years, I’ve been amazed to realize just how much this fair means to people and how many people never miss even a day of the fair.
Thanks to the ag-venture, I got to meet even more of these dedicated fairgoers.