From The County Fair Back To The 1950s

My sister was visiting, and we were attending the Franklin County Fair in Malone, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We'd already seen the goats, cattle, horses and most of the poultry. This white turkey was our last stop before exiting the poultry barn:

We ambled over to the midway, but it was too early and too rainy to find much excitement there:

Next we headed to the 4H Barn, where we saw a sleeping pig named Legend. The sign said he was a registered Berkshire boar, four years old. It appeared to me that Legend didn't care about anything but getting his sleep and food:

There were lambs and baby chicks and honey bee exhibits:


We treated ourselves to a maple milkshake and I liked this egg size display. We walked through the commercial barn, stopping to look closely at a leather working booth where I bought a new wallet:

Then we walked out to the arena and grandstands, where there appeared to be some kind of horse competition. Like the children with goats we saw earlier, though, this turned out to be a practice session for the real judging yet to come:

It was lunchtime by then, so we left the fair and headed to Bokie's Diner, just up the road a couple of miles from the fairgrounds. Bokie's is a pink and chrome recreation of a 1950s drive-in, a favorite summertime stop:

Even the parking lot was fun. My sister tried out being Marilyn Monroe:

And we both joined in as ice cream scoops, though my head didn't fit into the hole:

My sister as Betty Boop:

We headed for the door to see what the menu had to offer:

Inside was decorated in 1950s style, with period music playing on the jukebox. The menu was big on hamburgers, fried shrimp, etc:

The tabletops were covered with 1950s newspaper clippings, postcards and old class photos:

We enjoyed our lunch and left for home, but first I wanted to try being Marilyn Monroe. Perhaps this was my true self:

Franklin County Fair - Part 2

I'd already passed through the horse barn and the dairy barn, and was currently touring the poultry barn (see yesterday's post). There were Peacocks and ducks of various kinds:

Quail:

This big fellow was a Buff Orpington rooster and he resided near the door because he'd won a blue ribbon. I congratulated him on his success as I left the poultry barn to see what was next:

I entered the goat barn. I used to raise dairy goats, so I had a special interest in them. These big eared ladies were Nubian goats:

Another Nubian, friendly and curious:

This Toggenburg goat was being groomed on a milk stand. I used to have a stand just like this, which I kept in my kitchen and on which I milked my goats:

Once I'd seen the livestock, I headed to the midway:

It was early and the rides were just starting up, but they presented a glorious array of shapes and colors to photograph:

It was lunch time and I was hungry, but deep fried Kool-Aid didn't sound very healthy to me:

Candy Land likewise didn't look as if it offered much in the way of healthy eating. I eventually got a sausage sub which, by comparison, didn't seem as bad as it might otherwise:

I loved the inflatable lemonade stand, just in front of the Ferris Wheel:

I remembered the fun house, Crystal Lil's, from last year. I enjoy the lights, colors and people watching of the midway, so I continued my walking tour. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Franklin County Fair - Part 1

I'd already missed the St. Lawrence county fair, my neighbors told me, but the Franklin County fair was just beginning. I made plans to go on Thursday, Senior Citizens Day, for the discount. I drove to the town of Malone, parked and began my tour in the riding horse barn:

These, it appeared to me, were dearly beloved pets. They traveled with their humans and their stalls were decorated with pictures, plaques and curtains:

I next went into the dairy barn, where jumbo Holsteins were being groomed to impress the judges:

There were a variety of breeds and ages of cattle:

But Holsteins were far and away the most numerous breed:

Then there were these American British White Parks, a beef breed whose farm I visited several years ago. In fact, I might be raising them now except that their owner told me I'd never find any for sale:

Outside, the cattle were being given showers and full beauty treatments:

I went next into the poultry barn. Having raised so many types of poultry over the years, I always enjoy looking for familiar old breeds and surprising new breeds:

There were Golden Pheasants:

And golden colored chickens:

Guinea Hens:

And turkeys. There were lots more kinds of birds, and I'll present just a few of them in tomorrow's post: