The County Fair/Miss Victory

Ever notice how real pigs look nothing like cartoon pigs?

Well, it was another great Lorain County Fair. The spouse and I made it out there on Friday night, and the weather was perfect for one of my favorite days of the year.

Also perfect were our Rutana's Hot Apple Dumplings – the best we've ever had at the fair. In fact, the dumplings were so fresh, hot and delicious that we decided to add them to our "best ever" list.

For dinner, I enjoyed my usual Midway Oh Boy, while the spouse traitorously opted for a stromboli for the second year in a row. Fortunately, she couldn't finish it, so Ol' Vacuum (me) finished it off.

We walked around the whole fair at least three or four times. I still get a kick out of examining the artwork for the banners of the International Palace of Illusion (below).

Back in 1976 when I spent a few weeks at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus as a member of the All-Ohio State Fair Band, I saw a few of these same freak (is it politically correct to call it that?) shows. One of them I remember was the woman with the body of a large snake. She looked ludicrous, and I'm ashamed to admit that a bunch of us band members acted like wise-guys, heckling the poor performer. To her credit, she ignored us completely to keep the illusion alive.

Anyway, here are a few more sights from the 2013 Lorain County Fair.

Good to see Captain Frosty was there at the Fair as usual!

Now that's what I call "togetherness."

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Miss Victory is Armed Again!

A week and a half ago, Loraine Ritchey (of That Woman's Weblog) tipped me off to something big-big-BIG!

She told me that plans were in the works for the statue of Miss Victory down at the little park at West Erie and Fifth Street to get her sword and palm fronds back, thanks to the efforts of Buckeye Sheet Metal and the Lorain Elks.

So, on Saturday while crisscrossing Lorain on my usual jaunts, I noticed some activity at the park (at left). The scaffolding surrounding Miss Liberty confirmed what Loraine said.   

I drove by a few times in mid-afternoon to check their progress, and on my final drive-by an hour or so later, I was able to see the almost-finished result. 

Miss Victory didn't have her palm fronds yet, but it was sure nice to see her once again brandishing a sword.

But I still don't know who put up the original Big V – or when! Anybody got any ideas?!?