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Thursday, August 2, 2007
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HOT TIME AT THE FAIR CROW WING COUNTY FAIR Senior Reporter Many fair goodies come on a stick, but one of the most popular this year is not something with calories.
This week one of the most popular items with a stick handle may be a cardboard fan. Crow Wing County fairgoers had those fans in hand Wednesday, a day where the temperature reached 80 degrees by 10 a.m.
With temperatures flirting with 90 degrees, fair participants have learned a few tricks to keep cool.
"We're braving it," said Jane Harvey of Baxter. She was touring the fair Wednesday with her husband, Dick.
"We're Dick and Jane. Spot died," she joked of their names and the legendary books that taught generations of youngsters how to read. The Harveys appeared unfazed by the heat at the fair and were enjoying their visit. They said their trick to handle the warmth comes with experience. They spent 25 years in Phoenix. Compared to that oven weather, a hot day in Brainerd is no big deal.
The Harveys had a cabin in Breezy Point and liked the area before they decided to move here full time. Jane Harvey grew up in Minnesota and said she is glad to be back. Dick Harvey said he liked Arizona better. He's not fond of northern winters. But visions of snow and cold and ice were distant thoughts this week.
John Maattala, Crow Wing County solid waste technician, was working at the county's fair booth. He drank about eight bottles of water Tuesday.
"If you keep moving you get a little bit of breeze on you," Maattala said.
Making mini doughnuts, where the cooking temperature is 400 degrees, Mark Richards of Brainerd, appreciated Wednesday's breeze. Richards said he's been at the fair for about 19 years and when he looked at his records for last year, temperatures were just as hot on opening day.
Patches the Clown, from the Deerwood Lakes Lions Club, recommended lemonade as a way to beat the heat.
Advice to avoid getting too toasty at the fair? "Don't wear makeup and a wig," she said and smiled. But Patches said she hadn't melted yet, but the heat may have been what turned her nose red. A bystander may have thought it was clown paint, but you never know.
Patches said a fellow clown came up with a good idea to keep cool by freezing rice in a tube and then wearing it around the neck.
"It works just fine for cooling," Patches said.
Shade trees and a strong breeze helped make the morning feel comfortable. Inside the metal exhibit buildings, counting fans in booths would keep a person busy. Sitting between two fans, Tamy Cullinane, Brainerd, staffed the Economy Garages of Deerwood booth.
"Yesterday was one of the hottest days I remember," Cullinane said. "I thought it felt better going outside yesterday than it felt in here."
After working her shift at the fair booth Tuesday, Cullinane went home and headed for the pool.
She said fans, water and freeze pops from the booth next door help with the heat.
Outside the buildings, Nancy Carlson was sitting on a foot stool beneath the noon-day sun holding up a sign directing people to a meat raffle inside. From Rosemount, Carlson was with the Local 653 Meat Cutters Union and its fair booth. "I volunteered," she said of sitting outside with the sign, a bottle of water, and - perhaps most important - her sense of humor.
"It's a great experience," Carlson said of her first time at the fair booth.
As for the warm day? Carlson said: "Just enjoy that it's not snowing, that it's not way below zero."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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