Photo: Curry County Fair.

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Press relase from the Curry County Fair, which begins Saturday, July 27 in Gold Beach:

The Crook Family of Pistol River have been involved in fairs for generations and are Grand Marshals for 2019 Curry County Fair. The family have been avid county fair fans, attending events in Myrtle Point and Crescent City as well as the fair in Gold Beach.

“Every year we attended the fairs and I looked forward to that as the event of the year,” Ron Crook said in 2012, reminiscing about the 100th anniversary of the Curry County Fair.

The Crook children quickly became interested in entering exhibits. Ron shared that he began exhibiting before he was old enough to enter 4-H and after becoming a club member, he increased his total number of exhibits significantly. To this day, Ron encourages people to enter exhibits as an important part of the fair. He continues to enter in neighboring fairs, winning top ribbons in the Del Norte County Fair in Crescent City.

Patriarch, Harvey Crook, was the Livestock Superintendent in the 1950s and initiated the free lamb barbeque that was a staple every year at the Curry County Fair. Bill Crook was the Curry County Fair manager from 1967 to 1969. Bill’s wife, Jackie was a Fair Board member in the 1990s and continues to volunteer in various capacities.

In 1971 Ron accepted the Curry County Fair manager position, and remained for the next 40 years. Under his leadership a master plan was created and many large projects were completed. The Curry County Fair became the first small fair in Oregon to be a Gold Medallion Fair.

In the 1990’s Curry County received reduced federal assistance. The county also reduced funding. The Curry Fair Friends was created in 1993 as a fund-raising group. With their help, the fair has been able to stay in the black. The fair currently receives no financial support from the county. In May of 2019 the Transient Lodging Tax appeared on the ballot and was passed due in large part to the efforts of the support group that was formed by Ron Crook. A portion of the potential funds will benefit the fair grounds.

James Crook of Crook Ranch Construction donated his time and materials to install the tile flooring in the Showcase Building and the FOG tank at the fairground. In recognition of his continuing and dedicated support of Curry County Fair he received the 2018 Western Fair’s Association Blue Ribbon Award.

Ron Crook remained Fair Manager until his retirement in 2017. Every year he and members of the Crook family including Bill, Jackie, James and Kathleen continue to contribute their time and expertise born of many years of experience and dedication to the Curry County Fair.

Now another generation of the family are participating in the fair. Luke, Vivian and Pierce O’Donnell have all entered the Mutton Bustin’ competition. We look forward to seeing them at the fair for years to come.

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