Appreciate what others do for us

I was at the Sanders County Fair every day this year for various reasons. On Thursday my mom and I judged entries in the 4-H Home Ec building, Friday I volunteered for the Fair Foundation in the beer booth, and Saturday and Sunday I was there covering various events for the newspaper. I felt like I was at the fair a lot this year, though definitely not as much as the 4-H families and vendors.

The Sanders County Fair is pretty special in that admission is still free and the grounds are still covered in grass. The $10 daily parking fee is more than fair when you consider how much other county fairs charge. In Ravalli County, for example, daily admission is $10 per adult and $8 per child.

Was the fair perfect? No, but that's an unrealistic expectation. With any event or fundraiser or even business, there are bound to be hiccups.

At the fair board meeting last week, about a dozen community members attended, all with a different criticism of the fair. Yes, there were issues that needed to be addressed and that was the venue to express concerns. What wasn't said was all the good that happened over the weekend. Thousands of people came to the rodeo and the demo derby and many just came to see the exhibits and the animals and have their fill of "fair food."

I love our fair for many reasons, but here are just a few:

- I made a new friend who is moving to Plains from Washington. We both went to Colorado State University and joked that now we can start an alumni group in Sanders County.

- Kendall Spurr taught me which animal manure was the best for growing cucumbers with her 4-H experiment. (It's dog, by the way.)

- I got to sit at a picnic table with my mom, eat some cheesy curly fries and catch up with people we hadn't seen in awhile.

At last week's meeting, the fair board members (who are volunteers) were already talking about next year and changes that can be made. They literally put in hundreds of hours year-round planning this event where our communities come together and honor our county's rich agriculture heritage. The fair is a time to celebrate those big pumpkins, recognize the work the kids have put in to training with their livestock, support non-profits by buying a cheeseburger and gather with your family at the rodeo.

It's easy to complain about all the things that went wrong with the fair. I hope people will remember the great things that happened and appreciate the time and effort that goes into planning this event each year.

— Annie Wooden