Fall Festival has some weather problems (Updated)

I visited the Fall Festival on Saturday morning. This year the festival has carnival rides in the Midway, though not by the same company that does the rides for the County Fair. I tried to read the name of the company from the shirts of the employees, but could not make it out.

 There were ten or twelve food vendors, most of them different from those that come to the County Fair. One of the vendors was a food truck that dispensed frozen yogurt.

 I have seen this vendor before--I recognize the typeface that they use.

 There were some trailers or RVs in the camping spots, but not nearly as many as the Fair has. Though the festival is quite large, it seems small in the venue--the county fair really is a big event.

 There were numerous acts scheduled for the free stage. In the morning Natalie Brouwer sang.

 Then in the afternoon the rain came. I got an inch and a half in my rain gauge, about the same as what the downtown station reported and more than twice as much as the airport recorded. It was enough to flood roads in Rensselaer and it chased away the crowds at the Fall Festival. At 4:00 the free stage was empty though an act was supposed to be there. Even though the vendors were inside, there were few people to stop by. Some of the outdoor events have been postponed or canceled.

Maybe the weather on Sunday will be better for festival goers.

Update Sunday:
The name of the carnival ride provider is Sterling Crown Carnival.

On Sunday the Weed Wacker Pulling Association had a competition next to the Retired Iron building. Despite its name, the web page says that the motors are from chain saws.

The outhouse that was added to the Jasper County Historical Society area last year now has a plaque. I did not realize that it was a WPA outhouse, a "Roosevelt Privy". You would think that by the 1930s outhouses would have been disappearing, replaced by indoor plumbing. But I guess they were not disappearing as fast as I would have expected.

 Another item from the past: a new comment was left on on old post. It tells a little about soda fountains in Rensselaer.

For the last two days, and perhaps for the last three, the Iroquois has set a daily record for stream flow. The records go back 65 years. Normally August, September, and October are dry months with very low flow in the river. The high levels for these months are not much different from the average during the spring months.

End of the fair

One of the best parts of the fair is the free stage. The people performing there are very good and draw respectable crowds. If the seating were better, they probably would draw more. On Thursday the Free Stage featured the Jhonny and Sally show. They did country and western music in their first performance, and their second show was music from the 60s.

 Jhonny and Sally are not their real names--Sally is actually Catherine and she has a show that plays on CNBC Prime. (Check their website to hear samples of their music.)

The rides on the Midway change a bit from year to year. I think this one has been in some past shows, but the kamikaze ride that impressed me in some past years has disappeared.

 The rides disappear quickly after the fair is over.

Not all the goldfish went home with kids.

Judging from the amount of trash left in the bleachers, the demolition derby was well attended. This year there was not a combine demolition derby.

 The retired iron tractors were getting ready to leave. The old road grader was one of the odd vehicles in the retired iron display.

 This tractor will not be in the retired iron display for quite a few years. I could not resist and had to ask what it cost. It was over $300K and that was without a bunch of extra stuff, such as computers and software. I suspect most people in big cities have not idea of where the technology of farming is and how complicated the business of farming is. The combine behind it cost about the same.

 The commercial building was cleaned out and empty on Saturday morning.

The next big event for the fairgrounds will be the Fall Festival in five or six weeks.

Update: The tractor made of aluminum cans that was pictured in a couple of posts this week is going to Fair Oaks Farms. They must have been as impressed with it as I was.

More Pictures from the Jasper County Fair

In the last post I had a picture of two tractors that were constructed from cylindrical objects. The were not shotgun shells. Here is a closer look. Can you tell now what the building blocks of the tractors were?

 One of the items that popped up at the City Council meeting and that I forgot to mention is that this year there will be no National Night Out.

An ongoing activity at the fair is livestock judging. Here is a picture from the barrow judging that took place on Monday.

There are lots and lots of animals, including some very strange looking chickens.

On Tuesday night the Free Stage hosted Cook and Belle and the grandstand had racing motorcross.

 In the retired iron barn kids got to do something that is rare today but a century ago was commonplace--working a water pump. They will grow up not really understanding the phrase, "Priming the pump."

 There are lots of things for younger fair goers, such as face painting and junior deputy badges.

 As the sun set, the threshing demonstration was shutting down. This was a marvel in its day, but is not so completely obsolete that it is a demonstration of almost forgotten technology. A repeat performance is schedule for Wednesday night.

For more pictures from the fair, see the Facebook page of the Jasper County Fair Association. Some pictures from the Newton County Fair can be found on their Facebook page.

City council meeting July 2014

I visited the fair in the afternoon because I wanted to attend the city council meeting in the evening. A lot of things are not open until after 5:00. I noticed these tractors in the 4-H displays in the West Exhibit Hall. Can you tell what they are made of?

