Clayton County, Iowa Fair

The pictures you are viewing here are from the 1954 or 1955 Clayton County Fair. The Flower Child was a member of the Jefferson Go-Hawks 4-H Club and each Club was encouraged to decorate the section of the exhibition barn that their Club used during the fair for their Livestock. The Beef and Dairy entries were tied to stalls. The Chickens, Rabbits, Sheep and Hogs were in separate exhibition barns in cages or pens. By looking closely at the above pictue you can see the "Show Box," which contained all the grooming aids we used to make our entries ready for show on Juding Day. Mineral Oil for the hooves, Pine Tar Soap for the hide, combs for ratting out the tail hair and a plethora of other grooming aides. All to allow the entry to look the best for the eye of the Judge.

Here you can note the ceiling decorations in the Jefferson Go-Hawks section of the Dairy and Beef Exhibition Barns. If my memory serves me correctly, this Club won the Barn Decoration Contest at least two years during the 1950s.

This entry about the Clayton County Fair was prompted by the fact that the 153rd Clayton County Fair will be held from July 31 thorugh August 6, 2007. The Flower Child has many fond memories of his participation in this Fair, which is still well regarded by the citizens of Northeast Iowa.

Should you desire visiting the 2007 Clayton County Fair please check out this Website:

http://www.claytoncountyfair.com/