This is a front-page story from the Columbia Basin Herald on Aug. 17, 1978, written by then-Herald staff writer Nancy Wolff. Read on.

Recipe secrets, mobile life all fun of carnival living

The colorful world of carnival rides and gaudy concessions is a temporary one. Here one day and gone by Sunday.

For the regular “carny” people who travel with the show it’s family, home and work.

From maintenance man to ride or concession operator, the people are dedicated to their job and love their work. The people who work with the show are just as colorful and interesting as the carnival.

“We sleep outdoors, eat outdoors, have good times and bad times,” said Ray Shaw, a Meeker Show veteran of 31 years. The show travels around the state seven months out of the year beginning in March.

With over 20 different rides valued at around $300,000, the equipment is trailer mounted for easy transportation. Depending on the amount of help available, it takes anywhere from two to six hours to set up each ride,” said Shaw.

Seven regular employees travel with the show and temporary help is employed at each stop. About 60 people are with the show here at Moses Lake.

Septuagenarian Violet Virgil, is unofficial grandmother to the mobile crew of Meeker folk. During the fair she can be found supervising the cotton candy or stirring a batch of taffy apples. Vi has been with the show since her husband died 10 years ago. The taffy apple recipe is secret, she said.

“I never knew what went into it until I had to take over the job,” she said.

The spry, white-haired woman oversees four assistants, three of whom joined at Moses Lake.

John Patheal, general handyman and “jack of all trades,” is responsible for all electrical work connected with the show. Since he joined Meeker two years ago, he has been kept busy repairing motors, cables and keeping the trucks in running condition. He carries a complete stock of replacement parts “just in case something breaks down late on a Sunday evening.”

More about carnival life next week.