Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

Living
at the
county fair
For a week each year, a handful of families make the
fairgrounds in Eastern Iowa their home away from home,
allowing them to be close to their animals, take breaks
from the action, and fully enjoy entertainment,
camaraderie and immersion in the annual ritual.
BY Beth lamp
eastern iowa farmer
Shortly after Liam Gruhn was born, his parents put
their Goose Lake family’s name on the waiting
list for a camp site at the Clinton County Fair.
“We knew we would have kids in 4-H, and that
the waiting list was long,” said Chelsea Gruhn,
his mother.
Indeed, it took five years before she and her husband,
Travis, got the call that they could have one of the 20
coveted spots in the L-shaped campground just across the
street from the livestock barns and close to the fair-week
action. Last summer was their third at the camp site.
Now parents to Liam, 8, and daughter Logan, 5, the
Gruhns said the waiting paid off.
“We love all of this,” Chelsea said as she and Logan
made the short walk from their camper to the swine barn to
join Liam and Travis on the evening that kids from around
the county were checking in their livestock for competition.
Both Liam and Logan were set to show hogs. (Liam,
who is a Cloverkid, won the Pee Wees show.)
The mild summer day gave way to a pleasant evening
punctuated by the sounds of animals being unloaded from
trailers and shown to their pens, their home away from
home for the next week. At the campground, children from
neighboring sites played together in the open grassy area.
For families in Clinton and Jackson counties, camping at
Leaving their muddy boots outside the camper door, kids participating in 4-H at the
fair enjoy living for a week near the barns, making it easier to care for their animals.
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / Brooke Taylor
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