On Tuesday, it will be exactly one year since I moved from Kansas to Western Massachusetts and walked into the Recorder newsroom for the first time. My timing in this job means that while I’ve been here a year, this was my first time at the Franklin County Fair so I naturally had to explore all of its offerings.
As I wandered through the fairgrounds soaking it all in, I had the story in my head I was preparing to write about the New England version of the annual fair, something I’m very familiar with back home. Then, as I was watching the Firemen’s Muster and looking through the vast crowd, something stopped me in my tracks.
It was, of all things, a Kansas State University purple and silver hat on a teen boy.
I stared at him for a long time, almost wondering if this was some sort of heat-induced mirage. The moment was the strangest kind of confusion, where you see something so familiar but so out of place that it feels photoshopped into your reality.
I talked to the boy and his family, and it turns out he got the hat at a thrift store and simply liked it, but had no ties to Kansas. We all had a good laugh together because, it turned out, none of us were K-State fans.
As a reporter, those moments don’t come often. I walked away from that family thinking that my story had changed. There are a lot of things that make the Franklin County Fair unique, but it might help to think instead about all of the things that everyone, no matter how far away they’re from, can appreciate about it.
I like to believe that anywhere there’s a county, there can be a fair. And no matter where you are in this country, that smell of hay and fried food is so universal to late summertime that nearly everyone can relate.
That’s not to say Sunday’s fair doesn’t have a great spread of events to enjoy. I was able to watch the Marvelous Mutts show, the Fireman’s Muster and get myself a Hager’s piece of fried dough (which I had never heard of before this week) with maple cream. All were great experiences.
But I also enjoyed the small things — the 4-H kids, the animals, the Roundhouse, fried foods and families wandering around the fairgrounds. The weather was perfect and it was an ideal way to spend a Sunday.
It’s taken me a while to adjust to life in New England, but the fair felt like a perfect way to celebrate a year here. A little of Franklin County, a little of home, and a lot of fried dough with maple cream.
Reach Miranda Davis at
413-772-0261, ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com