The 110th Edition of the Blaine County Fair is underway and will run through this Sunday, August 14, 2022. This years Blaine County Fair has plenty to offer folks of all ages and will surely bring plenty of smiles to our local residents.

A County Fair is something to behold, often times steeped in tradition and at the core of any small town community in America. That sentiment is especially true in Montana and even more so along the Hi-line.

The Phillips County Fair in Dodson just concluded their 107th consecutive year, the longest running continuous Fair in the state of Montana. How can that be if the Blaine County Fair is 110? World War II disrupted Blaine County's consecutive streak as local residents looked to better serve the war effort and support local troops that way.

The first official Blaine County Fair was held September 12-14 at the same location of this years fair. In the years prior the fair was known as the Chouteau County Fair and was held where the Catholic Church now sits before moving to the fairgrounds as we know it.

Blaine County was established on February 29, 1912. Blaine and Hill Counties withdrew from Chouteau County to manage themselves and first appeared on the 1912 Montana map with Valley County bordering to the east. Phillips County didn't exist on the Montana Map until 1915 and as such the home to the Phillips County Fair in the 107 years since. Prior to the downsizing, Chouteau County was the second largest in all of the United States.

Nowadays we are accustomed to local fairs, wherever they may be, beginning midweek on a Tuesday or Wednesday and concluding that Sunday. But early on the county fair ran in the middle of the week entirely, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The final year of the 'Chouteau County Fair' in 1911 was certainly deemed to be a success, but maybe a sign that the local residents were ready to move on could be found in it's advertising. Fliers and advertisement enticing folks to attend referred to the event at the 'Big County Fair'.

The 'Big County Fair' was well attended as usual and fairgoers enjoyed a number of activities. Attendance receipts topped $360 to the excitement of management. Fairgoers had the opportunity to take in a number of races from a mile to three eighths as well as a cow/pony race. Harlem played Gildford in the championship series with Harlem winning 5-1.

The Agriculture was handsomely arranged and was greatly received by all visitors. Reports indicated the livestock show was better than expected with recent rainfall making the roads very difficult to bring the stock in to the fair.

Heavy rains continued to hamper the program but the show went on. Dodson beat Harlem in baseball and more races were held despite the heavy track. Fort Benton and Havre had very strong representation throughout the fair and the Fort Benton Band concluded activities on day two of the fair.

The final day of the 'Big County Fair' finale in 1911 was dedicated to Havre with their band furnishing the music and entertaining the crowd at the fairgrounds as well as uptown. Fort Benton defeated Dodson 5-4 to win the baseball championship. Steve Adams won the relay race and a motorcycle and automobile race only added to the days events.

Lastly it was stated in the Chinook Opinion that the most interesting exhibit was the Great Northerns display of silver cups that was also presented at the State Fair in Helena as well as the New York Land Show. The cups were sent out west by President Hill for the exhibition.

Following the establishment of Blaine County on Lead Day of 1912 residents quickly became enamored with the idea of holding the first ever Blaine County Fair in September but securing the funds to hold the event was the first priority.

Promising an Exhibition that would be 'Better and Bigger than Ever', several Chinook businessmen rallied in support of the County Fair. Following a story in the Chinook Opinion that suggested the fair may be in jeopardy if promised subscriptions to fund the fair were not upheld, an incredible rally from the community ensured that the support was there.

The fair directors urged the community to stay with the job generally agreed to and stated that if the $3,000 fund necessary to make the fair a success was taken off their shoulders it could continue. The directors were soon provided with a feeling that the community support as well as new subscriptions received that they would make good on their promises that work would be ordered to resume and premiums would be ready for distribution.

In a statement that resonates still today it was written, "The work of the active managers of the fair is sometimes difficult and discouraging but the community when it once realized that the board needed their support rallied to their aid. The county fair is a big thing and can be made a bigger institution as the years go by. The crisis of this year successfully met it is pretty certain that the future of their fair is assured."

Once the time came for the first ever Blaine County Fair to open the gates and let visitors in for the first time a huge sigh of relief overcame the members of the board. The headline on the front page of the September 19 Chinook Opinion read, "Record Crowd at the Blaine County Fair: Wednesday's Gate Receipts the Biggest in the History of the Fair and the Agriculture Display the Best".

