For the residents of Centre County, Penn., the annual Grange Fair is the driving
force of life.
Held for nine days every August dating back to 1874, the Grange Fair may be the
last remaining agricultural encampment fair in the United States, though Grange
fairs were once a large part of rural life. They began as a way for
widely-spaced farm families to convene and socialize and have since developed
into a fully functioning microcosm of the town itself.
Penn State Public Broadcasting's documentary The Grange Fair: An American
Tradition provides a peek inside this world, beginning in January and leading up
to the August Fair. Never has a small town seemed so big.
It's difficult to fathom just how important the Grange Fair is to those who are
a part of it. According to the residents, if you haven't been brought up with
it, you can't understand. Ruth Wolf has attended the Fair for every one of her
86 years and in her 87th, medical issues threaten her chance of going. She's a
lively, animated woman who sobers considerably when discussing the possibility
that she might miss it.
"There isn't a day goes by that I don't think of the fair," she says, "It's my
life."
And life really does revolve around the Fair. Tent sites, for example, are a
highly coveted commodity. Even with over 1,000 sites, there is a waiting list of
over 500 to receive a spot. Some sites have been passed down through six
generations. In Mary Hockenberry's divorce, she and her husband didn't fight
over the kids, but they did fight over their tent site. Pam Walker has spent 17
years on the waiting list, never abandoning hope that this year will be her
year. "It is probably the most coveted real estate in Centre County," says one
resident.
The idea of community is the aspect of the Fair captured most impressively by
the documentary. From the youngest to the oldest residents of Centre County, all
have equal passion for their involvement in the Fair. The children profiled
display an astounding sense of responsibility in caring for their animals, as
well as fiercely competitive spirits, remarkable maturity, and an already keen
sense of family and community.
The oldest residents are just the same, putting so much pride and effort into
their handiwork that preparation of canned foods, lacework and baskets filled to
the brim with beautiful vegetables may last all year long.
Regardless of your upbringing you can't help but wish you were a part of the
Grange Fair. When the sun sets and the fair is aglow with lantern lights strung
across tent fronts and the sparkling ferris wheel, you almost feel that you are.
Though farmer Joe Hartle observes that the family farm is a dying tradition,
70-year-old Martha Dietrich sees hope in the Grange Fair because it gives people
a reason to laugh.
"I think the world's forgotten how to laugh today," she says. "You laugh and
things change."
Click the play button to watch the below preview of this movie.