So now for this one week, Jacktown will make like a Big City and ‘Never Sleep’.” The Jacktown Fair’s publication for its 100th anniversary in 1965 shred this quote and it has never been truer. The long running Jacktown Fair has been operating since 1866 and has been a popular event attended by thousands throughout the years. This will be the 157th year for the fair and the theme is “Working Together to Keep the Tradition Alive”.
Working together is never more evident than with the women behind the scenes. These women, such as Mary Jane Kent, Trish Keller, and Marcia Sonneborn, are integral to keeping the events and activities running smoothly. In 1965, the Board of Directors placed a statement in the Centennial Fair book, part of what reads, “…wish to honor their helpers, some of whom have been with the Fair forty years or more. Without the cooperation of them and the Jacktowners the Fair could not have lasted long enough to celebrate this 100th anniversary.”
The ladies behind the scenes have been some of the greatest unsung heroes for keeping the Jacktown Fair alive many years. They operate without titles and shuffle around behind the scenes making sure that the activities, events, and never-ending documents are operating and completed as intended. The ladies are all about getting things done. And they do. When asked how they managed the activities of the fair, Trish gave a big laugh and said, “We don’t organize anything, the Fair Board tells us what they need done, and we get it done.”
Many of the ladies of the fair were born into this tradition that helps keep the spirit of the fair alive. J.E. Dinsmore served as an officer on the Fair Board for many years and was also the Superintendent of Stock. Mary Jane Kent and Trish Keller are the granddaughter and great granddaughter of the late J.E. Dinsmore. When asking about the changes over the years that Mary has seen with the fair, she recalls fondly of having Trish with her at the fair as an infant and toddler while she worked. When the switch was made from pulling horses to mechanical pulls, Mary recalls how upset and fidgety Trish would get during the pulling contests. Mary eventually came to realize the noise of the big tractors was upsetting Trish.
Trish remembers being put to work at the fair at an early age. She takes a one week vacation every year from work to volunteer at the fair. She runs the tractor pulls that once upset her as a child, now with her son in tow. She’s also active with setting up the stalls and areas in the livestock barn for the participants coming to show and auction their animals. It’s no surprise she’s involved with this – her great grandfather was once the Superintendent of Stock.
Marcia Sonneborn has been a part of the fair “as long as I can remember!” Her earliest memories include preparing pigs for exhibit in the old barn, where they were the only exhibit of pigs at the time. Her father, Max McMillen helped with the first parade to celebrate Jacktown Fair’s 100th year.
Each year, Marcia would get excited to participate in the home and garden competitions, as well as her 4-H exhibits for competition. Marcia and her brother Mark McMillen portrayed President John Adams and his wife Abigail in a presidential contest in the 1970s. That year, and many others during her youth, she was also involved in he parade.
The tradition of fair involvement was shared to her daughter. “I have many fond memories of my daughter entering flowers, photos, baked goods, art work, etc. in the Floral Hall. She would be so excited waiting for the results that she could not sleep the night before the hall opened.”
Marcia’s father-in-law and former employer, Dr. Meyer R. Sonneborn, was parade chairman prior to Marcia. She began working with him on the parade in the late 1970s and became the chairman after his death in 2001. Since then, Marcia has been dedicated to providing the best parade possible and has also been honored as Grand Marshall of the parade in the past.
“I believe it is a wonderful opportunity for young exhibitors and for the community to come together and enjoy a wholesome activity.,” Marcia says. “I find it incredible the volunteer hours that are spent by many people each year so this fair can continue and the community can enjoy. The Jacktown Fair has the distinction of being the longest continuous fair in the United States. The saying that ‘You can not die happy until you have been to the Jacktown Fair’ still prevails.”
The women of this year’s fair continue to carry on the spirit and tradition of keeping the fair alive. You will find them running bingo twice a day. The bingo money goes into an annual agricultural scholarship. You’ll find them creating forms for a new event the Fair Board has running, shuffling ribbons and prizes to the many activities’ events, and playing piano for Sunday’s church service, to name a few. You may not know them, or you may, but they come from a long line of tradition born into the spirit of the Jacktown Fair. To find out more about the Jacktown Fair log on to www.jacktownfair.org,
