WEATHER HAS SEMO FAIR ATTENDANCE GOING STRONG

Talk to a native Cape Girardean about the SEMO District Fair and he'll inevitably say two things: It always rains during fair week and it always turns cooler.

The uncanny thing is, he's usually right, especially on the rain point.

This year's event has seen a few sprinkles and one brief downpour, but the weather is drawing people out, not keeping them home. Advertising chairman Steve Engles said the first half of fair week was one of the busiest ever.

When the fair closed Wednesday night, Engles estimated 52,500 people had visited so far. The attendance record stands at 115,816 for 1984.

More than 14,000 people came out Wednesday night despite some rainfall around 6:15 p.m. Fair vice chairman Pete Poe said when it comes to rain, timing is everything.

"A shower at 2 p.m. is great -- it settles the dust and cools things off," he said. "At 5 p.m., it's a whole different story. That's when people are changing into their fair clothes and deciding whether or not to come out."

The temperature means a lot to fair attendance, too. Days in the 90s kill attendance -- even the promise of fresh lemonade isn't enough to lure people out of air conditioning. Weather in the 60s makes for brief visits, and the shorter the fair visit the less money spent.

All this means September 1995 weather has been perfect for the fair so far, and forecasters predict no rain and highs in the 80s through Saturday.

Other years weren't so great. On Sept. 14, 1993, a Tuesday, the fair board voted to close events for the first time in history. Two storm cells brought almost 2 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 35 miles an hour.

It started about 3 p.m., and fairgoers took cover in the Arena Building and tents. Burt Daume was working the United Commercial Travelers beer tent that year and remembered the downpour well.

"The tent was shaking like a leaf, and one of the poles fell down and hit me," he said. Daume wasn't hurt too badly -- he's back at the same tent this year.

Raymond Cox has helped with the fair for more than 40 years and recalled the 1993 cancellation. He said it came after he and other board members moved to higher ground to avoid flooding.

"When we had to climb up on a table, that's when we called the tractor pull off," Cox said.

But even worse was a fair flood that happened about 30 years ago. Cox remembered a flood that washed livestock into a nearby creek, forcing workers to swim after them.

He saved several sheep, putting them together on high ground.

Thanks to the Cape LaCroix Creek flood project, Cox and Poe said, that shouldn't be a danger anymore.

Fair Attendance

Here are SEMO District Fair attendance figures for the last 18 years. Some figures are approximate.

1995 -- 52,500*

1994 -- 80,000

1993 -- 76,827

1992 -- 81,200

1991 -- 79,000

1990 -- 74,500

1989 -- 86,949

1988 -- 84,700

1987 -- 80,347

1986 -- 82,417

1985 -- 98,000

1984 -- 115,816

1983 -- 108,000

1982 -- 111,400

1981 -- 91,635

1980 -- 75,000

1979 -- 85,000

1978 -- 70,623

1977 -- 64,599

* as of closing Wednesday

Source: SEMO District Fair Board and the Southeast Missourian