More Clay County Fair

 For whatever reason this Blogger editor decided to not do what I wanted, so closed that page and started this.

There were tons of vendors with all sorts of stuff for sale.

This Mat's Family Jam group drove around the grounds most of every day and also pulled up in front of some stands each evening to put on a show -- the drummer is 11 years old, sister is 14 and brother playing the guitar is 17.  Dad, Mat is in the back and mother is on the ground with the saxophone.

This is a promotional photo of them.

Allen Edwards put on a show on Monday.  He was a Houston, TX police detective for many years and now travels as a singer.  Click Here for his website

 Quite a few things done with gourds.

There was quite a collection of classic tractors.

I think this setup is similar to what my brother Roger worked with in the 1960's back in Custer County, Nebraska.

On the 200 mile drive back south to Clarinda we drove almost exclusively on county roads and by lots and lots of corn and beans.  Some is close to being harvested, but with the rains will be a little delay.


More later, Lynn

Our time at the Clay County Fair

  72 degrees with heavy overcast in Clarinda, IA at 1:30 pm on this Wednesday.
Spent the last weekend and Monday at the Clay County Fair CLICK HERE for their website

We saw these gals at least three time.  Usually a half-hour performance.  They were really good.


CLICK HERE for Dually Noted Video

Don't know if Don Ferguson from Ansley, NE will see this, but I found one of his tractors at the fair.

This was an area where the kids could play with some pretty good sized farm toys.

There are acres upon acres of farm machinery on display.

We watched several judging of cattle, hogs, sheep, etc.

This is Hillbilly Bob and Old Ruthie; he cruised the grounds entertaining people.

There were usually lines waiting for the restaurants or the dozens of food stands on the grounds.

Some hog judging.

They had quite a few horse classes.  With the ideal weather and sunshine and temperatures, it was a joy to sit and watch.  This particular photo shows the real young kids who were lead around the ring by their parents/grandparents.

I happened into one of the men's rooms when there was no one in there so took photo of these 10 and 15 foot long troughs for the men to relieve  themselves in.  Later was in when a bunch of young boys were there and they thought it was quite exciting to look up and down the trough at the others.

 In their Depot building they had a huge, huge train set up with multiple trains running all the time and lots of different towns, seasons, activities, etc.

 Tonic Sol-fa is the name of this a Capella group.  They performed 9 times during the 3 days we were there and I think we saw--and heard them 3 or 4 times.

 Bought a CD and they are really fun to listen to.
CLICK HERE for their web page

Tried some of the Grator-Tators once.  Probably not the healthiest food, but sure tasted good.

Ran in to

Lester Vanderwerf, from Springfield, MN - he and his wife Marion spend their winters in our RV Park in Texas. I will make another page...............

At the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa

59 degrees in Spencer, IA
 Saturday night - got here at the Campground adjacent to the Clay County Fair about 2 pm Friday - drove most of the day after we had toured Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa that morning.

We had spent the night in the parking lot at Winnebago Thursday night.

We toured the Grotto at West Bend, IA on Thursday afternoon.




Had toured RR Museum in Boone, IA as well as Mamie Eisenhower Birthplace Museum - and eaten supper with and spent the night with Bill & Twila Oberholzer.  Rained pretty hard that afternoon and through the night.

 CLICK HERE for Grotto website

We played Pegs & Jokers with Bill & Twila in their trailer Wednesday evening.

Thursday noon we visited Betty Schneider at her house in Fort Dodge, IA and had lunch with her.  She spends her winters in Kenwood RV Park in Texas near us.

Have listened to a lot of "free" entertainment that went with the price of entrance ticket to this fair.  It has way more agriculture exhibits than we saw at the Iowa State Fair last month and probably 4 stages with rotating entertainers as well as many circulating the streets during the day.

Will put some more pictures next time I post, maybe when home and on much more open internet connection.

Will pull our trailer out of here on Tuesday and head back to Clarinda.

Later, Lynn

From The Callaway Courier (Callaway Nebraska) today

The year is 1915
 100 years ago. What a difference a century makes. Here are some statistics for the Year 1915:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

 Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14% of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average US wage in 1910 was 22¢ per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year; A dentist $2,500 per year; A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year. And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95% of all births took place at home

Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as “substandard.”

Sugar cost 4¢ a pound. Eggs were 14¢ a dozen. Coffee was 15¢ a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and, used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nev., was only 30.

 Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.

There was neither a Mother’s Day nor a Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write and, only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!”

 Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire USA.

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the world all in a matter of seconds! It is impossible to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. The way it’s going, I wonder if we’ll make it another 100 years.

 *********************************************************************************
Some chuckles
1. My goal for 2016 was to lose just 10 pounds. Only 15 to go.

2. Ate salad for dinner. Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really just one big round crouton covered with tomato sauce. And cheese. Fine, it was a pizza. I ate a pizza.

