FAIR VOLUNTEERS SWEAT OUT HOLIDAY WEEKEND

It really has been a labor day weekend for those preparing for the SEMO District Fair.

Work began in earnest Saturday for the fair that runs Sept. 12-18 at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau. Crews were putting up fences, pouring concrete, setting out ticket booths and running wire for lights

But for all their labors, these workers weren't getting paid a dime.

"Everyone here is a volunteer," said Pete Poe, president of the Southeast Missouri District Fair Association, as he motioned across an area were one man was grating a field and others were hauling ticket booths with a tractor.

Much was being accomplished on Saturday, but there's still a lot to do. Probably much more than most fair-goers realize when they stroll through exhibits or hop on midway rides or chow down on fair food.

Before the Sept. 12 opening, about 300 rolls of fencing must be put up, dozens of posts must be set, cattle guards, ticket booths and flower planters must be dragged from storage, assembled and put in place, booths must be set up inside the arena, all the water lines must be checked and about 400 faucets installed.

Some 60 tents must be erected, ranging in size from 40-by-210 feet to 12-by-12 feet "and just about every size in between," Poe said.

Sanitation items, including 31 portable toilets, 35 dumpsters and about 100 trash barrels, must be moved in.

And most of the work is done by volunteers like Junior Peetz, who on Saturday was leading a crew that was wiring lights and installing electrical outlets throughout the grounds.

"It will take us from now until Sunday to get everything hooked up," said Peetz, a carpenter for Seabaugh Construction.

Peetz has been volunteering at the fair since the early '80s, he said.

He couldn't give an accurate count of all the lights he will string before the fair starts Sept. 12. But it's enough to help drive the utility bill for the fair up to more than $9,000. And that amount excludes the power it takes to run the midway rides.

"The carnival brings its own generator," Poe said. "They generate enough electricity to power a small city."

Peetz takes off from his job to work at the fairground before, during and after the fair. So does Bobby James, a prosthetic technician, who is in charge of the grounds crews.

Instead of spending his time off relaxing on a beach or seeing the sights in a faraway city, James on Saturday was cleaning out a storage area. But he wasn't complaining.

"To me it's more fun than going to the beach," said James, who has been volunteering with the fair for 18 years, starting when he was 23.

After all, if he was on the beach he wouldn't get to drive a Caterpillar front loader, since there's not much call to do in his everyday occupation.

In fact most of those working Saturday were doing jobs far removed from their occupations.

Bill Ogle, a city inspector, Randy Hitt, a highway engineer, and Joe Hoffmeister, a farmer, were all working on a crew pouring concrete for a wheelchair ramp for the grandstand.

Salesman Gary Kight, diesel mechanic Lanny Schweer, auto technician Tom Horn and truck driver Tim Seyer were driving fence posts and putting up fencing. They were assisted by youngster Cody Blattel, Jordan White and Andy Below, among a younger generation learning the ropes of volunteering at the fair.

There are several families in which two or three generations have been fair volunteers, Poe said.

Why volunteer to come out to a dusty fairground to sweat in nearly 100 degree heat doing manual labor?

It's the camaraderie, Poe said.

"Everyone out here is friends away from the fairground," he said. "For most of the people here, you couldn't pay them to do this kind of work." But they do it for the good of the fair.

A sense of camaraderie is also a reason why some local organizations sponsor concession booths at the fair year after year. Those groups also have been busy getting ready for the fair.

Harold Kuehle is helping organize the fried fish booth that Grace United Methodist Church has operated each year since the '40s.

"I'm chairman," Kuehle said, "but it's really a team effort."

It has to be, considering how much there is to do. The list includes ordering the fish, cleaning the trailer, making sure the electrical, plumbing and gas lines are operational, checking the freezers, moving the trailer to the fairground and setting up the counter and seats. And that's just what has to be done before the fair opens.

Each day of the fair a day captain opens the booth, gets the burners going, checks the inventory and makes sure there are enough workers for each shift. And it takes three to four cooks and five to six waiters to run the booth.

At least 100 people are involved in running the booth, Kuehle said.

"It's really a churchwide effort," he said.

All proceeds raised go to the church and the booth gets the church's name before the public.

"But perhaps the main reason we do it is fellowship," Kuehle said. "When you work at the fish stand for a four-hour shift, you get to know the people you are working with," he said.

The concessionaires begin moving in Thursday and Friday and the carnival will begin setting up rides on Tuesday, Poe said, so most preparation work must be completed early this week.

Saved for last are finishing touches like putting up flags, banners and decorations final connections for sewer, water and electrical. All those will be done Saturday Sept. 11 so the fair can open at noon on Sept. 12, Poe said.

But the volunteer effort doesn't end with the fair's opening. Each day of fair week, there are about 200 volunteers on the fairground, Poe said.

Finally, on Sept. 19, many of the same volunteers who set up the fair will beak it down, putting items back in storage until next year.

"Fortunately it comes down much more quickly than it goes up," Poe said.