Deep concentration - A young girl concentrates while participating in the pedal tractor pull, where an increasing amount of weight shifts on the sled behind the pedal tractor, and the winner is the one that pulls it the farthest.

Going for the price - This was the final grand champion round in the sheep judging.

Mutton busting - One feature of many fairs is an event where children ride sheep - in this case, with some assistance.

Final grooming - A man prepares a sheep for the final round of judging.

Barton County Fair

Just some images from the Barton County Fair - which is near Great Bend in central Kansas. We went over because The Man was on the fairboard for many years and still goes over to help out with the fair. He helped out, while Paul and I wandered and I took photos and later in the day, Paul rode all the carnival rides.

Going to the county fair - any fair - is like stepping back into the past. I have to say not much has changed since I was a kid and we went to see how my Aunt Eva's knitting fared in the judging, or to go see the tractor pull, or the evening concert. I remember when they did the tractor pull (which is where a tractor pulls an increasingly heavy amount of weight and sees who can go the farthest) and there were no mechanized weights. Men just stepped onto something that I remember resembling a long, heavy tarp as the tractor went by. I can still see my dad stepping onto it.

When I was at the Cheyenne paper, I was just about the only reporter who wanted to cover the fair, but I really enjoyed it. I guess it has to do with a person's interests, but also their history.