By Marianne Austin For The Beacon

County fairs are a part of growing up , where memories are made and you are never too old to enjoy the entertainment , attractions , animals , tractors , judging competition and auctions .

People at the Coshocton Senior Center reminisced about the county fairs they attended growing up .

Pam Tipton said her favorite thing to eat would have been the kielbasa sausage sandwiches .

“ I love those , but I love the sweet stuff too , so that would have been waffles , and I always take some home ,” Tipton said .

Her favorite ride was the Round Up .

“ I remember getting

sick on a lot of them . There was one called The Spider . I liked that , and it was one I wouldn ’ t get sick on . I don ’ t know if the fair has changed , but we have changed . I still like to go and walk around to see what they have . It ’ s still a lot of fun ,” Tipton said . “ I am a die-hard Ridgewood fan . I like the fries at their food stand , but my favorite fair food was the kielbasa sub . I didn ’ t really play games . You just ran around with your friends . My friend Mary Lou and I would get on a ride that was like a swing . You stood up , and to make it go , you used your body and made it swing . We would get that thing going .”

Ruthann Durben said , “ I liked taking my kids to the fair when they were little . I liked going through

the barns to see the horses and the farm animals , and some buildings sold things too . All of the schools had

food stands . It was always nice to eat at those . I always went to Coshocton ’ s , but I always like the River View stand too . I love the little doughnuts , and they still have those . I liked to get taffy .”

Helen Stone said , “ I like

where they used to guess your age , and I liked the rides when I was younger . I don ’ t now . I loved the stand

“ I loved the horse races , and I loved the tractor pull , the demolition derby and the bull riding . Everything out there has just been phenomenal , and I always enjoyed going . The waffles are my favorite fair food , absolutely .”

Dorothy Manning

with the Italian sausage across from the games , and they had those great big elephant ears beside that stand where if you knocked over pop bottles , you could win a fish . I liked the bands back then . They had good people come in .”

Durben agreed with her about the bands . “ Crystal Gayle came one time , and she was top notch ,” she said .

Stone said , “ I worked at the Ridgewood stand when I was in high school . I got off from school , and that was fun , and I got all kinds of tips . Sometimes I could get off a whole week from school . I liked to see the animals , but I didn ’ t want to touch them . It was just fun seeing everybody . I liked to watch the rough trucks , and I still do . I watch my grandkids ride the rides now . I live close to the fairgrounds and have to smell it the whole time , whether I am at the fair or not . I only live about a block and a half away . My dog kept trying to get loose because he could smell it . My cat probably went over

though .”

Ken Zimmerman loved everything about the fair , especially the rides and the exhibits .

“ The Spider was my favorite ride , and I loved the Round Up ,” he said . “ I loved the fair exhibits , stuff from the school and putting it in the fair . I really enjoyed that . I liked when the buildings had more in them . The commercial buildings had free stuff , and they used to have the Sheetz Christmas tree placed in there . They used to sell all kinds of stuff in there .”

Marge Henry said her dad was a 4-H adviser , and they would get passes from him .

“ He would take us in the morning when he

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