It's fair and rodeo time
Today we offer a few Bits & Pieces of past Grant County Fairs and Rodeos. Enjoy.
E-mail from Cheryl
Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:
From the Columbia Basin Herald on Aug. 17, 1950:
Parade plans ready
Final plans are being made for one of the biggest highlights of the Grant County Fair and Rodeo: The grand parade.
The parade will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Dogwood and Third Avenue and continue its mine-and=one-half route through downtown Moses Lake before disbanding at McCosh Park. The parade is expected to last about an hour.
The reviewing stand for this year’s parade will be in front of Elmer’s Restaurant where the parade officials and visiting dignitaries will view the festivities.
Grand Marshal Monty Holm will be escorted by an honor guard of Veterans of Foreign War.
From the CBH on Sept. 21, 1950:
County exhibit wins blue ribbon at Puyallup
Grant County’s exhibit at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup this week was awarded a blue ribbon, according to Ralph Walton of Moses Lake, who is in charge of the display. It was the first time Grant County had entered an exhibit in the Puyallup exposition. The display was a combination of the county exhibit and the Wilson Creek Grange display shown at the recent Grant County Fair at Moses Lake.
From the CBH on Aug. 17, 1978:
Fair opener termed smooth
“Things were as smooth as can be,” said Grant Count Fair Manager Bill Bailey about Wednesday’s opening day of the Grant County Fair.
Don Beckley, fair treasurer, said the first day’s attendance was 39,964, compared to 35,114 for the first day last year.
However, this year’s statistics reflected the fact that this year, the fair opened in the morning instead of at noon in previous years.
From the CBH on Sept. 16, 1949:
Parade is hailed as best held in Moses Lake
Floats, bands, marching units, decorated cars and trucks and farm machinery combined to make the rodeo parade Saturday afternoon the longest and the most colorful the city has ever seen.
The American Legion Post, with its float depicting the marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, won sweepstakes honors.
From the CBH on August 26, 1949:
VFW Auxiliary to serve Super-Hot Dogs at fair
More and better hot dogs during the Grant County Fair and Columbia Basin Rodeo on Sept. 19-10 and 11, were announced this week. Mrs. George Allison, chairman of the hot doges and the pop concession on the fair and rodeo grounds, talked over plans for the super-dogs Friday evening when members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary met in the housing project.