The Rensselaer City Council met on Monday night in a regularly scheduled meeting. There were a number of interesting items that came from the public. The Eagles want to close a block of Harrison on August 2 and September 6. The head of the Jasper County Community Services gave a long presentation saying that her agency has had cutbacks in federal and state funds and that she would like the city to contribute some to help offset the costs. She noted that most of the one-way trips that the agency provides--the agency has 11 vehicles and charges $1.00 per trip--are within Rensselaer. The council decided to take the issue under advisement.

A citizen complained about noise from the dog spa on Cullen and Vine. It is apparently not in compliance with zoning codes, and the city is proceeding with action against it.

Another citizen who runs a cosmetology business from her home had several complaints. The city requires that at-home businesses have signs no bigger that one foot by one foot and the signs must be attached to the residence. She said that the state cosmetology rules say the sign must be visible from the street and thus there is a conflict between what the state requires and what the city allows. She was also concerned that many businesses that are run from home are under the radar and thus have a cost advantage. Her business is recognized as a business by the city, and thus she pays the commercial rate for electricity, which is higher than the residential rate. Since she heats her home with electricity, the difference matters to her. Eventually she was told that the council could do nothing and that she should seek a variance for the sign from the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Some ordinances were passed that transferred funds, and then the Council approved tax abatement for ConAgra's upcoming expansion.

The gas department is extending lines to serve non-residents in three places. The mayor said that it seemed like a good long-term investment. After the meeting I asked the department head about what that meant. It means that the city will bear the cost of extending the lines, but those who live outside city boundaries pay more for gas. Several of the new customers will be farmers who will use gas for drying crops, so they should be big users.

The Building Trades wanted a waiver for the building permit for the new house they will begin in the fall. It will be near Scott and Harrison.

After the meeting I asked one of the people attending if Fair Oaks will try to do the air show again next year. He said that they would, but that they will try not to conflict with the local county fairs.

Saturday and Sunday at the county fair

Today (Monday) will be day three at the Jasper County Fair. Here is what I have seen so far in two short visits.

On Saturday night Jimmie Bussell was on the free stage.

While he took a break, the Good Time Cloggers from Valparaiso performed in the area north of the poultry-rabbit barn. They looked like they were having a lot of fun.

 On Sunday the Community Band performed in the Retired Iron building.

 Taylor Gastineau was on the free stage (and later Rick Rascoe, but I had left by the time he performed). The black smoke above the stage is from the Truck/Tractor Pull, which made noise loud enough so that I could hear it in Rensselaer.

The smoke and noise was not from this tractor pull, which tested pedal power and took place at the same time.

On Saturday night the grandstand attraction was mud drags. I guess vehicles competed to see which could finish a run through the mud the fastest.

There are a lot of vendors selling fair food. The ones that make the circuit of county fairs, like this one, have gotten very decorative. I think the local vendors sell more food, though.

 On Sunday the rides on the midway were operating. On Saturday night the crews were still assembling them.

 On Sunday a variety of organizations took part in the Volunteer Fair, a chance for non-profits to inform the public of their mission and to find volunteers. Among the groups participating were CDC Resources, the Crisis Center, Good Samaritan Food Pantry of Rensselaer, Sorrowful Mother Food Pantry of Wheatfield, Prairie Arts Council, Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution, the Jasper County Historical Society, Demotte Historical Society, the Lions Club, Indiana State Department of Health, Friends of the Library, and the CASA program. (I know I missed two or three.) The event was sponsored by the Jasper Foundation.

Some non-profits opted for a larger presence with booths in the commercial building or elsewhere. The one I was excited to see was the PET people from Demotte. PET stands for Personal Energy Transportation. I had heard about this project before, but had not had the chance to talk to those involved. They were at the fair eager to tell people about what they do, which is to construct five vehicles per week, all done with volunteers. The cost of the materials is about $250, and that is the limiting factor in what they can produce. They were hoping to find more people willing to sponsor vehicles.

The vehicles are powered by the hand crank and are distributed to people in third-world countries who cannot walk. The vehicles give them mobility and change their lives. Because the people live in impoverished places, they cannot afford gasoline or electricity, so the key to helping them is to keep it simple. And also durable--the vehicles are made so they will be hard to break. For example, the tires are not inflated but a filled with foam so they cannot go flat. (Though I suppose with enough use they will wear out.) I was allowed to test drive a vehicle. It is easy to drive on the smooth floor of the commercial building and it turns on dime. However, my legs got in the way, something that is not a problem for many of those who get the vehicles.

If you go to the fair, stop by their booth and see what they are doing. I think they have an impressive story to tell.

Tonight the grandstand will have a rodeo and the free stage will have "Elvis" Curt Lechner. He has performed for a number of local fundraisers and will be doing another on September 27 at Embers for CDC Resources. (That is also Oktoberfest night, so you can do two events in one evening.)