A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri, Eric Bernsee has enjoyed residing in Greencastle for more than 25 years. Years of consuming McDonald's iced teas, Dairy Castle flurries and Marvin's GCBs have helped make him the man he is today.

What did we learn from the Fair?

Posted Friday, July 29, 2016, at 5:10 PM

Cold popsicles from the Chickenman along the parade route.

OK, so another Putnam County Fair has come and gone for another year.

So what did we learn from the fair this year?

We learned that the annual big gulleywasher rainstorm doesn't always come on Sunday or Monday to make the parking a muddy mess for the entire week. It came on Thursday night this time, threatening to send several cars floating away and causing the cheerleading contest to scramble inside at South Putnam.

We learned that no matter what, heat is almost always a factor (the fair is in late July, duh!). But this year it was absolutely non-stop, from the Fair Parade (where I sucked down five bottles of water during the 90 scorching minutes we were there taking photos, and never once had to search for a bathroom) on through the end of the week. Think of it as a Humidity Festival.

We learned that the remodeled Community Building is a lot cooler refuge now that the garage doors don't have to be left open for fair-goers' access. Kind of miss plowing through that plastic though to get in and out.

We learned that 4-H is alive and well in Putnam County, witness the multitude of champion and reserve champion 4-H'ers who crammed the Community Building to get their pictures taken by Assistant Editor Jared Jernagan in our annual 90-minute Thursday afternoon adventure.

We learned that it is humanly possible to survive an entire week at the fair -- and I was there seven different days -- and not eat a single elephant ear, corndog or Legionburger. Too busy working and trying to stay cool to enjoy the surroundings, I guess. But hey, Legionburgers are on tap at Berry Street this fall.

We learned that Putnam County politicos appear to be good sports. All the candidate signs we saw placed along the route the first day of the fair were still around the last day I was there. That's playing fair.

We learned that an outsider's opinion always makes us feel even better about ourselves. Every visiting politician or their representative attending the fair mentioned what a great county fair Putnam County always offers.

See ya next yeer ...