Column: Best Shelby County Fair ever!

Dear Readers,

Shelbyville, Indiana, Aug. 15, 1965: Two local ingénues reported for duty at Job’s Daughters’ Pronto Pup booth, eager to spend their day serving up tasty corn dogs to delighted fairgoers.

What they didn’t expect was that they would end up seeing The Beatles!

I know it sounds like a tall tale. Honestly, I might not believe it myself if I hadn’t known the girls. They were my next-door neighbors, JaMa and Rhonda Fisher.

The Shelby County Fair in 1965 was much like the one beginning tomorrow. 4-H participants competed for coveted ribbons, with bragging rights lasting the entire year. That year, Katrina Everhart’s pig took first place in the Swine Showmanship Contest. I don’t recall who was crowned Queen of the Fair, though.

The midway boasted more attractions in 1965. The familiar sights and sounds filled the air, carnival rides like the Ferris wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl, Octopus, and Scrambler spun joyfully while barkers hollered, “Step right up and win!”

A clairvoyant did brisk business guessing people’s weight, while side shows lined the edge of the midway. The burlesque show always had a long line of boys attempting entry with their older brothers’ IDs.

Bear wrestling was a crowd favorite, an unusual spectacle, outlawed everywhere later in the 20th century. Local men actually had the chance to wrestle a bear. Talk about testosterone on display!

I can’t recall what the prize was for defeating the bear, probably because I don’t remember anyone ever winning. Considering that I’ve seen videos of bears tearing car doors off to get to a sandwich, I suspect any victories happened only when the trainer signaled the bear to throw the match.

Enough reminiscing, on to The Beatles.

Later that afternoon, JaMa and Rhonda, along with fellow Job’s Daughters Debbie Pike and Judy Trees, were happily serving up Pronto Pups when JaMa and Rhonda’s mother, Rebecca Fisher, arrived with surprising news, both good and bad.

The bad news? They had to leave immediately, which meant they would miss newspaper photographer scheduled to stop by and take their picture for the paper.

The good news? They were headed to New York to visit their Aunt Jo and Uncle Dexter Adams. Uncle Dexter, a Lieutenant Colonel stationed at West Point, had arranged a surprise.

After arriving in New York, JaMa and Rhonda boarded a bus full of West Point cadets, only to learn the real surprise, they were all going to Shea Stadium to see The Beatles!

And they did. Rhonda told me that it was difficult to hear the music because of the screaming fans. She did say that Ringo looked adorable, George looked shy, John philosophical, and Paul was cute.

Rock fans understand the significance of that Beatles concert. It set a world record for attendance and helped usher in the British Invasion. American record producer Quincy Jones put it best: “The Beatles changed everything.”

The Shelby County Fair 2025 begins tomorrow. There will be plenty of joy, ribbons won, and the fair queen and her court. But probably no bear wrestling, no burlesque shows, and certainly no chance of seeing The Beatles.

Oh, and in case you were wondering; Debbie Pike and Judy Trees did get their photo in the newspaper.

As Paul Harvey always said, “Now you know the rest of the story.”

See you all next week, same Schwinn time, same Schwinn channel.