Fun times for 75 years
TEXARKANA, Ark. — In Brent Talley’s office at the Four States Fairgrounds, a white saddle indicates a long and beloved history with these words emblazoned on it: “Miss Four States Fair 1964.”
Nearly 20 years before that — March 6, 1945, to be exact — the Four States Fair was first organized. Talley, president and CEO of the Four States Fair and Rodeo, has been showing off that saddle as he promotes the fair and its 75th anniversary.
The fair just opened Friday evening for another 10-day run of fair treats, thrilling rides and agricultural pride.
The Ferris wheel, fried anything-you-can-get-your-hands-on, fine arts competitions, carny culture, corn dogs, country tunes and a demolition derby, they are among
the indelible sights and sounds of the fair, and getting spruced up and duded up in one’s finest has been part of the tradition for decades.
“The fair’s always a time for your agriculture families to come together and celebrate, with the community, another year. It started out from the history of another harvest, coming out of a hot summer, going into the fall of the year, to come together and bring your livestock to town … to bring your cannings to town, all the different things that you’d done throughout the summer months,” Talley said. It’s been a way to celebrate such accomplishments with the community.
The livestock show is one of the largest in the region, Talley said. “Great home arts and fine arts entries this year, as well,” he said. That tradition has continued for three-fourths of a century.
“Still part of that old, traditional celebrating of doing things with your hands and accomplishing those tasks,” Talley said. But he points out the Four States Fair has grown to being much more than just the fair. They’ve become an economic catalyst for the community. It’s agro-tourism.
“They’re spending those dollars in town,” Talley said about bringing people to the fairgrounds for events yearround. He believes they’re becoming better partners with the Texarkana community this way.
According to the fair’s website, records indicate a first rodeo was held in 1940, and a brochure for the “Second Annual Rodeo” at what was called the Texarkana Baseball Park in September 1941 now greets office visitors so many decades later.
In 1945, the Four States Fair proper was born. Establishment of the fairgrounds facilities and a downtown parade followed. In 1950, the merchant building and ticket offices were constructed. Then in 1952, a fine arts building was finished. Asphalt streets and other improvements were also made. By the mid-1960s, the fair lasted six days with five of them having a rodeo. The year 1960 brought a new livestock building, and in this piecemeal way the fair and fairgrounds grew.
“That very first fair was in an outdoor arena,” Talley said. But over the decades it all expanded, Talley saying, “Now we’ve been blessed with community support to give us an indoor facility.”
When Talley looks backs at 75 years of the Four States Fair developing to now have 100 acres with these facilities, he appreciates what it’s brought to Texarkana.
A history timeline at the fair’s website describes 1972 changes in this way: “New offices and Director’s room was furnished, a mimeograph machine, 820 John Deere Tractor, weed eater and mower were purchased. The old horse barn was rebuilt.”
In 1977, the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales performed and joined the parade. Texas-side Spring Lake Park was the fair’s first home, but it later moved to its current location at the Arkansas-side eastern edge of the city. The 1985 grand opening of the new fairgrounds included George Jones, Ronnie Milsap and Tammy Wynette.
As for the 75th celebration, look for some of the rodeo queens and other fair dignitaries to be recognized during the RAM PRCA Rodeo. The 75th annual fair is a great milestone, Talley believes, where they can look ahead and see where they’re going.
“It’s not a stopping spot but a starting spot,” Talley said.
For Betty Nix, the traditions of the Four States Fair & Rodeo have been part of her life since she started working at the fair in 1971. Though retired at 86, she’s still helping out at the fair.
She recalls that it was a small place over at the Spring Lake Park fairgrounds, but they sill had all the different categories. The cattle barn was open, and she recalls one time when a storm blowing into town caused a scare.
“We only had the commercial building, fine arts building and an ag building — about the only buildings we had over there,” Nix remembers.
But they had the annual carnival. She had to go down into it all to verify tickets and more. She recalls having to get curtains for the bathroom stalls, which then promptly disappeared. She put them up one day, then they were gone the next, she said.
“It was a wild experience,” Nix recalled about her first fair. She did a bit of everything at first, mostly in the office. “It was an experience for me because I had never been involved with anything like the Four States Fair in my life. It was fun and we had a good time.”
(For more information, visit FourStatesFair.com.)