Long after the last funnel cake has been eaten, the final carnival ride has stopped spinning, and the lights have gone dark over the midway, the Lincoln County Fair is still very much alive. Ruthie Jeans knows all about how those quiet moments are still filled with life.
For the past 30 years, Ruthie has served on the Lincoln County Fair Board, helping guide one of the county’s longest-standing traditions. While many visitors get to experience the excitement packed into a single week, Ruthie knows the work never really stops.
“The day after the fair ends, work for next year begins,” she said.
Planning the next fair starts almost immediately. Board members evaluate what worked well, discuss improvements, choose future themes, coordinate vendors, and tackle maintenance projects across the grounds. That sort of detailed work is especially important because the fairgrounds themselves aren’t owned by the county. Instead, they’re owned by stockholders whose interests are represented through both nonprofit and for-profit boards that sync together to keep the fair thriving.
It’s an admittedly complicated process, but Ruthie wouldn’t have spent three decades doing it if she didn’t enjoy both the process and the result.
“You gotta love it to be part of it,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard work.”
Even after serving as secretary, treasurer, and reaching the heights of president of the fair board, Ruthie still talks about the fair less as an organization and more as a community effort.
She laughs as she describes it as the ultimate “group project.” Every board member brings different strengths, and every successful fair depends on countless volunteers working together toward the same goal.
Although she’s helped oversee nearly every aspect of the fair through the years, Ruthie still has a favorite. It’s the carnival. Her voice warms up talking about it, like sultry summer air and salty fair food has infused her tone.
Memories of the fair carry her right back to childhood. Growing up, the county fair wasn’t simply another event on the calendar. It was one of the highlights of the entire year.
“We got a new outfit every year,” she said, recounting a cherished occasion that made the fair feel even more magical.
Looking back, she realizes children experience the fair very differently than adults.
“As a child, you don’t realize the work everyone puts into it,” she said.
Instead, children remember the excitement: the lights, the music, the smells, the feeling of walking through the gates knowing an adventure waited around every corner. Perhaps that’s why she has devoted so much of her life to helping create those same memories for today’s families.
One place especially close to her heart is the Creative Arts Building. Many longtime fairgoers still call it the Women’s Building, a name dating back to an era when most exhibits featured traditionally domestic skills like sewing, quilting, baking, and canning. Ruthie likes to point out that the building has evolved alongside the community. Today, it showcases creativity from everyone.
The building itself also carries an unexpected piece of not-so-local history. Long before it housed prize-winning quilts and homemade pies, it served as a prisoner-of-war barracks during World War II. It can be difficult to remember this initial wartime use since its recent purpose couldn’t be more different. Instead of housing enemy soldiers, it celebrates the creativity, craftsmanship, and talents of Lincoln County residents. For Ruthie, overseeing the Creative Living Building has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work on the board.
It’s another reminder that while traditions matter, they also have room to grow. That philosophy seems to define Ruthie’s entire approach to the fair. She treasures its history while continuing to look ahead.
When asked what she hopes the Lincoln County Fair will look like five years from now, her answer wasn’t about larger attendance numbers or bigger attractions. Instead, it centered on families. More importantly, she hopes it remains the kind of place where parents and grandparents can bring their children, creating memories that span generations.
After all, that’s exactly what happened for her. Decades after receiving those special fair outfits and racing toward the carnival lights, Ruthie now helps ensure another generation of children can experience that same sense of wonder.
Most fairgoers will never see the countless meetings, planning sessions, maintenance projects, and long hours that make the event possible.
They’ll simply smell the cotton candy, hear the laughter, climb aboard a favorite ride, and make memories with the people they love. If Ruthie Jeans has anything to say about it, that’s exactly how it should be. GN
