Franklin County Fair - Part 3

I'd seen all the livestock barns at the county fair and a good deal of the midway (see previous two posts) but I reveled in the colors, lights, loud music and bustle all around me. I kept walking and enjoying the carnival atmosphere:

There were many games of skill or chance:

With lots of big, colorful, nearly worthless prizes:

And, of course, a carousel:

I could feel my arteries hardening just from gazing at this booth:

A lemonade stand in the shape of a giant lemon was a big hit with me:

And for the tiny tot with ambitions to be in a biker gang, there was the "Hog Wild" motorcycle ride:

There were more exhibit buildings on the other side of the midway. I saw prize winning vegetables:

Blue and red ribbon jams, jellies and pickles:

And the county's finest junior flower arrangers entered their works for the judges to evaluate:

There was a large fishing, hunting and wildlife exhibit with a table devoted to fox and coyote pelts of many types which was so very popular that I couldn't get near it:

Soon enough it was time to leave, but in order to access the parking area, I had to cross the race track. Fair personnel guarded the gates at each track crossing and pedestrians and autos all had to stop and wait for the harness racing sulkies to pass by:

Part 1, Potsdam Museum Toy Exhibit

When I saw that the museum in Potsdam, New York was offering a special Toy Exhibit, I knew I had to go see it. My first two attempts were foiled, first by a local band offering holiday songs, and then by groups of school kids, being read stories by the museum staff. But the toys looked so interesting that I gave it another try:

The first thing I saw was this exquisite collection of Victorian dolls. I remembered, from my previous trips to the museum, learning that Potsdam had been a boom town in Victorian times:

There were ethnic dolls:

And Amish dolls. There are lots of Amish folks around here:

There was an entire display of Fisher Price toys:

This hook and ladder firetruck was from the 1950s:

This toy fire truck was from the 1940s. It was made by the Marx Company of New York City, which began manufacturing pressed steel toys in 1919 and was the largest toy manufacturer in the world by the 1950s:

A 1940s motorcycle policeman, also from the 1940s:

A 1920s "Buddy-L" aerial ladder fire truck:

Lots more toys: A rocking horse, a camper truck pulling a boat, and a plush toy horse:

This black pony carousel horse was manufactured by the Charles W. F. Dare Company, sometime between 1867 and 1901. Mr. Dare emigrated to the United States as an 18 year old in 1824 and began making toys in New York City:

This carousel music boxfrom the 1970s was made in Hong Kong. It played "The Carousel Waltz" and the horses moved up and down as it rotated:

I didn't notice any date on this baby carriage, but suspected that it was one of the oldest artifacts in the museum. The child's potty and the high chair seemed to be from a similar era:

A toy farm, a toy which I remember seeing as a kid. The Scottish doll looked familiar and I pondered it for awhile, finally remembering it that it was the spokesperson for Campbell Soups once upon a time. But I was just getting started in the toy exhibit. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Chapter 4, The Malone/Franklin County Fair

I was walking through the midway of the Malone/Franklin County Fair on opening day. The big crowds hadn't arrived yet. The sky alternated between rain clouds (sometimes rain) and beautifully blue:

All the color and excitement, a photographer's dream:

Cute puppies for little kids to ride:

And big, colorful dragons:

Prizes galore for the skilful or lucky:

And 16 flavors of soft serve ice cream. I meant to investigate and try one or two flavors (purely for research, mind you), but got distracted and never tasted any:

The beautiful carousel. This one was so popular that it already had riders:

Fresh squeezed lemonade and face painting:

Cotton candy, sno-kones and candy apples - health foods for the county fair goers:

They had other exhibits also, such as antique farm implements:

And the flower arranging contest winners:

And row after row of prize winning jams and jellies:

And blue ribbon vegetables. My sister and I each entered something in our county fair many years ago. Sunflowers, I think, though perhaps it was been vegetables. I'll have to ask her if she remembers: