Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Changes Set For Annual Nevada County Fair

By JOHN MILLER

Nevada County's 61st Annual County Fair will see some changes in the 1997 edition.

First off, the show arena has been upgraded with bucking chutes added along with new cattle pens. A booth has been built for the rodeo announcer, with SMI Joist donating the metal to do this with.

The bleachers have been improved, while the City of Prescott helped with the lighting situation. Materials for the pen railings was donated by Ratcliff Fertilizer, according to Nevada County Fair Board President Jake Tyree.

"A lot of work has been done to improve the grounds," he said, "by the Prescott High School FFA, the 4-H Youth group, the FFA Alumni Association, the Extension Homemaker Clubs, Extension Service, city, county, local businesses and area volunteers.

Work done on the stage was spearheaded by Patsy Ledbetter. Now, the stage is three feet tall and will be used for a variety of events. These include the entertainment, gospel night and the pageants during the fair, along with various fund raisers for the fair association.

There will also be a petting zoo so youngsters of all ages can get acquainted with some new critters.

According to Tyree, the theme for this year's fair is Agriculture -- Our Heritage and Our Future.

When the fair was first conceived, its purpose was to develop agricultural resources and improve the quality of livestock in the community.

Today, many farmers and ranchers still reside in Nevada County. But, when people hear about county fairs, they usually think of cotton candy and carnivals, Tyree said.

There is more to a fair than this, he continued. "Those of us involved in agriculture as a way of life sometimes forget not everyone is aware of how agriculture affects our community The fair is a resource to those not directly involved in agriculture."

In many places there are young people who have not had the chance to see a cow up close, pet a rabbit or see a hand made quilt. They don't know what a field crop is or how these crops are grown.

"It is our heritage and responsibility as a community," Tyree said, "to educate our youth in all aspects of life -- from agriculture to home economics to just simply being involved in the community. The fair association tries to do this."

The county fair doesn't just happen. Tyree said it takes a great deal of planning throughout the year and many volunteers, along with the community's support to have a fair.

Each year, the fair begins with a parade and ends with a beauty pageant. There is more to the county fair than this, Tyree said.

In 1996, there were 466 exhibitors entering 1,015 exhibits in 31 categories. These categories include food preservation, arts, crafts, quilts, clothing, flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, household articles and junior livestock.

The junior livestock division had 26 young people showing their animals. They grossed $7,331 at the premium sale when the fair ended.

Of this money, $3,270 was paid to the exhibitors for the top three place showings.

Forty of the 466 exhibitors went to the Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show and Rodeo in Hope in 1996, with 15 of these making the next step to the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock to represent Nevada County.

Tyree said the Nevada County Fair Association is a non-profit organization. While some money is received from the state, all funds received go back to the community in the form of premium checks paid to exhibitors.

The association also gets some funds from the state for construction purposes. The association, Tyree said, were used in '96 to build a show arena so the young people could show their livestock, while a new roof was also put on the Potlatch Building.

The gate money is the association's primary source of revenue, he added. Because of problems with the carnivals in the past couple of years and the weather, the association has had trouble raising money.

"Our goal this year," he said, "is to improve the quality of the fair grounds even more by doing interior and exterior improvements.

"One of our projects (which has been completed) is to build a stationary stage in the Potlatch Building to be used for the fair pageants.

"With the loss of the PHS auditorium we had to come up with a place for our pageants in case of rain."

Last year a flatbed trailer was moved into the building to be used as a stage for the pageants. These pageants, Tyree said, are an important part of the fair as they encourage community participation by the young people and help those involved build their confidence. The winners also represent the county in the district event and have the chance to compete at the state fair.

Actually, the winner automatically goes to the state fair, unless she also wins the district pageant. In this case, she would represent the district while the first runner up at the county pageant would represent the county.

"We want to keep improving our fair," Tyree said, "which we feel will also enrich the community. We strive to encourage the young people because they are indeed the future of our community.

"We strive, as a fair association, to keep agriculture alive in our community for it is our heritage and future."