Collections on Show at a County Fair

Mid-August. A great time of year to go to a County Fair. The Fella, the Baby, the Friend, and I went to the Clackamas County Fair on the last day. Usually I like to go on one of the first days, but this year our schedules meshed on a Sunday. I was impressed that everything still looked pretty good: the veggies were a bit shriveled, but holding on; many of the dahlias looked gorgeous that I think they must have been replaced; and the cakes and pies were not buzzing with flies, so those glass cases must help.

Nachos with creamy cheese, grange hall displays, a million kinds of pie, fancy chickens, piglets and pygmy goats, 4-H-made tunics and educational poster boards. All these are highlights.

But a must-see for me is the arts and craft building. The basement is always a bit spooky with random flowers and vegetables that are not displayed with the other flowers and vegetables in another area of the fairgrounds. Why are they in this basement? How are they different than the other flowers and veg? We give a quick sweep through here and head up to the main floor, where the cakes, cookies, and canned goods are on display and the table settings wrap around the room. This year there was a new category.

Chocolate cake made by men! I told the Fella he should definitely enter next year, as he has a few chocolate cakes under his belt. I loved that the fair poobahs decided the men needed their own category in which to compete. Bless them. From the main floor we go up to my favorite part, the hot and creaky second floor, where they hang the quilts, paintings, and photography, and house under glass all sorts of hand-made artifacts: from dresses to baby books.

One of the most amusing aspects on this floor is the collections. I am not a collector. I think knick-knacks take up too much space. To know that a person has amassed an assortment of an all-the-same something and decided to put it in the fair is endlessly fascinating. Don't get me wrong, I have interest in many things. I like my cooking equipment and my set of Betsy-Tacy books and the books about those books. But I don't know if I have a collection worthy of entering in a fair.

One of the first collections that I recall from a fair several years ago was famous buildings--Taj Mahal, Frank Lloyd Wright--made out of Popsicle sticks, done by a 90-year-old man. Both handmade and a collection. But this year's collections were the best I had ever seen.

Gone with the Wind fanaticism

J-E-L-L-O

Soap Savers? What are these things?

Thanks Collector and Fair-enterer. Now we know. 

British Royal Family Collection

Audrey Hepburn. Who doesn't love her?

Overall, the collections were entertaining and educational. I especially thought of my friend, Jen, who loves Gone with the Wind, the Royal Family, and traveling back in time, and who had to miss the fair this year. So, Jen, this post is for you.

Tired fair-goer

Koren's Blue Ribbon Cornflake Macaroons

When my sister, Koren, was about 10 years old she entered cookies in the Polk County Fair. She was pretty confident and excited about them. My mother had entered cookies for the past few years and never won, so Mom warned her several times, "Don't get too excited.You might not win anything." Koren ended up winning not only the blue ribbon for her age group, but the grand prize, a bag of sugar! Mom was flabbergasted. Koren's self-assurance was maintained.

Following is the recipe for Koren's Blue Ribbon Cornflake Macaroons. The recipe comes from my Grandma Gertie Brinkman. According to my mother, "I think the brown paper bag has a play in the cooking." I made them recently and they were very easy and surprisingly good. Surprisingly, because I don't really like meringue. But they had a nice sweetness from the sugar and coconut and a good crunch from the cornflakes.

Cornflake Macaroons
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup coconut

Beat egg whites until stiff. Mix sugar, salt and add slowly to the egg whites. Beat until smooth. Fold in cornflakes. Drop a rounded teaspoon of batter onto a baking sheet covered with a brown paper bag. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

Note: Even though the cookies cooked perfectly, I had a hard time getting them off the brown paper bag. I ended up sliding a knife under each cookie, scraping it off the bag. 

I brought some of the cookies over to my sister and her family after I made them. She told me she didn't really like the cookies when she was a kid and never made them again after her big win. But she tried one of mine and thought it was delicious. My 8 year old niece loved them.  She wondered if they had marshmallow in them. Koren and I figured that those judges 30 years ago were just tired of chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, and peanut butter.