With the county fair deadline fast approaching, I’m juggling last-minute fixes, creative frustrations and a collection of well-worn treasures—hoping that what I bring may not be perfect, but will still tell a story worth sharing.
The Outagamie County Fair opens to the public on Wednesday, June 24. However, all Open Class entries must be delivered to the fairgrounds the day before.
Although I’ve been diligently working on my projects, there are a few last-minute items that still need tweaking. This is a nail-biting time for me.
All my photos are printed and mounted. Each has a numbered tag attached, except for one. Somehow, an entry tag for an 8×10 black-and-white wildlife photo is missing. I searched everywhere for it. Maybe it got stuck to another entry. Or it was in the assorted photos I wouldn’t use. Maybe, just maybe the dog ate it. No matter, I can’t find it. Right now, I’m waiting to hear from the fair office to see if it can be replaced. If not, well, that squirrel photo will remain at home.
My next problem concerns my watercolor entries. I’m not happy with one. Since watercolor paint dries fast, I’ve made many other attempts. So far, none have pleased me. I have this image in my head of the perfect watercolor scene but can’t seem to transfer it to paper. I might be trying too hard. No matter if that ‘perfect’ scene doesn’t materialize, I will choose something from my not-so-perfect paintings to enter.
For the first time, I have entries in the Antique category. Other years, I just admired items friends had submitted. This June, I’ve taken a big leap into my back room and searched for entries of my own—I have six.
In the Other Kitchen Item category, I have a Shawnee Smiley Pig Cookie Jar from the 1940s. This jar Mom filled with cookies for us when we were children. Of course, it didn’t stay full long. These days, it sits in a display cabinet in my dining room. It isn’t perfect; about half the paint has worn off, but I thought showing Piggie off is like sharing childhood memories.
My salt and pepper duo also has paint missing, but they are still cute. I don’t remember ever putting salt or pepper in these; mostly, they were set among the other pairs on a shelf.
I started collecting salt and pepper shakers when Bob and I were first married. Back then, I could get a cute pair for a quarter. They helped liven up our mobile home when we had very little to show off. Nowadays, some vintage shakers are going for eight to ten dollars.
There’s a special cane that will be another of my entries. It has a brass duck-head handle. My dad used that cane when he walked around the flea market. Seeing it reminds me of how my dad loved getting a good bargain at the flea market. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t picked up that duck-head cane at a flea market. If he had, I’m sure he hadn’t paid much for it.
A fur cape is another entry I dragged out of my backroom. It has a Marshall Field’s tag on it. This stole is not a hand-me-down. I found it at a rummage sale many years ago. Many a nursing home resident was able to stroke the fur as I spoke about my hat collection.
In the paper category, I entered an unopened 1955 calendar from Illinois. I hope having an out-of-state calendar doesn’t disqualify it.
Finally, in the Outagamie item is a cloth seed bag from the Mueller farm. I understand that the family who owned this farm before the Manzkes had a large seed corn operation. Finding one of their seed bags rounds up my entries.
As I said in the beginning, there’s not much time for me to gather all my entries and bring them to the 2026 Outagamie County Fair. I have my fingers crossed that mine will make a good showing. No matter. When you do go to the fair, make sure you wander through building number 6 and see if you find anything entered by me.
Susan Manzke, Sunnybook Farm, N8646 Miller Rd, Seymour, WI 54165; sunnybook@aol.com; susanmanzke@gmail.com; www.susanmanzke.net/blog.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: What do you do when Fair deadline nears and perfection feels just out of reach?
Reporting by Susan Manzke, Wisconsin State Farmer / Wisconsin State Farmer
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By Susan Manzke, Wisconsin State Farmer | USA TODAY Network
