This Friday’s ZOOM Meeting will feature Dale Klick, President, Stark County Fair. County Fairs are as American as fireworks, hot dogs and apple pie. We all have memories of going to the Stark County fair growing up, and then taking our children, and now grandchildren, to the fair each Labor Day weekend. This year, many county fairs have either been cancelled or greatly reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the 2020 Stark County Fair is “on” and Dale will highlight some of the changes and safeguards that are being taken to provide that special “Junior Fair” experience for the 1,000 or more 4-H’ers that have worked so hard on their projects this year.
The county fair is a once-a-year opportunity for urban and rural communities to meet, greet, mix, mingle, and learn about and appreciate each other and our different ways of living.
Dale is also General Manager at Progressive Auto Group, is married to Angie and has 3 daughters, twins Ila and Emma (17), and Anna (13), all of whom are involved in Jr Fair and 4H. Dales has been involved with the Stark County Fair since, well, forever.
Please join our ZOOM meeting this Friday for a fun and informative presentation about a Stark County institution. And remember to bring your corn dogs, elephant ears and cotton candy!
In 1850, the first Stark County Fair was held in downtown Canton near Public Square and the courthouse, on lots and in buildings owned by the Presbyterian Church and Union School on West Tuscarawas Street. The fair drew both agricultural society members and interested spectators, who thronged Market Avenue. Livestock was exhibited on church grounds, while the domestic and fruit displays were in the schoolhouse.
Premiums, paid in U.S. silver half-dollars, were awarded for winning entries in a variety of classes including horses, cows, sheep, and hogs, along with the finest flour and grain crops. Women won prizes for the best-woven cloth, the best quilt, and the best wax flowers. Plowing matches (not demolition derbies or tractor pulls), were a popular sport in the 1800’s and a surefire attraction for spectators at the fair. Joshua Gibbs, a Canton plow maker, was a consistent winner.
(Starkcountyfair.com – Fair History – by Joan Porter, revisions by R. Taylor)
At our Zoom meeting on August 14, 2020, President Drew Pelger opened the meeting by welcoming 21 Canton Rotarians, plus guests: Tom Nelligan, the Perry Township Rotary President; a 'soon-to-be-Canton Rotarian, Marianna DiGiacomo, from Stark Library; our speaker, DG Linda Henderson; and Linda's spouse, Fred Henderson.
Club Secretary Paula Mastroianni presented some interesting historical facts for the day, and also asked the Rotary trivia question, "Why is the Rotary organization called 'Rotary'"? (The answer to Paula's question: the founding members chose the name Rotary because they initially 'rotated' their weekly club meetings between each other's offices. However, that first club, located in Chicago, became, within a year, so large they had to adopt the now-common practice of a regular weekly meeting site.)
Paula also received "Happy Bucks" from Michelle Charles, Rick Taylor and herself.
Announcements:
President Drew again announced that our annual Oktoberfest has been cancelled. President Drew is working with President-Elect Mark Clendenin and Oktoberfest Chair, Raquel Raderchak, on a new project, a discount card to local breweries! More details on this project will be forthcoming.
President Drew welcomed our speaker, District Governor Linda Henderson, who engaged our club members in an interactive exchange of ideas on how Rotary can best achieve its mission of "Service Above Self".
Next Week's Speaker will be Dale Klick, Stark County Fair Board President speaking on the 2020 Stark County Fair Plans.
In September, for the third year in a row, Districts 6600, 6630 and 6650 have come together to offer an exciting membership program, to help us engage and energize our members.
This year there will be 2- two hour meetings (on Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 23) in the early evening (6 to 8 PM). You can attend either or both meetings via Zoom at no cost. Past Rotary International President Barry Rassin (2018-2019), will be the speaker for the September 15th training session and District 6690 Membership Chair Jenny Stotts from RC of Athens Sunrise, Ohio, will be the September 23rd speaker.
You will have a choice of four breakout sessions on each night. You can attend one breakout session in each of the two meetings. The sessions are:
Keeping Clubs Vital
Making Rotary Work
Sharing the Joy of Rotary
Building on your Momentum
To view more information on these workshops and to register, click on this LINK!
In order to make contributing to the club easy during this time of social separation, we have recently added a “Make a Donation” link to our club website at www.cantonrotary.org. By clicking this link, you will be able to quickly and easily make a contribution to the club, via credit or debit card.
Integrated with our Clubrunner system, this is a safe and secure link. Please consider a donation today!
This Friday’s ZOOM Meeting will feature Dale Klick, President, Stark County Fair. County Fairs are as American as fireworks, hot dogs and apple pie. We all have memories of going to the Stark County fair growing up, and then taking our children, and now grandchildren, to the fair each Labor Day weekend. This year, many county fairs have either been cancelled or greatly reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
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Did you miss our Zoom Rotary meetings? Don't fret! 
