County Fair Time, Colorado Style

Colorado Springs in 1950 was a town of 45,000 in El Paso County, Colorado, nestled right up against the front range of the Rocky Mountains.  The town's main claim to fame was having the most famous of the 14'ers (Pike's Peak) in its back yard. Then came the United States Air Force Academy with the first Academy class graduated and commissioned in 1959.  By 1965 the town had almost tripled in size. By 2015, Colorado Springs was ten times bigger than it was in 1950, and had morphed into a major city of more than one-half million with an urban area population of 675,000.

Above Colorado Springs

However, the rest of El Paso County remained what it was and has always been: cattle country.  You only have to drive 30 miles east of the center of Colorado Springs for the landscape to completely change its features.  Eastern El Paso Country is rolling, grass covered hills dotted with a series of ranches.  The most legitimate contain more than 1000 acres and are being worked by the same families for the past four generations.  The least legitimate are the 40 acre (or less) ranchettes which are too small to actually sustain meaningful livestock production, but have proximity to 'the city' for weekend want-a-be's.  These ranchettes seem to be the 'big chunks' left over from the urban housing division sprawl which is creeping eastward out of Colorado Springs and laying concrete and houses over prime cattle ranching land..        

Ranch 30 miles east of Colorado Springs

Thus, the El Paso County Fair should have been entitled the One-Half of El Paso County Fair.  

We all know I'm a total sucker for county fairs.  I've been to half a dozen in all parts of the United States.  Perhaps my love of these rural celebrations has its root in the Tulsa County Fair of my childhood which was one of the very, very few times in which sugar was on my mother's menu.  I looked forward to the pink froth of cotton candy for weeks leading up to our family's day at the fair.  And, Tulsa was the Colorado Springs of Oklahoma at the time, voraciously growing and paving over the rich, black farming land which surrounded it.  One thing I've learned in my adult county fair attendance:  The agriculture in the county of the fair stamps it.

The El Paso County Fair was a celebration of rural accomplishments centered around the next generation as embodied by the 4H organization.   These types of county fairs are quite rare these days.  As the USA has urbanized in the 20th and 21st centuries, agriculture now comprises only a 4.8% share of the gross domestic product (GDP) down from 20% in 1950. State Fairs are generally located in big cities and, while still having their roots in agriculture, are really now more about big entertainment than rural achievements. There wasn't much 'big entertainment' at the El Paso County Fair unless you counted the Aussie Kingdom which contained a smattering of birds and animals from 'down under'.  Or, you might be thinking of the 'duck races'.

Then, there was the daily 'headliner' from "America's Got Talent", Loop Rawlins, the One Man Wild West Show doing gun tricks, rope tricks and bull whip cracking.  Evenings presented rodeo performances together with a headliner musical act.

Mr. Rawlins has been twirling, throwing, and catching his 6 shooters, winding up by catching and balancing one gun atop the other 

The real star attractions of the El Paso County Fair were the 4H kids.  These were ranch kids from ages 5 to 18 who raise animals and learn about both the animals themselves and how to care for them.  We attended one presentation entitled Grain Fed vs. Grass Fed Beef.  It was startling to discover our presenter was a 14 year old rookie cattle rancher.  We knew all about horses, cows, pigs, llamas, goats, and rabbits from previous fairs, but what caught our eye at this fair was the first El Paso County 4H Cat Showmanship event.  The all female 4Her's, in three age categories, brought their cats to the fair and had their ability to show their cats to a judge and answer questions about cats evaluated. This wasn't exactly a show with high end production values, but I admired the choice of Mark Twain and his quote about cats as one of the two decorations. 

We didn't see a 'pure breed' cat among the contestants unless you count Barn Cat as a registered cat breed.  We did see some beautiful cats paired with some young girls getting rewarded with attention and ribbons for learning about the care and raising of an animal.  My favorite cat was only a little over 4 months old.  The youngest owner was only about seven years old.  The blond haired, tattooed judge was imported from the Cat Fanciers Association of Denver.  This was seriously fun stuff.  

In the same area, just about 20 feet from 'Cat Showmanship' was 'Cavy Showmanship'.  (If you don't know what a cavy is, the picture will make it clear.)

Every country fair needs its Creative Arts exhibits.  

These hit my sweet spot since they are personally created items by both children and adults.  They encompass cooking, sewing, quilting, painting, photography, and sometimes other creative categories.  In Skagit County I saw flower arrangement.  In New Hampshire, there were maple syrup based products.  In El Paso County, I loved the impromptu category of 'Potato Dressing'

Of course, the serious needlework crafters whose entries sometimes take years to complete always have me in awe.  This is ONE of those types of entries from the above pictured volunteer.  Rightly, her knitted sweater won 'Best in Show'.

The El Paso County Fair was obviously a labor of love and commitment from the eastern half of the country.  It squatted on the local fairgrounds in Calhan, Colorado, and covered perhaps three football fields.  Every presentation and every contest was all about showcasing 4H achievements.  This county fair was a 'throw-back' in the best possible way.

As always, if you want to see more cats, quilts, and other fair pictures, click on the link:

https://goo.gl/photos/LmRhG7fQLErdVBSx5