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For more than a century, people have flocked to the Southwest Washington Fair in Chehalis for entertainment and socializing. They wander through livestock barns, examine prize-winning vegetables and flowers, and watch youngsters in 4-H and FFA show their cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and pigs. They listen to tunes from local bands and big-name entertainers, cheer from the grandstand for their favorite horses or demolition derby cars, tumble every which way on carnival rides, and nibble on elephant ears and corn on the cob in the midway. The Southwest Washington Fair, the only local fair mandated by the state Legislature to occur, has seen many changes throughout the past century as chronicled in the pages of this book. But it's still one of the best places to see friends and taste the flavor of community in small-town America.
Chapters of Life at the Southwest Washington Fair, authored by Julie McDonald Zander, is one of my favorite books to share with others. As a lover of fairs since a small child, to a 4-H exhibitor, to now Lewis County Commissioner, I have always enjoyed local fairs. Most recently, my mother and I exhibited in the Floral Department. (At 99, my mother, June Gorter was the oldest exhibitor.) Reading this wonderful historical book, one finds fairs in Lewis County starting in the late 1800's, with present-day Southwest Washington Fair put in stature in 1909. I won't tell you any more about the beginning of Little Miss Friendly, the early entertainers, and the competitions
As a writer myself, I would have fled from the challenge of trying to research and author a history of the first century of the Southwest Washington Fair
One of the privileges of being born and raised in Lewis County is the annual pilgrimage to the Southwest Washington Fair. The fair is one of those traditions that hasn
About the Author Julie McDonald Zander, a personal historian and owner of Chapters of Life, has published more than fifty individual, company, community, and organizational histories. After earning her bachelor's degree in in communications and political science, she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades and still writes a column once a week for The Chronicle in Centralia, Washington. She has helped organize conferences and contests for the Association of Personal Historians, Oregon Christian Writers, and Southwest Washington Writers. She and her husband, Larry, have two children.
