He may not have known it right then, but Marshall Harris may have been the first person saved him Friday from the excesses of the Lake County Fair.
Rosie Burns, of Glenwood, Ill., knew there was no way the 7-year-old from New Lenox, Ill., was going to finish 12 inches of gooey grilled cheese, even with sister Mackinzie, 3; and cousin Jaiden Rhodes, 9, from Hammond digging in to help. Through his protestations, Burns came up with a compromise to satisfy them all: Jaiden got a human-portioned grilled cheese, while Marshall, convinced he was starving at that point, was handed a glorious basket of chili cheese fries.
The young man was satisfied with Burns’s quick thinking.
“Yes!” he said as Burns gingerly passed him his lunch.
Opening Day of the Lake County Fair isn’t a family tradition as much as coming to the fair period is, Burns said. She and her cousin, Juanita Ricks, of South Holland, Ill., said they’ve been coming to the fair with family and church members for at least 25 years, if not longer. That they came Friday, with its perfect sunny weather and manageble crowd, was just because it worked out that way.
“I was coming when it was a lot smaller than this,” Burns, a retired teacher, said. “I can remember when they had this huge — it had to be a hog because it was too big to be just a pig.”
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“We’re addicted,” Ricks added. “I was born in the South, so the ambiance here is in my spirit.”
George and Nancy Rossman, of Griffith, usually get their first fair fix on Thursday night but couldn’t make it out this time. Their first stop, then, was the Family Arts Building, where Nancy Rossman, a lifelong quilter, garnered first place for her legacy quilt.
It wasn’t her first top-spot award in the five years she’s exhibited, but that didn’t make the recognition any less sweet.
“They had a lot of long-arm quilting, but I do mine by hand,” she said. “They take me a least a year to complete.”The Rossmans are also big fans of the horse events and plan to come back next week for the draft horses, Nancy Rossman said. If the fair brass wants to ensure they come back more times than twice, George Rossman had a suggestion.”I’m really liking this $2 (Frugal Friday) deal they have with the food. They need to do it all day, everyday,” he said.
Once Anthony Walsh, 13, of Palos Heights, Ill., heard there’s motocross at the fair, he really wanted to compete, so he told all his racing friends about it. They’ll be here over the weekend, while Anthony will be at another fairground competing in its race, he said.
He had his favorite uncle, Angelo Toscas, of Crestwood, Ill., bring him Friday, anyway. And if he has his way, they’ll brave the 30-mile haul several times before the fair’s end.
“I like hanging out with family and watching the animals. The rides, too,” Anthony, 13, said.
Toscas keeps the young man’s enthusiasm — and stomach contents — in check, though.
“He always wants to go on those crazy rides where you don’t know if you’re going to live or die, and I tell him no!” Toscas said, laughing.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
