MOSES LAKE - The Grant County Fair and Rodeo is a magical time for young and old alike. But the rodeo wasn't always under lights. Nope. The first time was in 1949. Read on.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on Sept. 9, 1949:

Night shows, auction sale new features

The Grant County fair opened today, beginning Moses Lake's annual three-day harvest celebration featuring first performances of the Columbia Basin Rodeo under lights.

The city was decorated from stem to stern with pennants and bunting. Townspeople were decked out in colorful western garb. The fair grounds and rodeo arena, on a 160-acre tract just north of the city, gleamed with new buildings, new lights and carnival regalia, and hummed with activity.

Lights just installed

The fair, put on by the Grant County Fair & Livestock Association, runs today, Saturday and Sunday, closing at 3 p.m. Sunday. Exhibits will be on display all three days and also tonight and Saturday night.

The rodeo, sponsored by the Columbia Basin Rodeo Association, will be presented Saturday night, Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. Lights recently installed at the big arena make possible the first night showing ever held in Moses Lake.

Parade on Saturday

A rodeo parade will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, forming at the grade school grounds and moving up Fifth Street to Dogwood, north to Broadway and down Broadway to Birch.

Included will be marching units, floats, decorated cars and groups on horseback. At least two musical organizations, the Moses Lake High School and the Ephrata Veterans of Foreign War's Junior Drum and Bugle Corps, will be entered.

To crown queen

During the parade the Queen of the rodeo, to be selected from among princesses representing seven cities in the Columbia Basin, will be crowned by Mayor C.M. McCosh in the central business district. The girls are from Quincy, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Wilson Creek, Coulee City, Warden and Moses Lake.

An auction sale of 4-H club and Future Farmers of America fat cattle, swine and lambs will be held for the first time at the fair. Scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, It will be conducted by Bill Haverlo, well known Ellensburg sale ring Auctioneer

Parade entry will be given away

One of the floats in Saturday's parade will be given away Sunday, Victor Salyer announced this week. He said that the Peninsula Construction Co., in which he is a partner, would a playhouse in the parade, and then take it out to the fair grounds.

The four-room playhouse measures 6 by 11 feet, has four rooms, white walls and a leaf green roof. Tickets on the house will be available at $1 apiece from members of the Peninsula Improvement Club Saturday and Sunday, both in town and at the fair grounds.

Funds raised by the sale will be donated to the club's building fund, Salyer added.

 Lunch with the Troops event next Tuesday, Aug. 16

Fairchild Air Force Base Commander and also the 92nd Air Refueling Wing Commander, Col. Paul Guemmer, is planning to attend the next Lunch with the Troops event to take place on Tuesday, Aug. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Command Chief Rudy Lopez is expected to accompany the base commander.

The colonel was expected to attend last month, but was called back to Fairchild because of an emergency.

The luncheon will take place at the Porterhouse Steakhouse in Moses Lake from noon to 1 p.m.

We are offering one Buck Knife and one Wenger, Genuine Swiss Army Knife, in a raffle to benefit Operation Warm Heart, a fund operated by unit First Sergeants to assist airmen in need.

In August, Mike O'Halloran and his wife, Becky, will be sponsoring the Buck Knife in their names. Also in August, Kim Dodd will sponsor the Wenger Swiss Army Knife in the name of Gilbert Nissan.

Becky Hill, Manager of the Moses Lake American Legion Post 209, conducts the raffle, so we are in compliance with Washington State laws and regulations. Raffle tickets will be sold during the luncheon with the knives as a prize. The drawing will take place at the end of the event.

Come join the fun and bring a friend or two. You will find the visit with the troops invigorating and heartwarming.

People wanting to attend the June 21 luncheon are asked to call me at: Home: 762-5158 or Cell: 750-0541. Or the Porterhouse Steakhouse at: 766-0308. We won't turn anyone away, but we need to have an approximate head count

Sawhorse Cow Contest seeking entries

Grab a sawhorse and use your imagination. It's time to prepare for the Sawhorse Cow Contest. Read on.

Grant County CattleWomen are seeking entries for their Annual Sawhorse Cow Contest at this year's Grant County Fair.

Under the rules, entrants decorate a sawhorse to resemble a cow or bull, often with elaborate and imaginative costumes. Prizes are awarded to the top three placers in youth and adult age groups.

Rules and entry forms are listed on page 129 of the 2011 Fair Exhibitors Guide Book. Entries will be accepted on Monday, August 15, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the flag pole on the Midway.

Contact Nancy Johnson at 509-765-2286 or Rita Mayrant at 509-750-4555.