The opening day of the first ever Blaine County Fair was filled with beautiful weather and as a result local farmers took the opportunity of such a nice day to get much needed work done and as a result Tuesday attendance was described as 'light'. The highlight of the opening day was surely the Agricultural Displays and proved to be 'exceptional in quality and it was assured that the state fair exhibit that will be picked from the display would be the best ever sent up from the county'.

The first day also included a relay race, the big event of the fair, in which Tommy Adams secured a lead over an injured Steve Adams with Ed Kirkaldie finishing third. A bucking contest also took place with the rapid dismounting of a couple of 'busters' highlighting the performance.

Day two of the first ever Blaine County Fair was a game changer for the future of the County Fair. Gate receipts were $650, nearly double that of the previous year. The relay races again filled the grand stands and a special train from Havre increased the attendance as well.

Awards were given to James Griffin, winner of the L. G. Hill Cup for best Agricultural display. $25 worth of lumber was awarded to H. C. Kirn for best display of Oats. The Vegetable display winner was Brown and Roberts and the Grains and Grasses award went to James Griffin as well.

Other highlights of the first fair included daily music provided by the Chinook Woodmen Band, concluding each day with street concerts. The Maude Henderson Company at the Opera House and moving pictures at the New Theatre with dances after each show also kept visitors busy each night.

The 1912 Blaine County Fair concluded with the finish of the relay race, Thursday afternoon, September 19, 1912.. Despite threatening weather a good crowd was on hand to see Tom Adams finish first with Steve Adams second and Ed Kirkaldie third.

One noticeable change from the 1911 Big County Fair to the 1912 Fair was that no baseball contest took place after being heavily featured in previous years. One could suspect the elimination of the Fort Benton, Gildford and other locations played a big roll in that decision.

With such a strong start, the Blaine County Fair continued to grow and most certainly became the 'bigger institution' projected by the very first fair board. In the decades since the Blaine County Fair has done its part to become a fixture in the community, involve local 4-H Clubs, FFA Clubs, local vendors while keeping the entertainment in line with the times.

As the Blaine County Fair grew year to year the relay races eventually became a full fledged rodeo and now include a Kids Rodeo on Wednesday night and the PRCA sanctioned Bear Paw Roundup Rodeo on Thursday and Friday nights. The automobile races evolved into one of the best demolition derbies around with Blaine County Showdown taking place Saturday evening. The Agriculture shows became the 4-H, FFA and Open Class Shows.

The 4-H/FFA Livestock sale Saturday afternoon is a big part of the Blaine County Fair as buyers look to purchase top quality Beef, Swine, Lamb and this year even Rabbits raised by our local 4-H and FFA youth.

Pig Wrestling was a hit for many years drawing plenty of entries and large crowds at the fairs conclusion Sunday afternoons. The Carnival takes center stage on the midway Wednesday through Saturday raising the excitement level for youngsters and adults alike. Night Shows have moved from the streets of downtown Chinook to the Fairgrounds with musical entertainment following the rodeo each night. The Wortman sisters will perform after Thursdays performance and Stolen Roan will take the stage after Fridays show. The Marshall Catch Band entertain fairgoers following the Blaine County Showdown Derby on Saturday.

Local Food Vendors are always on hand to fill visitors culinary needs. The 4-H Chuckwagon is a long standing staple of the Blaine County Fair as is the Eagles Booth, VFW Booth the Chinook Lions Club and Funshine Preschool Skones and Sconitos Booth. Vendors this year also include the Hungry Heifer, a barbecue vendor from Fort Benton as well as Leslie Modic with her Spudnicks and Birkey's Shaved Ice.

The Blaine County Commercial Building is full of additional vendors and groups looking to bring their information to visitors and is also a great place to get out of the heat and have a conversation or two.

The Blaine County Fair Board continues to do a wonderful job putting together the best possible Blaine County Fair possible. Times are hard nowadays and with skyrocketing costs of supplies, fuel and difficulties lining up entrainment as a result the Fair Board has done a remarkable job.

The L. G. Hill Cup was awarded to James Griffin, 'a well known farmer of the valley' at the very first Blaine County Fair on September 18, 1912 for the best Individual agriculture Display.

The Blaine County Fair Board includes Loren Skoyen, Shandel Fouts, Jon Harmon, John Skoyen and Dale Williams. The Blaine County Fair Board Manager is Debbie Ramberg. After 110 great Blaine County Fairs, one can only expect tradition and legacy to continue on.