Calm, sunny day keeps fair busy

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--There were landjaegers and brattwursts and Schell's beer at the Brown County Fairgrounds, but what was going on didn't involve lederhosen or those silly character with the wooden faces.

And there wasn't one tuba or concertina in sight, either.

Instead, what has happened since Thursday is the Brown County Fair. It's an entirely different beast from another festival (hint-hint) that New Ulm gets revved up for. Trade polkas for accapella harmonies, narren and heinzelmachen for poultry and livestock, lederhosen for motorcycle jackets, and voila, there it is.

Saturday's weather was ideal for this type of outdoor get-together. It had all the hallmarks of a traditional county fair. There are the 4-H barns stocked with braying animals in small pens, awaiting their crack along with their owners at a trip to the state fair competition. There is the midway, with its clacking, screeching rides and hot, overworked attendants who fetch prizes and skee balls. There is also Machinery Hill, decked out with the latest farm implements plus a whole collection of classics from years past. This year, the Minnesota Army National Guard was fortunate enough to land an M109A5 self-propelled howitzer, one that a few of the National Guardsmen manning the recruiting tent are almost positive served in during the Gulf War. There are also exhibits featuring the New Ulm Medical Center, the Brown County Sheriff's Department, the county's DFL and GOP committees, Tupperware and Kraft Foods, whose basket of free Cheese-and-Crackers are limited to one per visit only.

There were 34-pound catfish calmly sunning themselves in the pond beside the DNR building and Rotarians playing massive games of bingo under a tent with the Rotary Club banner in the middle. There was an exotic petting zoo with camels and other interesting wild beasts.

And you know it wouldn't be a county fair without mini-donuts or cheese curds; the Brown County Fair, however has something a little more cosmopolitan in mind. In addition to the usual, there's eclairs, frappes and several Asian treats to enjoy, alongside Domino's pizza and brattwurst and landjaegers furnished by Hanska Meats.

Aside from the hubbub on the main concourse, there's what's happening in the grandstand. The line at the grandstand ticket office stands a good chance to run halfway across the width of the midway; the demolition derby is immensely popular, particularly with the younger, more adventurous set. The rodeo--the second in the fair's 134-year history--was also a popular draw.

For some odd reason, this Saturday seems better than years past somehow, yet no one seems to be able to put their finger on why.

"We're extremely fortunate to have this weather," said Brown County Fair Board President Renee Retzlaff. "People have been caged up for so long, they're ready to get out. It's looking fairly busy right now."

Retzlaff, who has held the position of president--and the task of organizing the fair--for the last five years, said she's noticed more and more people showing up at the fair.

"Certainly, it's the demo derbys, the exhibits and the free entertainment," she explains. "It says we're doing something right."

Why else would people like Jill Roemheldt of Easton travel travel to Brown County when her home county of LeSueur has a fair of its own?

"I'm very much impressed with what I've seen," she said. "Everything has been way neat...It's like the (Minnesota) State Fair or Valleyfair. With other county fairs, it's just animals."

When asked why she thought people came to the Brown County Fair, beer tent worker Jean Osborne said, "The nice weather. The free gate, the animals, the demo derby...that's always a big one."

Allan Bonnifield, a New Ulm native working in camouflage fatigues behind the table in the National Guard tent, also thinks this year's fair is an improvement.

"For some reason, there's a better turnout this year," he said.