OREGON EVOLUTION AT THE STATE FAIR

Oregon evolution means securing the human necessities of food, shelter, and clothing.

Of course you know that.

But have you seen the twist on necessities at the Oregon State Fair?

Have you? Let’s start at the beginning.

During the time before recorded history dinosaurs roamed the earth in much the same way as Salem today.

Here they show their local reptilian ferociousness in Coastal Oregon, Willamette Valley Oregon, and Eastern Oregon / Western Idaho.

(Geography Quiz: Out of fifty states how many have a coastline? Give answers in comments without looking at a map. I’ve got blackjack.)

When early man arrived things changed.

Gathering And Hunting

The woman who submitted the pickles second from the right works in my wife’s office.

Now I know a State Fair person.

Her husband has won a string of Blue Ribbons for his pickles.

Sounds like a fun competition?

Hunting And Gathering

Eventually our forebearers traded their lizard skin ponchos for something softer and warmer.

Do these look like ‘meat sheep’ or ‘show sheep’ or ‘wearable sheep?’

Either way, they’re fleecy.

You’d want them around if you lived in caveman times.

And now.

Today the animals are tended by serious people.

How serious?

I saw a chicken ‘for sale at $350’ serious.

Livestock, Or Pets

If it’s been too long since you’ve seen full-speed full-sweat ranch work, go watch the barns in transition between animals leaving and showing up.

Cowboys and cowgirls, ranch hands and owners, hustle wheelbarrows of wood chips, shake bales of hay into edible portions, and work their livestock.

They work their livestock for competition.

The beauty of the Oregon State Fair is seeing ranch traditions passed down to the next generation.

They may not appreciate being there now instead of with their friends, but they’ll have better stories at their high school reunions.

“What did you do this summer?”

“Shaved a cow’s butt and won a Blue Ribbon. What did you do?”

“Video games.”

Refined Oregon Evolution

After mankind, and the Oregon State Fair map, got a handle on the early days of civilization, we evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers.

From the wheat fields come bread and nothing says you couldn’t be more advanced than warm bread with melted butter and a toasted crust.

And a cup of tea. You know what that means?

You’ve got to see the place settings.

I stained my shirt just passing by.

Turns out I don’t like gold-colored flatware.

Will you learn something you don’t know at the fair?

One Oregon Evolution

To the rookie eye the plants and vegetables awarded blue and red ribbons looked like they could have come from Fred Meyer or Safeway.

Some of the food was starting to fade.

We hadn’t been to the fair in years and decided to touch base.

It was light traffic between Portland and Salem.

The fairgrounds were marked on a freeway sign.

Parking was five dollars, but I wanted to park closer.

Rock Star parking: $20?

I pulled into the first lot and asked about the Rock Star lot.

They passed me forward to the next person who pointed the direction.

On the way there I saw a spot near the Blue Gate and parked.

I told the parking lady I didn’t have a receipt and she said not to worry.

When I bought a fair admission ticket it was 2 for 1.

That’s when blogger inspiration struck:

I wanted to write the best blog post on boomerpdx that $1.50 can buy.

This is Oregon evolution worth talking about. Is it worth it?