Meet Me on the Midway

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A History of Wisconsin Fairs

Jerry Apps

Take a nostalgic ride across the fairgrounds with Jerry Apps as he showcases the history of the state and county fairs in this salute to one of the Midwest’s greatest summer traditions!

336 pages, 8 x 9, 141 color and b&w photos
Paperback: $26.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-983-3
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-984-0
Publication Date: 7/26/2022

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Description

From cream puffs to tractor pulls, celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps explores the history of county and state fairs in Wisconsin, from their earliest incarnations as livestock exhibitions to today’s multitude of exhibits and demonstrations, grandstand entertainment, games and rides, and competitions of all sorts.

Drawing on his extensive research, interviews, and personal experience as a 4-H leader, county extension agent, fair judge, and lifelong fair-goer, Apps takes readers back through 178 years of Wisconsin fair history, covering everything from horse pulling and calf-showing contests to exhibit judging to the roar of gasoline engines powering the midway rides. Regardless of age, readers will love this reflection on their favorite fair experiences while learning about the unique traditions in different Wisconsin counties.

Apps evokes the sights and sounds of fairs through the ages while digging in to the political and social forces that shaped the fair into an icon of both our rural and urban heritage. Illustrated with vintage and modern photos and featuring the voices of exhibitors, judges, volunteers, and visitors, Meet Me on the Midway vividly captures the thrills and cherished memories of these beloved annual gatherings.

Author Bio

Celebrated storyteller and rural historian Jerry Apps was born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm. He was a former county extension agent and professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Apps authored more than fifty fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, including Every Farm Tells a Story: A Tale of Farm Family Values, The Quiet Season: Remembering Country Winters, When the White Pine Was King, and Barns of Wisconsin, all published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

There is a certain camaraderie when you start talking about showing or being at the fair. The wash rack, telling stories in the barn, the knots in your stomach before you go in the ring, the way you hang on every word the judge shares about your project, or the crazy rides you went on afterward—heads start to nod when you start sharing those stories.