by Richard Gilmer
Next week, the 132nd South Mountain Fair will be sure to put smiles on many faces as it has successfully done for well over a century. The Fair uses the slogan “A fair to remember”, and also boasts being “Ontario’s best priced fair”. While the Fair may attract visitors from all over Eastern Ontario and beyond, it is, and always has been, a truly local event.
Richard Gilmer – a local resident who lives and farms just outside of South Mountain – has been involved with the South Mountain Fair for many decades. He has been a firsthand witness to an unimaginable amount of the Fair’s history – the good and the not-so-good.
“I’ve been going to the Fair basically as long as I can remember,” said the 78-year-old Richard. His father and grandfather were involved in the Fair, and Richard still does what he can. About five years ago, another local family provided Richard’s family with a video of his grandfather walking around at the Fair in a shirt and tie with his two brothers. The video clip is only a few seconds long, but Richard is grateful to have it. He estimates it was taken in the 1950s.
Richard’s father was formerly a president of the Fair, as was Richard himself in the 1980s. He served on the board of directors for many years until the early to mid 1990s, and then took a leadership role again just over 10 years ago. While he no longer serves on the board of directors, he still does what he can for the Fair, nearly 60 years later and counting from when he first became involved.
One of Richard’s first jobs was as a “race secretary”. He came in one day to help with paperwork, and was soon tasked with the job of filling out a paper for each horse after every race. He did this job for several years before taking higher leadership roles with the Fair. “It takes a pile of work and a lot of good volunteers,” Richard added.
When asked how the Fair has changed over the years, Richard explained that the Fair has become more of a “festival-type” event compared to what it used to be. There has been some big name entertainment over the years, particularly following the addition of an entertainment tent in the early 2000s. Decades ago, the focus of the Fair was more on the agricultural shows, as is traditional in small town fairs. Richard also explained that the midway has gotten larger, and there are more shows for younger kids than there used to be.
There was one occasion approximately 50 years ago when Richard’s father went to a convention in Toronto and signed up a midway provider that never showed up for the Fair! Thankfully, this hasn’t happened again since. Some fairs in the area have trouble securing a midway and have resorted to inflatable attractions or no midway at all. Richard reports that the South Mountain Fair’s current midway is strong, and he hopes it can stay that way.
Richard is proud that the Fair has remained a local event. He now has 10 grandchildren of his own, and expects that they will all visit the Fair at some time or another. His daughter Meghan also currently serves on the Fair board. Richard notes that in more recent years for many locals, the Fair has started to act as a sort of “homecoming” event, where people can meet up with old school friends or other acquaintances they haven’t seen in a while. “There have been lots of trials and tribulations over the years, but we’ve come out stronger than we’ve ever been,” Richard added.
The South Mountain Fair runs from August 15-18. See inside this issue for a detailed schedule.
