Fair preparations underway

Grangers and others worked on five grain mosaics in the Display Building at the Palouse Empire Fairground over the weekend. Ewartsville-Whelan and Pine Grove granges worked on their entries and will compete for championship and reserve ribbons in the senior class.

Colfax FFA and Junior Grangers will compete with entries in the junior division.

A Pomona grain mosaic will also be on display at the fair with members from other granges working on that project.

Grange grain mosaic displays around the state are becoming a lost art.

Pomona Master Jim Lyle Monday said he believes the largest field of grain mosaic entries at the fair here totaled 23.

North Star Amusements carnival rides began arriving at the fairground Monday night to set up for the four-day run which starts today.

Tuesday was entry day for the Display and 4H barns starting at 3 p.m.

Animal entries were Wednesday starting at 3 p.m. The fair changed the entry gate for animal entries in an attempt to avoid a traffic backup on the Fairground Cutoff Road. Entry was via Gate A, which is the main exit gate when the fair opens for the public this morning.

The Labor Day Threshing Bee hosted by the Palouse Empire Fair Threshing Bee Association again drew a large crowd with all of the vintage equipment back in action and lunch served by Jenny Meyer's crew from the Endicott Food Center.

Next big event for vintage farm equipment will be the 27th annual Plowing Bee at the Morgan ranch on Manning Road Oct. 20. One of the expected features of the event will be four Caterpillar 60s tractors in operation.