Readers share fair memories

Jul 20, 2023

Summertime brings with it the annual Ashtabula County Fair. From 4-H livestock exhibits to the thrill of carnival rides, many wonderful memories are made at the fairgrounds.

We asked and several Star Beacon readers were kind enough to share some of their memories with us.

Joe Golembiowski, 70, of Andover said he fondly recalls raising and showing the grand champion steer at the fair. Joe was a member of the Beef-A-Teers 4-H Club in the 1960s and won many awards for his projects.

Jefferson resident Lois Clark DeMoss, 50, said her claim to fair fame came in the form of getting her picture in the local newspaper under “4-H Chatter.”

She treasures the newspaper clipping.

These days, you can find DeMoss taking her little grandson, James Turner Jr., to the fair to ride the kiddie rides and see the animals.

Sienna Park, 21, of Jefferson had something exciting happen right next to her at the Ashtabula County Fair.

“One time me and my friend were sitting on a bench sharing a bucket of fries, when a woman went into labor right next to us,” she said. “We didn’t notice for like five minutes, but thankfully the EMTs were close by.”

Lenox native, Paul Diemer, 90, used to comb through the fairgrounds the day after the fair.

“Sometimes we would find some interesting things left behind,” he said. “We found money, prizes from the games on the midway and other things.”

Penny Redmon, 76, formerly of Jefferson, remembers walking around the fair when she was 16 years old.

“I heard over the PA system, ‘Michele come to the office,’” she said. “That was the first time I heard that name. I liked it and I thought, ‘That’s what I’ll name my girl, if I ever have one.’”

Fortunately, when she married, her husband, Michael, said he liked the name, too.

“I think a lot of people thought we named our daughter Michele because his name was Michael,” she said. “But it’s because I heard that name over PA that day at the fair.”

The Morgan family of Jefferson had a long-standing family tradition at the fair.

“The annual frog hunt for the Frog Jumping Contest was the best,” said Mary Morgan, a mother of three frog-catching children, who are now all too old to participate. “One year, I tipped a canoe in my friend Teresa Pacholke’s pond in search of the big boy.”

The Morgans even took home a blue ribbon a few times.

“(Former fair board member) the late Everett Helfer was the best commentator,” she said. “Nothing compares to that much fun.”

About 12 years ago, Karlee Stainfield and Abigail Mann, both from Jefferson, won a white rabbit at the fair, much to their delight.

The only problem was — what do they do with it when they got home? Thanks to family members, the rabbit lived a good life in a rabbit hutch for several years.

Joe Tobie, 66, of Lenox Township shared fond memories of the Demolition Derby.

“I’d get a pit pass where you can feel the heat from the fires and hear the roar of the engines,” he said.

Summer Hull, 24, of Ashtabula showed a variety of animals in her 10 years of 4-H, not including her Clover Bud years.

“The first 4-H club I was in was Tiny Trotters, a miniature horse club, my advisor at the time, Chris Arnett, sadly retired from being an advisor and the club,” she said. “My sister showed her mini, Scout, in that club for numeral of years.”

Summer then started showing rabbits, then on to show dairy goats.

“We had two goats Daisy, an Alpine, and Storm, a Lamancha. Daisy was the dairy goat I showed and Storm was my sister’s goat,” she said.

“Daisy was a precocious udder, which means she never had a baby but produced milk, so I milked her. That first year I showed her, I won first place and was on the front cover of the Star Beacon. She was very photogenic as one could tell by the picture of us.”

Then Summer went on to show a miniature horse named, Cala Lily, that she leased, as she didn’t have her own mini yet.

“I also showed a female mallard duck that year. It was my first year and I got first place,” she said. “Then I went on to showing market turkeys and I was in the Star Beacon again with my turkey, Pavo, which is Spanish for turkey.”

Eventually Summer got a horse to call her very own, Sophirian Spirit, and later, another mini named Misty.

“We camped out every year and all week for fair,” she said. “Sophirian Spirit, my silver dapple-grey pinto gelding was on the front cover of the Ashtabula County Fairs 2015 fair book. I recommend every kid participate in 4-H, it builds a lot of good, genuine character and responsibility.”

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