County Fairs And Other Things

A County Fair
Many years ago when i was growing up , we got to go to town to attend a thing called Soldiers Reunion . It was always held the second week of August . They would have special event's like street dancing , contest for the kids like bobing for apples in water , sack races , too many to list . Every one would gather on the town square and enjoy each other's company , not like it is today . On Thursday they had a big parade and thousand's would attend . There would be candied apples , cotton candy every where . It was held in honer of the Soldiers of World War One, World War Two and the Confedrate Soldiers . Even had rebel flags hanging . (can't do that this day in time) . Today the Reunion Week Has a car Cruise with a lot old cars 1972 down .The big horsepower cars of yesterday. Outside of town they had a carnivel with rides and vender's just waiting to take your money . It used to be at a small piece of land but later moved it to the baseball stadium . It was more like a fair there .
At the end of August the county fair would come to our County . Mom and dad would take us to the fair and that sure was a special treat back then . The fair would have a large midway with many rides for the kiddies andd grown up rides . I was all ways scared to get on the farris wheel . Rode it onetime and that was enough for me . Never got on one again . Dad give me two dollars and fifty cents one time and this one vender had this coke bottle that if you could stand it up you would win a big prize . That man took all my money and i didn't have any left to buy my candy apple . I cried and cried . Back then $2.50 was like twenty dollars today . From that day on i never spent anymore money on them vender's . The fair had all kind's of different act's that they performed and after that the fire works would go off and we would come home with many memories .
The fair in another county next to us was great also . They had an autotorium that had Bluegrass , Country music and Magic acts that we set in amazing wonder. They even had a Demolition Derby . After the Cuban Missile thing . They built a bumb shelter that they tried to sell to people that wanted one . I am sure they sold some . It was something else to go into that thing and imagine what it would be like to live in it if we ever had to . Loved to see the live stock at those fairs . I didn't mine all the poop that laid around them stalls . All kinds of chicken and rabbits . Crafts and produce that had watermellon's that weighted around three hundred pound's . They had this car setup with a wheel of it and this cone thing bolted to the axel and would put a piece of cut wood and that cone would split the wood saving time . Don't know if they ever sold any or not .

On the river that runs thru our county is called the Catawba River . It starts up in the mountains and our Power Company which is called Duke Power wanted to buils a very large dam . This was back in early sixty's . They cleared all the tree's off and it was going to take up a lot of people's land . In 1963 ,the Dam was finished and water was starting to back up . Real Estate people was selling land for one thousand dollar's a lot . Wish dad could have bought some . Because today that land is selling for over 300,000 dollars and more . Some of the land owners back then got over a millian dollars for land that the water would cover . They had to tear down a whold mill town because water was going to cover it . Today that lake is called Lake Norman . It is so wide across in some points that you can't see the other side . They had a river boat that was restored and would take people on crusies . One weekend it caught fire and that ended that . They now have some dinner boat crusies . Fishing is great with very large Bass , Catfish and Crappie galore . Really big Stripers being caught since they got them started . The Dam they built is called Cowens Ford Dam . They have a Nuke Power Station build over from the dam . When the dam was built , the power company built a steam generated power station Near where i live . They had to build a railroad from two direction's to haul coal to power the steam station . That railroad came thru the middle of my Grand Parents land . Then they ran large power lines thru the other side of their land . He didn't have a choise and had to take what they offered . Grandpaw had over 100 acre's of land . After that i think they had 23 acre's of land left .

Drive in movies

I remember back around 1956 Mom and Dad would take my brother and i to the Drive in movie once a week . We would get to see Country music movie's and i mean true country music . One Drive In was called Springs Road Drive In . In the late 60's they went to XXX movies . Others were called The Sun Downer because it faced the sun going down , The Newcon Drive In , and the Hickory Drive In . One time dad wante to see a spicy movie called Cat on A Hot Tin Roof . Back then kid wasn't supposed to see that type of movie . They let us in saying if the law say us that they wasn't responcable . My brother and i didn't knbw what movie was about anyhow . We was more intersted in the popcorn and candy apple we got . Later on in life .Some of us went to the Drive In's that was still running and we were so lazy , that we would pee in a cup and pour it out of the window of car . I had a 1963 Chevy Impala that had a stick shift and i would pour mine down thru the hole in the floor . It sure messed up that stick shift . It rusted to death . But that was in my foolish days .

Burning Rubber

Us boys would take our cars and back them down and burn black marks galore . I would get out and use a tape measure and see how long some were . Some were around 400 feet long . Was prould of them . One time i was at my cousin's house and we were going down the road to see his friend . When i left i backed out in the road and backed it down . It spun possitraction a long way . Never did that befor . Went and turned around and was going to do it again . I heard some thing pop but didn't pay any attention to it . I backed thar sucker down and when i did it kept roling back . Dang rearend tore out spider gears . Called dad and he broght me a spare rearend third member i had save from another car we parted out . Tore it down and put the third member dad bought and we didn't have enoth rearend grease to fell it . Burnit up going home . A couple days later i backed it down and it spun poss also . Went haome and installed another one . Never could keep a rear end in that car again . The fastest car i ever owned was a 1967 Fire Bird . Had a four speed and a 400 ci engine in it . It would tact 8,000 in first gear around 6,000 in second and by the time you got it in 4th you couldn' hold it in the road . Wish now i had kept that car . It would be worth a lot today .

Speeding Tickets

One time i was going down Interstate 40 and was bad about not letting cars pass me . It was night time and was hitting around 100 when i saw a car on side of road i slowed down and when i passed him it was a state trooper . Here he come and stoped me right where a skunk had been run over . He got right in my face trying to smell boose on me . I didn't drink so i knew he couldn't get me for that . The smell was really bad . Looked like his eyes were watering . He give me a ticket for speeding and when i paid it off , it was thirty dollars . Another time i passed a trooper and when i saw him i pulled over . Here he come . He got out of car and said you just knowed you had a ticket comming . He said if he let me go if i would slow down . I said yes . while he was walking back to car i asked him how fast i was going . He said if he told me he would have to give me me a ticket . Enouth said . The last ticket i got was in 1979 . I was pissed off at my wife and was driving in midle of road . ai met a state trooper with me in midle of road . I saw in rearview his light's comming on . I got a little on down the road and pulled over . Here come them bright headlight's comming at me . He saw it was me and slid his car clean up next to my door . Baxcked up and come up to me . Put me in his car and give me hell . Got a ticket driving left of center . Cost me over 100 dollars . Now a day's , i hardly get over the speed limit .

Written by Wayne