3. How to prepare Tofu: a. Throw it in the trash. b. Grill some meat.

4. I just did a week’s worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.

5. I don’t mean to brag, but I finished my 14 day diet food in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

6. A recent study has found women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it.

7. Kids today don’t know how easy they have it. When I was young, I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.

8. Senility has been a smooth transition for me.

9. Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below zero out they closed school? Me neither.

10. I may not be that funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented. I forgot where I was going with this.

11. I love being over 70. I learn something new every day and forget five others.

12. A thief broke into my house last night. He started searching for money, so I woke up and searched with him.

13. I think I’ll just put an “Out of Order” sticker on my forehead and call it a day.

14. Nov. 6 will be the end of Daylight Savings Time. Hope you don’t forget to set your bathroom scale back 10 pounds on Saturday night.

15. Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed.

***************************************************************************
 Irish humor:
 A London lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a Glasgow copper. He thinks that he is smarter than the cop because he is a lawyer from London and is certain that he has a better education then any jock cop. He decides to prove this to himself and have some fun at the Glasgow cops expense! Glasgow cop says, “ License and registration, please.”
London Lawyer says, “What for?”
Cop says, “Ye didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign.”
Lawyer says, “I slowed down, and no one was coming.”
Cop says, “Ye still didn't come to a complete stop. License and registration, please”
Lawyer says, “What’s the difference?” “The difference is, ye huvte come to complete stop, that’s the law. License and registration, please!”
The lawyer says, “If you can show me the legal difference between slowdown and stop, I’ll give you my license and registration and you give me the ticket. If not, you let me go and don’t give me the ticket.”
“Sounds fair. Exit your vehicle, sir.” The lawyer exits his vehicle. The cop takes out his baton and starts beating the living crap out of the lawyer and says, “Dae ye want me to stop, or just slow doon?”

* * * Economics

 A golfer walks into the pro shop and asks the pro if they sell ball markers. The golf pro says they do and the price is one dollar. The guy gives the golf pro a dollar. The golf pro opens the register, puts the dollar in, and hands the golfer a dime to use as his marker. This economic model is also used by all levels of governments.

September 2016

74º in Clarinda, IA -- woke up last couple mornings to silence --- no ceiling fan running, no window exhaust fan running, no Air Conditioner running.  Has been cool and not really-high humidity so windows open.  Feeling like fall -- which means cooler weather -- which means I am making plans to go south - probably leave in just over a month and spend a couple weeks going, seeing people in Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas on the way down with our travel-trailer.

Finally, after couple months of trying, got to go with our neighbors-in-the-country to eat at Pizza Ranch in Maryville, MO.  This was new last spring and they had been wanting to go to it.  The Whipples, and neighbor Marceen Von Dielligan are in the mid-to-upper 80's.  Jim doesn't drive anymore (eyesight problem) and was glad to get out.  

The Whipples just bought this house here in Clarinda a stone's through south of us across Highway 2.  They aren't moving right away--he says it is ready when the get around to it.  He wants to sell the buildings off his farm before they move, but "if something happens to me, she has a place to go".

I have been working (in a slow fashion) on putting the last half of the ceiling with insulation in the shop building.  This shows the corner that is done so far.  Actually have another joist filled since this picture was taken.  Using R-30 insulation that I got from a left-over job of friend in Shenandaoh.

The ceiling boards are the 16" x 24" plywood sheets I got from the pallets delivered to our farm place in the 1990's from Japanese ball bearing plant here in town.

All the 2" x 4" and cross pieces to tack the plywood to are used lumber that I accumulated on the farm and moved to town 8 years ago and am finally getting around to using up some of it.  I did spend $26 on screws the other day at the lumberyard, but otherwise have been just re-using stuff.

With all the August rain we have had I have had to mow the lawn every 4 or 5 days.

This is the bank of the yard to the neighbor's to the west of us.  They are gone for a couple weeks and have mowed the yard twice, but this bank only once.  It is really steep - in fact I did it around noon and in the shaded area to the left of this photo where the dew hadn't dried off, I spun out.

This is the same bank -- looking down.

Last evening we went to New Market, IA to concert of Blackwood Quartet - a religious singing group (CLICK HERE for website)
that had their origins in Shenandoah, IA in the 1940's and 1950's.

Here are Steve, Rick, and Kevin Cabbage, who sponsored this concert for their Mother's 80th birthday.

They did several a Capella numbers

Here the boys, and their families escorted          La Donna Cabbage (white-haired lady facing camera) in just before the concert.

Had quite a crowd gathered at the old school gymnasium in New Market.  They school has been closed for years and they use the building for community activities.

Today was first day for choir back to the Methodist Church in Clarinda - sang with them, small turnout for first time.  Going to go to the local Museum in a bit for lecture on the Lewis & Clark Expodition.  They have a different presentation each First-Sunday.

Later, Lynn