A hungry governor tours the Hamilton County Fair
At the fair
WEBSTER CITY — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds arrived hungry at the Hamilton County Fair Thursday afternoon, her busy schedule having left no time for a proper meal.
“I skipped lunch,” she said. “We’re going to have to eat something.”
The fair offered a lot of options.
“I’m going to scope it out,” she said.
After visiting with several 4-H participants and looking over some of the many animals, Reynolds finally got her lunch break. Opting to eat at the 4-H food stand and selecting the always-good-choice: the Red Hot Meal Deal.
“I give it two thumbs up,” Reynolds said. “It’s delicious.”
The fair was a busy place Thursday — several 4-H shows were scheduled, including the Horse Show.
Fair Queen candidate Alexandria Schweria, of Jewell, a member of the Lion Kings 4-H Club, was on hand to help. She was, to the best of her knowledge, the only candidate on the grounds.
“All the other girls are getting their hair done,” she said.
She had plenty of other shows to help with.
“Yesterday I worked the Sheep Show,” she said.
Were she selected to be the 2018 Hamilton County Fair Queen, she planned on going on as she has during the fair by volunteering her time.
One of the participants in the horse show was Seth Godfredsen, 14, of Webster City. He’s a member of the Clear Lake Sailors 4-H Club.
During one of Thursday’s events, he had to negotiate a set of cones with his horse, Ninja. The map the participants were given looked complicated.
“I had to figure out all the paths,” he said.
Godfredsen said he and Ninja work together several hours a day to keep their skills sharp.
The fair is also a social occasion for him.
“I like hanging out with friends,” he said. “I get to meet people I haven’t seen in awhile.”
Once they were back in the horse barn, Ninja was in for a special treat.
“I usually give her a peppermint candy treat,” he said.
Keeping the fairgrounds clean and collecting the garbage from the many wastebaskets is the job of David McGuire, of Webster City, and his daughter, Saundra McGuire.
The two have small wagons hooked behind a golf cart to haul their collected waste.
“We start at lunchtime,” he said. “Then we work after it clears out at night. It was a lot of fun in that mud.”
So far this year, nobody seems to have left them anything too out of the ordinary.
“It’s pretty much ordinary trash,” he said.
“We did find a pair of pants, though,” she said.
Ben Heeren, 17, of Stratford, a member of the Stratford Spirit 4-H Club, was giving two of his pigs a bath Thursday afternoon, and the anonymous porkers seemed to be enjoying the cool water.
“They don’t have names,” he said. “They’re just pigs. Some of my other ones do, though.”
Heeren stays on the fairgrounds in a camper with his family. He very much enjoys his time there.
“It’s great. It’s fun,” he said. “I get to see all the animals and watch all the shows.”
For the adults who visit the fair, especially those who farm or who just enjoy equipment, there’s plenty on display.
Randy Greenfield, of Kamrar, was among those kicking some tires.
“I’m always looking,” he said. “I’m never buying.”
Greenfield was looking over tractors with his grandson, Waylon Greenfield, 1, of Story City.
The younger Greenfield, so far, had not discovered a piece of gear he absolutely had to have — except maybe all of it.
“He really enjoys it,” Greenfield said. “He likes anything he can get on.”
Camy McCoy, of Webster City, was watching her son, Luke McCoy, 5, climb atop the treads of a large tractor with several other children.
“I like watching my son and daughter show lambs and bottle calves,” she said. “I love to walk around and look at the animals.”
She was planning her culinary adventure at the fair carefully.
“I’m going to have a funnel cake on Sunday,” she said. “It’s a tradition.”