Monday, August 05, 2013
 
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Marian Haseley: all 77 Logan County Fairs and counting

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[August 05, 2013]  Friday morning, a sweet, happy lady sat in the front row of chairs at the Department O Cake, Candy and Snack Food judging.

As she sat there taking it all in, Lincoln Police Chief Ken Greenslate stopped by and squatted down to visit with her for a moment.

Shortly after that Marcia Greenslate also stopped by, giving the lady a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "This is my mama," Greenslate said. "And, she has been to every Logan County Fair!"

Indeed Marian Haseley said she has not missed a single one of the 77 annual Logan County Fairs, though she did think about not coming this year. "But, my daughter-in-law said, ‘You've been to all of them so far, you can't stop now!' so today, she brought me to the fair."

Haseley said she attended the first fair 77 years ago at the age of 14 with her father and her two sisters. "I remember it because I'd never seen anything like this before, and we all had a really good time," she said.

After that she made a point of going every year. She said that when she married and had children, the fair was still an important part of their summer routine. "We had kids in 4-H. They showed animals and garden products, so we still came to the fair. It was always a busy time, but we enjoyed it, and I enjoyed being with the people."

Haseley said it is just as enjoyable today as it was 77 years ago. "I still get to see a lot of people. Sometimes it will be someone I haven't seen in years, but I remember them, and they remember me," she said.

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On Sunday afternoon, Logan County put to rest its 77th fair. For the most part, like all its predecessors, it was a great event. Making it a bit better than most years, though, was the cooler weather. Temperatures were lower than normal, considerably more so than last year's, which was good for people and animals alike. There were some mild rainy spells, but no one really seemed to mind that too much.

A couple of events had to be rerouted or rescheduled due to the rain, such as the kiddie tractor pull that was moved inside to the events building and the first day of harness racing that was postponed from Tuesday to Thursday. The ankle-deep mud on scrambles night just made it more interesting for everyone.

LDN had people out at the fair every day, and even before it began. The time spent out there was the best kind of work, the kind you don't consider work because you enjoy it so much.

It will take a couple more days to get all the recordings and results in, and to put them into LDN. But, the 2013 Logan County Fair is now history, and we'd like to say, "See you next year, Marian, for number 78!"

[By NILA SMITH]

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