My summers growing up in Lincoln County, Mississippi, as a child consisted of playing outside all day with my cousin Kris until it was dark and time for supper. If it was raining, we would find ourselves a hidden spot inside the house somewhere we would not be interrupted by the adult in charge. We would pedal our bikes down the paved road up to Oliver's grocery store with a dollar or two in hand around the handle bars to get us a coke and a bag of chips. Mainly, the trek was to show our independence and to kill the time of the day which seem to last forever back then. Sometimes we would get a treat and get to go the City Pool which was where the Brookhaven High School Science Building and Band Hall now sit. I think it was like 75 cents to get in for the day. But the real treat of the summer was the Exchange Club Fair.
Yes. The Exchange Club Fair, as small as it may seem to some, was an enormous deal to us growing up in Brookhaven, and still is. The "Fair" signaled the ending of summer and the beginning of "our Fall." It meant back-to-school and new clothes. Going to the Fair meant you get to reunite with all friends because remember we did not have cell phones and internet back then. We were not in constant communication as kids are these days. The Fair meant you got to see who grew up over the summer or who "grew some" over the summer maybe I should say. The Fair meant scoping out your new love for the upcoming school year. It meant wearing your "best summer outfit" to try to impress the possible choice as well.
The Exchange Club Fair was always the same, yet new year after year. The smell of the burgers cooking over the open grill and the smoke filling the midway as you pushed your way through the crowd. The cotton candy machine, always on the end. The same old games on the midway...the dunking booth, wheel of fortune, balloon darts, the basketball throw, the grab bag, the milk jugs, and the ping pong gold fish game where the fish would live only until you got home.
We would stand in line for what seemed like hours to ride the tilt-a-whirl and beg Mr. Pete with loud screams to make it go faster. And if you had a "date" for the night, you could only hope the old ferris wheel that was found on the side of the road would break down while you were stuck on top. The sound of it slowly starting off and as it got faster and faster it would eventually smooth out like the sound of wind. Speaking of wind, it felt so wonderful to drift over the top to get that cool breeze on those sultry August nights. The breeze was the best reason to ride the swings, too. Well, that and to try to touch the tree tops as your swing that you had twisted up as tightly as you could rapidly unfolded.
The roller coaster, made just for short people I think, would beat you plum to death and almost send you to the hospital with whip lash. Yet, we still played along and raised our arms and hands with the hills and screamed like we were scared. Oh, and just walking by the haunted house trailer and hearing the blasted buzzer go off would scare the bejesus out of me! That was another place, though, that you would want to go with your date, too! It was dark and creepy, but you were happy to get out of there even if you did have a date. The swans, or the frolic as some might call them, were my favorite, too. You had the choice of you and your partner turning the wheel so fast that you could make yourselves sick, or you could sit back, relax, and enjoy the view for a moment.
The sound of the train whistle could be heard almost all the way down Brookway Boulevard during the week of the Fair. If you had been on exile in the desert and forgotten that it was fair time, the whistle would remind you. Every child in Brookhaven has ridden on those primary colored wooden box cars around the Exchange Club and waved at the fairgoers and the parents in the cars picking up their children at the assigned time. Another right of passage for every Lincoln County child is riding the carousel at the Fair. I mean, you just have to. It is one of the prettiest there ever was if I have to say so myself. Every little boy and girl must wave to mom and dad from the top of the horse of his or her choosing. It is a must.
The Exchange Club Fair is still the same, except for a couple of things. The haunted house is no longer there but instead has a new eatery serving sausage dogs and other fair foods. There is a new ride behind it as well. A few of the games I remember as a child are no longer there, like the coke bottle ring toss, and now they serve funnel cakes. Bingo is still being played under the pavilion but the sweet little couple that dressed alike are sadly no longer with us. The Lincoln County 4-H still shows the livestock and you still drive around the one-way circle until you find a good park.
Kick-off for the fair is this Saturday night. I imagine it will be just as always. The same sounds and same smells as always. The older generation will sit on the benches and watch in awe as the young ones walk by in today's newest and skimpiest fashions. The teenagers will group up in their cliques and talk about who's who and who's not. Love birds will hold hands for the first time and class clowns will rock the ferris wheel seats as high as they possible can. I cannot wait! I am ready for a fair burger and a funnel cake!
What are some of your best Exchange Club Fair memories?
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