Waterford fair comes to a close
Sam ShawverArticle Photos
WATERFORD - The final day of the 50th annual Waterford Community Fair started off like most Sundays in rural Ohio, with a church service under the big tent at the fairgrounds.
Afterward some local musicians gathered for a "jam session" with dulcimers accompanied by guitar and mandolin.
Down near the livestock barn folks were preparing for the pedal tractor pull and the Ladies Redneck Rodeo events, as well as the day's biggest crowd-pleaser, the truck and tractor pull.
"This place is packed when the trucks and tractors line up for this event. And the board does a great job with this fair every year," said Ralph Lockhart of Waterford, who was selling tickets for a 2009 Ford Ranger pickup the Beverly-Waterford Volunteer Fire Department was raffling off.
"It's our one big fundraiser of the year," Lockhart said.
Waterford resident Sue Wainwright won the truck Sunday evening, according to Fire Chief Tim Rossiter.
"The tickets were sold out by 3 p.m., and that's the first time we've ever sold out in the middle of the afternoon," Rossiter said. "We just want to thank the entire community for all their support of the Beverly-Waterford Volunteer Fire Department."
In one of the exhibit buildings, Chris Ann Hallowell, with Jacob's Ladder Quilting Shop in McConnelsville, said this is her second year bringing a quilting display to the Waterford fair.
"It's been pretty hot this year, but I really like coming to this fair," she said. "There are a lot of friendly people here."
Surrounded by a variety of her quilted creations, Hallowell said she learned the craft from her mother, Anita Ginther, and now, as part of her business, Hallowell offers lessons to others interested in learning to quilt.
Down the hall Future Farmers of America Alumni President Melissa Huck was selling fair memorabilia and promoting the FFA Alumni Farmers Market from 4 to 6 p.m. every Thursday through September at the Waterford Elementary School.
She said this year's fair has been a great success with good weather every day.
"And the tractor pull and hog sales are always a good draw for the fair - there were about 150 hogs at the sale this year. It keeps growing," Huck said. "But this is really a great community event, and it's good to see people who come back home for the fair that we haven't seen for some time.
"The fair is a good example of the tightness of our community," she said.
By Sunday approximately 8,000 people had attended the fair, according to Carolyn Allen, fair board treasurer
