Old-school county fair fills weekend with fun
Despite a slight dip in attendance, the San Benito County Fair
was a success, in this guy’s humble opinion, anyway.
It is always the perfect end-of-summer/autumn-kickoff event,
complete with down-home, old-fashioned (and other hyphenated)
activities and displays that harken back to the San Benito of old,
before most people who had jobs drove to Silicon Valley to
work.
Old-school county fair fills weekend with fun
Despite a slight dip in attendance, the San Benito County Fair was a success, in this guy’s humble opinion, anyway.
It is always the perfect end-of-summer/autumn-kickoff event, complete with down-home, old-fashioned (and other hyphenated) activities and displays that harken back to the San Benito of old, before most people who had jobs drove to Silicon Valley to work.
Nowhere else would I spend 10 minutes walking among displays looking at fruits and vegetables that were grown in someone’s backyard and judged by a panel. At no other time in my year do I stand next to a pig pen and watch the squealing animals get auctioned off or check out model train displays while getting my yearly corn dog fix.
All of those things seemed like perfectly normal things to do over the weekend, as I strolled Bolado Park with my wife and youngest son, the latter being a teenager who still likes to collect the free pens and pencils and candy that local organizations give away at their booths. It’s like school supply Halloween.
IN OTHER NEWS… Signing on in SJB
The City of San Juan Bautista and the Native Daughters of the Golden West are putting some friendly pressure on Caltrans to have the highway authority add the historic city to more signs on highways 101, 129 and 156.
“A lot of them say Hollister, but don’t mention San Juan Bautista, which we believe will bring more tourists and visitors into town,” said Roger Grimsley, the city’s interim city manager.
The city has had what Grimsley terms “general” talks about the idea, and the city council has passed a resolution supporting the effort to get the tourist destination mentioned a bit more on local highways.
“From our perspective, we really want to tout San Juan Bautista as a major tourist site, featuring the historic nature of our mission,” Grimsley said. “We really want to key on the gateways to San Juan, including The Alameda, Muckelemi and First Street.”
Speaking of history …
Peter Sonne, president of the San Benito County Historical Society, and Joe McMahan, are collaborating on a book about Hollister, for which they have a deadline of January 2012.
The book will include almost 200 photographs from the area, so the duo is seeking pictures from the mid-1800s to the 1950s for use in the book. They want shots of buildings, people or anything else depicting life in and around Hollister.
“If you have any family photos that have been tucked away, pull them out and let us know what you have so we can meet with you to see if any may be of use,” Sonne said in a letter to society members. Photo donors will be acknowledged in the book.
“Let’s see what you have and maybe you will be a part of what we feel will be a wonderful project in which the entire community can be proud of,” Sonne said.
All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the historical society.
Sonne can be reached at 630-1653 and McMahan is at 634-1985.
Didja ever notice?
It was a bittersweet farewell for noted curmudgeon Andy Rooney on “60 Minutes” last Sunday. The 92-year-old has been lucky enough to have people care about his words for more than half a century, which to other writers no doubt sounds like a life well-lived.
“I probably haven’t said anything here that you didn’t already know or have already thought,” he said on his last broadcast. “That’s what a writer does. A writer’s job is to tell the truth.”
So true, Andy; even for those of us who spend our weekends at a county fair.
Adam Breen teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter for The Pinnacle. He is former editor of the Free Lance. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @AdamPBreen.
