Fair providing memories

County fairs come but once a year, but they leave lifetime memories.

Tim Eckloff of Grantsboro has been going to fairs all his life. On Saturday, he and his wife Jancie took their grandson Jayden to his first fair, the annual Coastal Carolina Agriculture Fair at the Jaycees Fairgrounds. Jayden will be 2 years old in December.

“He rode his first ride, the merry go-round,” beamed his grandmother.

Tim said he still enjoyed taking part in the fun.

“I like the food, and the rides,” he said, while eating an ice cream cone. “I’m just a big kid at heart.”

Brenda and Ted Davis of Vanceboro have been attending the fair for years, too. This season was special, the first time they tried their hand at a booth. With Ted’s 1936 John Deere Hit and Miss engine providing the power, the Davises have a homemade ice cream stand just outside the exhibition hall.

Ted is proud of the engine, which he said was built by the Amish. He said the 73-year-old engine was developed as a utility motor for tasks ranging from pumping water out of canals to powering hay-bailers.

The engine is loud as it ignites, setting off two spinning wheels. When the wheels go below 550 rpm, the engine re-fires.

The couple has been making ice cream as a weekend hobby for several years.

“It was an expensive machine, so we decided to put it to work (at the fair),” Brenda Davis laughed.

The Davises use fresh fruit and make four flavors — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and banana.

While Ted tended the ice cream machine, Brenda walked around the fairgrounds, enjoying sights such as the chainsaw sculptor.

“It just feels good today,” she said. “The fact that it is fall and a good time to be outside, doing activities.”

Shelli Tate of Washington, N.C., and her sister Beth Price of Grantsboro took their children and were also enjoying a leisurely day under white puffy clouds and a breeze.

“We like looking at the arts and at the agriculture exhibits and the kids, they just love the rides,” Tate said.

Her own fair favorite is a candy apple.

“Oh, and a funnel cake,” she said.

Nancy and Mike Falcone of Reelsboro were attending their first fair in about 10 years.

“The kids are grown, it was a nice day and we decided to come out and see what was going on,” she said.

They weren’t just walking the large lot.

They were participants — on the Ferris wheel, roller coaster and Scrambler to name a few.

The fair continues through Nov. 1 at the Jaycees Fairgrounds on U.S. 70 east.

Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or chall@freedomenc.com.