Teamwork at the Norwood Fall Fair

Hilda Van Netten
Oct 10, 2022
2 min read

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

Norwood Fair day. The Norwood Fall Fair began in 1868. The past two years, there was no fair because of Covid-19. But, they are back! We wondered if the fair would be all that it was in previous years. Each time we visited the fair, we were astounded at what a small community could do. I cautioned Ted to think about the fair as a new one and like it for what it is...... not how it differs from previous fairs. Jar half full, not half empty.

Well, it looks like the corn jar is full. Lots of grain corn being shown.

Dairy cows were being prepped for showing. I didn't know that "teasing" cows' tails was a thing. Love how the light comes through both the lady's hair and the cow's hair. "What did you do this weekend?" "Oh, I teased my cows' tails".

One of the biggest Monday Fair Day draws for us, is to hear The Next Generation Leahy sing. Six out of 10 siblings put on an hour long show (twice), causing my jaw to drop more than once. The 14 year old boy (third from right) composed a melody in response to the Derecho storm which blew down their barn last May. I felt like I was in the storm.

From their website:

Adele – fiddle, piano, cello, step-dance, vocals

Gregory – fiddle, accordion, piano, step-dance, vocals, drums

Angus – fiddle, piano, guitar, step-dance, vocals

Cecilia – fiddle, piano, step-dance, vocals, mandolin

Joseph – fiddle, step-dance, accordion, piano, vocals

Evelyn – fiddle, step-dance, piano, vocals

Adele is 20 and Evelyn is 13. The others above are in between them in ages. When Evelyn (second from left) sang, her stage presence was that of a 30 year old. She commanded the stage and her voice almost made me weep.

Outside, young horsewomen were showing off their skills.

Ted was interested in watching the antique tractor pulls, but I found a seat at the Light Horse Draw. Those horses don't look too light to me.

Even after being unhitched from the sled, it took three people to settle them down as they left the arena. The guy on the left looks like he should be in a Norman Rockwell painting.

Doesn't it look like these three are just good friends. Good friends going out for a walk. Maybe pull 8,000 pounds while they are at it. Maybe not.

Some of the owners look like their horses' friends and some look like their horses. I love that this lady's hair is so similar to that of her horses. She even walks with the same stride as they do.

Lots of horses.

Let's have a visual pallet cleanser before we move on to the Heavy Horse Draw. Between shows, some lines needed to be erased and new ones needed to be drawn. Nothing like starting them young.