Douglas County, MN Fair, 2019

Shortly after our arrival in MN, it was time for the County Fair.  Having grown up in 4H, I have many happy memories of our local County Fair in Anderson, CA. I have been a Fair Fan ever since.

I picked up my grandson and off we went to the fair. We didn’t have to pay for parking, I don’t recall if we paid an entrance fee. My strongest memory was surprise at how much participation 4H has here! There were farm kids everywhere! The barns weren’t brim full, but they weren’t empty like they had been recently in CA. I was really encouraged. Seeing so many kids devoting their time and effort to 4H gave me hope for the future of our new hometown.

Of course, my grandson knew everyone. He would tell me about each family, what they farmed, how many kids there were, etc. Everyone was very friendly, and I was thinking that since no one knew me, I had no worries. I heard, “KC, KC”, and I thought, “it can’t be for me, no one knows me here.” I was wrong, our next door neighbor, caught up with me and got my attention. It was just the beginning of experiencing the friendliness towards strangers, even former Californians, in our new home.