The real name of the event is the East Perry County Community Fair, but everybody I know calls it the Altenburg fair. It’s way less commercial than the SEMO District Fair, more family reunion than midway carnie ride.
I parked Mother in the shade where she could listen to the live music (“It was LOUD!”) and watch people while I roamed around shooting the animals, crafts and agricultural stuff I neglected at the SEMO Fair. She has attained such notoriety than several folks recognized her and stopped to talk.
I pigged out
Carla Jordan, at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum, gave me a list of foods I had to try. She was on the money. The grilled cheese sandwiches (if you can believe that) were excellent. It’s easy to see why there was a line at the stand.
I spotted this woman in the grandstand holding something that looked like what a ground crew would use to give signals to a jet airliner on the tarmac at an airport. The sighting led me to a stand that sold the biggest, must succulent ears of corn I’ve ever put in my mouth. I tried almost all of the dozen or so seasonings they had on the counter and found they ALL tasted good. The thing was so juicy that I felt like I had taken a bath after I was done. I’m still swabbing corn juice and corn splatters from my camera.
The pork burgers were excellent. The longest line was at the stand selling potato ribbons like I photographed at the Cape fair. The big difference was that the person slicing the potatoes in Altenburg didn’t have greasy fingernails.
The Senior Shuttle
I have to single these fine women out for special thanks. They run the Senior Shuttle that gets feeble folks like me back to their cars. (I used Mother as the excuse, but I sure wasn’t going to turn down a ride.) After looking around at the crowd, I asked them if there was anybody at the fair who WASN’T a senior. The driver said, “That’s what keeps us busy.”
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