Speaking of the Fair: Baseball and Bad Beatles Tribute Band

The Kenosha County Fair is held this time of the year in Wilmot, Wisconsin, about eight miles north of us in Spring Grove, Illinois.

It is held on grounds located behind the high school that include Wilmot Raceway where Sprint cars make a lot of noise and flip over. It costs $7 for adults, and includes live entertainment.

Lots of good food, vendors, midway rides and games, and, exhibitors. Of, course, I always go to the local groups to buy food. Not only are they generally cheaper, but also I like to keep the money in the area. I had a loaded brat at one place.

TALKING BASEBALL

Talked with a couple about the Brewers who are battling it out with the Cubs and now also the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central Division. I had read an article about the old Milwaukee Braves and their trip to the World Series 50 years ago. That great team included Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Matthews. The guy remembered this team well. It was about seven years before I got into baseball, so I hadn't ever heard of the team, other than a lot of the players. They had a rookie that came to be nicknamed "Hurricane" Hazel who was called up in July and went on quite a hitting spree to get the Braves there. That was his only good year though. His last name was Hazel, and, of course, there had been that hurricane three years earlier.

Both of us were big fans of the great '82 Bewers team with Molitor, Yount, Cooper, Thomas, etc., who also went to the World Series before losing to the dastardly Cardinals.  We believe that if Rollie  Fingers, the relief pitcher, had not been injured that the Brew Crew would have won as every game they lost, they led in the late innings, but Brewer relievers were horrible.

Enjoyed the Robinson Racing Pigs and was waiting around for American English, a Beatles tribute band, to take the stage at 8 PM. Spent some time walking through, and smelling, the livestock buildings.

WORST-EVER BEATLES TRIBUTE BAND

Like I said, American English was supposed to start at 8, so I got there a little before then. There was nowhere to sit and the ground was way too wet, so I stood and waited and waited and waited. All we were getting were sound checks and guitar tuning from their roadies. That is not what I call a Beatles show.

I finally left at 8:30 and they still hadn't started. I don't know about them, but I consider my time a bit more valuable than that. That showed little respect.

Possibly, they were waiting for the end of the IRA Outlaw Sprint race that started at 7. Those cars make a LOT of noise. Perhaps they didn't want to compete. They should have told us if they were.

Told the lady at the gate that I wasn't happy about the whole thing. This was a big reason why I had driven there and paid my admission.

Good and Bad Times at the Fair. --RoadDog

Robinson's Racing Pigs at Kenosha County Fair- August 17th

If you ever get the chance to see this show, do it. They appear quite often around the Midwest at fairs, both county and state. There are at least three teams doing the circuits.

This is an enjoyable show, featuring baby pigs from 3-4 months of age. These little porkers run all out for that Oreo at the end of the race.

I loved the names: Hillary RodHAM Clinton, Brittany SPAREribs, SPAMela Anderson, HAMmy Wynette. Each pig, for each race, had a cheering section and head cheerleader, always a kid. The cheerleader of the winning little piggy got a ribbon.

One race was swimming. Some of them weren't too sure about going into the water and others launched headlong into it with vigor. I didn't know pigs could swim so fast, but then, there was that much-anticipated Oreo at the end of the race.

Once, a piggie decided he didn't want to race, so they let him go back into the trailer saying, " We won't force any pig to do something they don't want to do. Because if we did, they'd squeal on us."

What happens to them when they hit retirement age at five months is anybody's guess. Probably end up in some Carolina bbq pork. Oh well, fame is fleeting, or in this case, racing.

This Little Piggy Went...Racing. --RoadDog

Not Many Farms Left in Lake County, IL-- Now One Less

You always hear about the fact that there are fewer and fewer farmers in the Chicagoland Metropolitan area. In the 1950s, there were 13,000 farms in the Chicago suburbs, By 2000, that number had dropped to less than 3000. Every year, some of the best agricultural land in the whole world, sprouts subdivision after subdivision.

Papers and media try to paint a sad picture and make us feel sorry for these farmers. However, I find it hard to feel sorry for these new millionaires. Had they been forced to sell their farms because of unfortunate events beyond their control, I'd feel sorry for them. But, NOT when the sale is their choice.

In an article by Mike Zawislak titled "The end of an era" in today's Daily Herald, I read about the Titus family selling their 160 acre farm for an undisclosed amount of money. However, back in 2004, the farm was on the market with the asking price of $17.5 million. I'm sure it is considerably higher today.

Tony Titus is the great-grandson of Lorenz Titus who started a dairy farm on the site with 100 acres in 1877. Production has since switched to grain and vegetables. For years, you could buy fresh produce at their farmstand and they also sold at various area farmer markets.

The developer who purchased it will do a land swap with the Lake County Fair Association. This will be the new site of the fair, after 50 years at its current site in Grayslake. The developer will get the old site and will also sweeten the deal with $12.5 million. A 769,000 square foot shopping center will be built.

This Sunday, all the farm machinery will be auctioned off.

I must admit that I am part of the problem when it comes to the loss of farmsteads in the area. We bought our lot and built our house in 1992 out in Orchard Bluff Subdivision in Spring Grove. The the year before, they had been growing corn on out lot and there was an apple orchard on part of the subdivision. If people like me weren't buying the lots, the developers wouldn't be buying the farms.

Plus, you have to remember, this is some of the best land for growing crops anywhere in the world. Now, all it is growing are houses and several million rotten Japanese beetles.

Again, I DON'T Feel Too Sorry for the Titus Family. --RoadDog