This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Georgianna Stickley is a Treasured Guilford Fair Volunteer

Georgianna Stickley is old enough to remember attending the Guilford Fair on the Town Green, but young enough at heart to still feel that sense of excitement when fair time rolls around.

This year’s Guilford Fair takes over the fairgrounds on Lovers Lane Friday, Sept. 18, Saturday, Sept. 19, and Sunday, Sept. 20.

For more than 60 years, Georgianna has kept up a family tradition of volunteering for the fair, including taking an active role with all-volunteer Guilford Agricultural Society (GAS). The Guilford Fair was founded in 1859 by GAS forerunner Farmers and Mechanics Association (which became GAS by 1874). With its time-honored standing, the Guilford Fair is recognized as a Library of Congress Local Legacy.

In all her years as a Guilford resident, Georgianna has never missed a Guilford Fair unless it was canceled.

“I was born the day after the Hurricane of ‘38, and there was no fair that year, and the next year there was no fair, because of Guilford’s 300th anniversary,” she says. “And there was no fair in 1942, ‘43, ‘44, and ‘45 because of World War II.”

Georgianna’s first experience working the event was as a Guilford High School (GHS) student, selling hotdogs and hamburgers from the school booth to benefit the GHS senior class. But she also helped out her dad for many years in his role as Photo Department chairman.

For more than 25 years, Georgianna has helped to log in all department entries before the fair begins, track them during the fair, and get prize checks out to winners after the fair. Last week, Georgianna’s office on the fairgrounds was once again awash in entry forms mailed, emailed, or otherwise delivered to the Lovers Lane headquarters. Once again, the Guilford Fair will host thousands of entrants vying to show off their best in dozens of departments, from crafts to cows, canning to cookies.

Organizing, routing, and tracking results of thousands of entries may seem like a mammoth task, but Georgianna does it all with a smile.

“If it wasn’t fun, it wouldn’t happen!” she says. “There’s a lot of nice people, and you meet exhibitors that come stop in and say ‘Hi’ or to see if we’re still in here,” says Georgianna. “My daughter Amanda and her husband help me, and we’re here for basically two weeks.”

Georgianna worked the office for many years with another dedicated GAS volunteer and dear friend, Eileen Rossiter, who passed away this year. GAS’s 2015 Guilford Fair Tributes include a passage recognizing Rossiter, a GAS life member, among other valued individuals.

Georgianna’s own long affiliation with GAS began with her father’s membership and connection to the fair.

“My dad used to do the Photography Department, probably it was in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but it was not as big as it is now,” says Georgianna, who took over the department when her kids were little, then moved on to Entries.

“I got married right out of high school, and when our children were small, we took over the Photo Department from my dad. So my kids used to come down here with us. Back then, we’d be hanging photography entries ‘til midnight! So it’s been a family affair,” she says.

Georgianna remembers being a little kid in Guilford helping her neighbors at fair time.

“We lived next to Fonicello’s Garden Center and I and several people in the neighborhood, we’d pile on the truck at fair time and we’d help them to set up their display in the Vegetable Tent.”

Elaborate vegetable displays by vendors still draw fans to the Vegetable Tent each year, while others make a beeline for favorite entries like giant pumpkins and lots of livestock. In all the years she’s been working the Entries Department, Georgianna has seen peaks and valleys in what’s popular.

“Some things have gone away, probably because people don’t have time anymore, like tatting, that’s gone away,” she says of the old-school embroidery style. “But entries are generally up or at least holding, because of other things.”

Some departments, like Junior’s (Kids) change things up to keep the latest generation’s interest

“They keep Juniors’ interesting with things like what kids are collecting—Webkinz, Furbies...it’s not all bottle caps like it was 40 years ago!” says Georgianna, laughing.

But some old staples are gaining ground in entry numbers, too.

“I have a neighbor who just started with chickens, and I think a lot of people seem to be getting into that,” says Georgianna. “And a lot of people now have little gardens, so canning is picking up again, because a lot of people are putting things away.”

Fairgoers traveling through rows and rows of entries on display under tents and in buildings may not remark much on the little tags displayed with each, but rest assured Georgianna and company have handled every one of them. In addition to being entries secretary, Georgianna also proofreads the extensive fair exhibitor premium book to assist GAS member Larry Kalbfeld.

Beyond everything she does to help out, Georgianna is simply a cheerleader for the Guilford Fair.

“You’re getting so much entertainment for $10 admission! There are a lot of things to see, and national acts like the Flying Wallendas, and Saturday night is Country Night,” she says. This year, Nashville’s Craig Campbell stars.

“When you come, you don’t think of all the work that has to gone into putting it all together. It’s really amazing,” says Georgianna.

For the scoop on everything planned for the Guilford Fair, visit www.guilfordfair.org.