DARLINGTON - Smiles proceeded answers when people talked about their favorite memories of the Lafayette County Fair.
For Rob and Pat Cooper, Wiota, the Lafayette County Fair holds a special memory.
"We met at the fair," Pat said.
She was 14 years old when she met her future husband, who was 15. They were both showing animals when they met about 45 years ago.
"We started dating a year later and then five years after that, we got married," she said.
That meeting at the fair led to a 40-year marriage that included three children and nine grandchildren.
"We still love coming to the fair," Pat said.
Memories of the fair are as varied as the people who attended the fair Friday.
For Gayle Monson, being able to stay overnight at the fair when he showed cows in the 1950s was a fond memory.
"The older kids got to stay overnight," he said. "We would sleep on bales of straw. We would help take care of the barn at night."
Don Ruf, Darlington, showed animals at the fair in the 1940s. He, too, remembered staying overnight at the fair. He didn't remember helping to clean the barns, however. As a high school student, the animals weren't necessarily the most important thing on his mind.
"In high school, we used to chase the girls around," he laughed.
Watching the horse races with his friends was also a highlight of the fair, he said.
Debbie Amble, Platteville, attended the fair as a 4-H club member. She also remembered about how much fun she had staying overnight at the fair.
"You'd get to goof off and stay up all night," she said. "You were pretty tired when the fair finally ended."
There was time to enjoy the rides, too, she added.
Betty Williams, Darlington, said the fair was the highlight of the summer.
"We were always excited when it was time for the fair," she said. "We used to go to the little food stands under the amphitheater," she said.
Robert and Nancy Karns, Cuba City, have attended the fair for more than 40 years. They used to attend the fair to see their kids show their animals. Now they come to the fair to see their grandchildren, they said.
Their highlight for the 2010 fair was to see their granddaughter, Amanda Karns, win a Junior Champion Holstein ribbon for the cow she entered. It's Amanda's last year to enter animals at the fair, Nancy said.
The fair is a good place to make memories, Ruf said.
"The kids who come to the fair this year will have a lot of things to look back on and smile about when they get older," he said.
For Rob and Pat Cooper, Wiota, the Lafayette County Fair holds a special memory.
"We met at the fair," Pat said.
She was 14 years old when she met her future husband, who was 15. They were both showing animals when they met about 45 years ago.
"We started dating a year later and then five years after that, we got married," she said.
That meeting at the fair led to a 40-year marriage that included three children and nine grandchildren.
"We still love coming to the fair," Pat said.
Memories of the fair are as varied as the people who attended the fair Friday.
For Gayle Monson, being able to stay overnight at the fair when he showed cows in the 1950s was a fond memory.
"The older kids got to stay overnight," he said. "We would sleep on bales of straw. We would help take care of the barn at night."
Don Ruf, Darlington, showed animals at the fair in the 1940s. He, too, remembered staying overnight at the fair. He didn't remember helping to clean the barns, however. As a high school student, the animals weren't necessarily the most important thing on his mind.
"In high school, we used to chase the girls around," he laughed.
Watching the horse races with his friends was also a highlight of the fair, he said.
Debbie Amble, Platteville, attended the fair as a 4-H club member. She also remembered about how much fun she had staying overnight at the fair.
"You'd get to goof off and stay up all night," she said. "You were pretty tired when the fair finally ended."
There was time to enjoy the rides, too, she added.
Betty Williams, Darlington, said the fair was the highlight of the summer.
"We were always excited when it was time for the fair," she said. "We used to go to the little food stands under the amphitheater," she said.
Robert and Nancy Karns, Cuba City, have attended the fair for more than 40 years. They used to attend the fair to see their kids show their animals. Now they come to the fair to see their grandchildren, they said.
Their highlight for the 2010 fair was to see their granddaughter, Amanda Karns, win a Junior Champion Holstein ribbon for the cow she entered. It's Amanda's last year to enter animals at the fair, Nancy said.
The fair is a good place to make memories, Ruf said.
"The kids who come to the fair this year will have a lot of things to look back on and smile about when they get older," he said.