The winners in the Combine Demolition Derby Saturday night at the Monroe County Fair were Brad Gyde of Maybee with first place; Joe Straub of Maybee with second place; and Steve Lewis of Monroe with third place.
The Neuhart family combine, driven by Kevin Robson, won best appearance with its “Redneck Santa Combine” design. Here’s a picture of what that combine looked like when decked out for the parade (the Christmas decor was taken off before the smash-up contest began).
– Paula Wethington
Jason Gerweck of LaSalle carries his daughter Hannah, 3, on his shoulders through the midway of the Monroe County Fair Friday with wife Dannett by his side.
- Bryan Bosch
Elisha Kinkade, 3, and his father Dennis Kinkade, watch the Monster Truck Show at the Grandstand with brother Cornelius Kinkade, 4, right, and his mother Sarah Kinkade of Milan as Justin Kirkpatrick, 15, of Ida, left, watches on at the Monroe County Fairgrounds Friday evening. “We were here last year. Last friday my boys went to pick up the tickets and were so excited for this day to come. They’ve been asking about the monster trucks every day,” Dennis Kinkade said.
-Alex Stawinski
Mason at Fishing Michigan, one of our bloggers at BlogsMonroe, went fishing for interesting things at the Monroe County Fair. Check out Absolute Taxidermy and Something for the pups.
– Paula Wethington
Some of the BlogsMonroe bloggers had meet-and-greets Thursday night at The Monroe Evening News booth at The Monroe County Fair. Who can you pick out from the crowd?
If past experience is any indication, you can expect stories and photos on these bloggers’ blogs and other BlogsMonroe blogs during the next couple of days … (we weren’t able to get everyone in one picture because people were in and out).
– Paula Wethington
Karen Hopkinson was making pressman’s hats out of newspapers at The Monroe Evening News booth Thursday night. Did you get one?
– Paula Wethington
Check out the “straw poll” presidential election at The Monroe Evening News booth at the Monroe County Fair. We’re in the Monroe Bank & Trust building.
– Paula Wethington
Those of you who haven’t yet seen the Budweiser Clydesdales at the fair can get a preview and a little behind-the-scenes flavor of what’s involved in preparing the eight-horse team for its nightly show via a little video I shot earlier this week, which was edited by my son, Chris.
Not in the video or article that was published Wednesday is the fact that the team of chauffeur/groomers that accompanies the horses scrubs and groom sthe animals each day of an appearance. This week, the groomers will work 60 to 70 hours attending to the horses and preparing them for their 7 p.m. nightly shows at the Glenn Stock Arena.
The team at the Monroe fair is out of St. Louis and is one of five that make appearances at various events around the country. Some of the horses in the team at the fair were among those that were part of the memorable Anheuser-Busch television commercial that was shown during this year’s Super Bowl.
Each one of the horses is worth from $20,000 to $30,000. Horse owners might appreciate the fact that no one really cleans the hooves of the Clydesdales – a task that involves using a pick to pry out dirt, mud and other debris that can clog the hooves and make it uncomfortable for a horse to walk. The Clydesdales wear a special padded shoe on their massive hooves, like a new set of Nikes, according to Jay Peters, sales director of Floral City Beverage Co., the local Anheuser-Busch distributor.
Mr. Peters said those over age 50 seem to enjoy the Clydesdales show most because the iconic team conjures up memories for Baby Boomers. “They made the brand,” he said.
Taylor Carpenter, 10, of Dundee takes a spin above the midway on the swing ride Wednesday at the Mornoe County Fair.
- Bryan Bosch
The Budweiser Clydesdales draw throngs of spectators as they are prepped for their first show in the Glenn Stock Arena Tuesday night. The team of 8 horses demonstrated their skill and prowess for the large crowd that gathered in the arena, demonstrating various wagon maneuvers.
- by Kim Brent