Then and Now

Shown here is a scene from the 1949 Dodge County Dairy Show with the DCI newspaper saying the 1950 show would be even larger. The dairy show was held outdoors and all of the buildings in the photo have been replaced with new barns. The grandstand featured Minnesota political candidates Orville Freeman running for Attorney and Ancher Nelson running for Lieutenant Governor. Horse racing, an Aqua Thrill Show, 4-H Kittenball tournament, 4-H Livestock Parade and the 4-H Style Queen closed out the Sunday grandstand events. There were 19,900 people that attended the 1950 fair.as there was an admission charge and the 4 day event was held Aug 3 — 6. The fairboard voted to move the 1952 fair one week later to Aug 6–9 as the grain harvest would likely be finished by that time. Olmsted County was also moving their fair to the first week in August and Steele County would be the 3rd week in August. The fair became a free fair in 1951 and it is now held during the 3rd week in July, Photo and info from the DCI newspaper archives.