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Last week I proved to myself that there can truly be a first time for anything.
I decided on the spur of the moment to enter two of my raised bed garden items in the Lyon County Fair. I participated in the salad tomatoes category and in large marigolds.
While I was at it I thought I'd enter a cross stitch project, one that features seven small projects arranged in a photo frame with seven compartments.
The raised bed and the stitching both required effort. I wanted people who attend the fair to see my results, to know what I accomplished.
It was a bonus when I found out last Thursday that two of my three projects placed. The cross stitch was first in its category. The tomatoes placed second. Judges don't have to award anything if a project doesn't seem substantial, so when they award something it means they think the project is good.
I'm not an expert at cross stitch. I sometimes do small projects, usually in the winter when I spend almost all of my time indoors. Like reading, it helps to pass the time.
I stretched myself with the project I brought to the fair. I started by finding a photo frame. Then I looked for patterns in a book I borrowed, and made some changes to the designs to fill out entire photo squares.
The items in the display included an "I Love to Garden" saying underscored with garden tools, a panda bear with bamboo and mountains, a jam jar, a mermaid, a mailbox, a sand castle, and a drummer with a band uniform surrounded by music notes.
My tomatoes are called raspberry tomatoes. They're a little larger than cherry tomatoes and have more meat on them, but they're still bite size. For the past several weeks I've harvested a full bowl every several days.
The marigolds are bright orange. Their color makes them blend well with the tomato vines and pepper plant, as well as the petunias and Dianthus that I planted on their other side.
Exhibiting gave me a chance to be part of the Lyon County Fair in a new way. I also did what I've done often in the past. I went out to the fair on Friday and found a feature story, something that brought back memories of past fairs that included other features.
We're fortunate to still have a full open class exhibit building. It's something that people of all ages can do year after year. It helps to ensure that valuable life skills such as gardening, crafts, foods, clothing construction, and photography don't disappear.
Hopefully others will at some point do what I did in 2026. I hope they'll try new things, and that they'll like the results enough to put them on display as exhibits.
Although most rural county fairs have gotten smaller, there's still something special about them. They still involve turning a fairgrounds into a village for four or five days. They still allow people from throughout a county to gather and enjoy a variety of activities.
There's a shared enthusiasm that's usually not found in crowded places. People want to attend. They want to see the attractions. They want to say hello to people they know.
It wouldn't be the same if county fairs someday become regional. Events that are region wide wouldn't have the hometown connection that motivates young families, senior citizens and people who live within towns to get out to the fair for at least an hour or two.
Fair board members start planning the next fair as soon as the one from the current year concludes. They spend many hours planning events and activities that hopefully draw crowds.
The Independent published a poll on our editorial page that asked readers if they planned to attend the Lyon County Fair. Almost 100 people responded, with 80 percent saying they didn't plan to go.
I found that discouraging. Most of the 80 percent probably don't know what a fair has to offer. They've most likely never been to one, or haven't been to one in a long time.
Those who go to fairs think of them as a special once a year occasion. When a fair ends, it's time to start looking forward to the summer season that's almost a year away. It's time for regular exhibitors to begin thinking about what they'll want to display next time.
I'm pretty sure there will be a next time for me. If my raised bed garden in 2027 turns out even close to the results of 2026, I'll want to show everyone vegetables and flowers. If I stitch this winter it depends on whether I complete another project that's elaborate enough.
It's fun to at least think of possibilities. We need to have goals, to think up new ideas and then decide how to act on them. It's true of county fairs and life in general.
-- Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent