It is Emo Fair time!

At 113 years, the Emo and District Agricultural Show will get underway Thursday with the Midway cranking up the sound during the day. Friday and Saturday nights, the roar of stock cars racing around the track will be heard for miles in all directions.
The fair has been a district wide attraction, since it began in 1900; and today continues to showcase the best in agriculture from the district. While the fair is often seen for its carnival rides and stock car racing, it is really a story of the development and changes that have taken place across the Rainy River District.
The fair continues to the story of the people of the district. As new technologies in wood harvesting came along, they were demonstrated at the fair. As farming changed and the size of farms and herds grew, new and bigger equipment made its appearance at the fair.
The farming community continues to change. New immigrants have made their way to the district, bringing new ideas for crops and animal husbandry. They have become integral to the life of the district.
But it has not been just an agricultural fair. It has been much more. My mother would spend what seemed like a whole afternoon in the exhibition building examining the needle work on quilts, or the detail of doilies and table cloths crocheted or tatted that were on display.
My brother Don and I would scamper around and check out the pieces of pie and cake that were on display. Since they were all behind glass, we quickly tired and made our way out of the building.
The car, tractor, and implement dealers from across the district all had their newest products on the grounds and whether or not it was intended, they became the children’s climbing gym. Sitting high above the ground on the seat of a green John Deere tractor is one of my fondest memories.
The smells of the fair are many. The hamburgers, fried onions, and fresh corn sold at the 4-H booth still haunt me. No one made a better milk shake than those produced at the fair. Fresh hot popcorn and spun pink cotton candy were great treats in the midway.
The fair for all of its years is still the meeting ground for district people. It is said that if you sit in front of the Exhibition building, and don’t leave until late in the evening on Friday or Saturday, you will meet everyone in the district. It is a tradition that continues today.
My cousins, Blair and Doug Anderson, as youth every year raised either a 4-H heifer or steer to be shown at the fair. Our visit to the fair coincided with their showing of their prized animals in the ring. They had worked tirelessly halter training their animals and brushing their coats until they shone in the sunlight.
Today the 4-H steer auction takes place on Saturday afternoon following the judging of the animals in the morning. It is both exciting and heart wrenching for those young people to see their animals being sold at auction. And many a student has covered a fair bit of tuition from raising their steer for sale at the fair.
Don’t miss out. It’s time to meet at the fair again.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher