SEMO Fair Archives

September 9, 2013

Colorful Fairs

The Southeast Missouri District Fair is in progress right now, so it is appropriate that I stumbled across these two color frames from a fair or carnival.

The only catch is that I don’t know for sure where they were taken. The slides were in the middle of some Cape negatives from the early 1960s, so I’m going to guess they were from the SEMO Fair.

They all run together

After you’ve shot midways for four decades in four states (more if you count bordering states in our circulation areas), they all start to blur together. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Here are some earlier stories and photos:

September 11, 2011February 26, 2015

These were in the same negative sleeve with the photos of the casting contest, dated Sept. 15, 1967. I guess Chris Sawyer was cuter than these two guys with fair trophies, because this photo didn’t run in the paper, so far as I could find. I don’t know if the trophies were being dropped off for the fair or if someone really cleaned up. The only clue is the name “something” Farms on the door of the pickup. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

How to milk a cow

This photo of a little girl watching a cow being milked didn’t run, either. I don’t know who she is or who the farmer is. The cows, too, alas, are anonymous.

September 8, 2011February 26, 2015

Mother Covers SEMO Fair

I had some old scans of the Southeast Missouri District Fair that I was going to post, but then I opened my email to find that Mother had been out to see this year’s fair being set up. She shot these with her Kodak digital camera and uploaded them from her iPad. Not too shabby for somebody who’s going to turn 90 next month. I think she did it all without leaving her car.

More colorful than in 1964

Looks like the fair is a lot more colorful than the old days when we lived in a black and white world.

Photo gallery of 2011 SEMO District Fair

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

September 5, 2011February 26, 2015

Casting about at the Fair

It’s getting to be Southeast Missouri District Fair time again. That means it’s gonna be cold and rainy or hot and dusty or both. I shared photos of the 1964 Midway last year. I ran across a couple sleeves of other activities to celebrate this year’s Fair.

The caption under this September 16, 1967 Missourian photo said, “Too many fishing rods in the same place created a tangle that called for adult assistance at the casting pool at the District Fair Friday night. Chris Sawyer, whose tackle is in distress, watches intently as Richard Holekamp, middle, a state farm forester, and B.F. Carr, 2823 Lear Drive, seek to unravel matters. Young Sawyer is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Tom Sawyer, 1431 Rose.

The Carrs and the Sawyers were the big winners in the casting contest.

Photo gallery of Chris Sawyer

Chris really took his casting seriously. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery. I’ll have a few more fair pictures later in the week.