7 Mile Fair Story Contest Winners - You Are in 7th Heaven

1st Place Winner  $2700  Marsha J. from Belleville, WI

A ROUGH START TO A HAPPY ENDING
 
Some times the cards that you are dealt in life aren't to ideal, but they say everything happens for a reason.  
 
I grew up poor in a dysfunctional family full of alcohol and abuse of every form. As a young child I longed for the answers to questions that I never knew I had. Because we were financially challenged, we didn't go many places, and if my parents went anywhere, my brothers and I were sure to stay home so that we were not a bother.
 
Friends of my parents invited the "family" to go along with their family to what they called the 7 Mile Fair. My parents said yes! I didn't know what this 7 Mile Fair was that they were talking about, but it didn't matter, my brothers and I were going some place further than the end of our driveway!
 
we only lived in Lake Geneva at the time, but the ride felt like we were going to another country! I remember the sun, the breeze and the butterflies I felt in my tummy full of excitement. When we got there I remember cars everywhere, I couldn't wait to park. I could not walk fast enough to the gate. I saw people and smelled food! This place was already amazing!
 
There were families everywhere, bargain shoppers on a mission to find good deals and make connections. Vendors seemed happy to talk with others about the items that they had to offer. I heard the stories of some of the journeys that the men and women took to get the products to the 7 Mile Fair. I was amazed that some had come from so far.
 
I then noticed the families more, mom's and dads with their children acting like a what I thought a family was supposed to be like. Kids were riding on their dads shoulders pointing in the distance to the pony rides ahead. Children excited to show their moms what they found at a booth and the mom actually taking interest in the conversation. It was there that I promised myself that when I have a family, I will bring my kids here and I would be just as attentive as the mom's and dads that walked with their children.
 
I only got a balloon that day. I was proud of my red balloon. I somehow let loose of it and like all helium balloons, it traveled to the land of lost balloons. As I watched it float away until I could not see it any longer, I remember thinking; That's ok. the balloon was great, but the 7 mile Fair gave me much more than I ever thought Id ever receive. Hope. Faith. Joy. I wished the day would never end.
 
I survived the abuse and the foster homes through the rest of my childhood and adolescent years, and although I spoke of the 7 Mile Fair, my foster families never took me back. As soon as I was able to drive and without permission go where I wanted to, I went back to the place that made me so happy all those years ago. I was already a mom by then. I took my 2 year old daughter and let her look at everything that fascinated her. I got her a balloon, and she got the pony ride too. She ran skipped and jumped and showed me all the treasures that she found  along the way. I listened and I smiled.
 
I am now a mom of 3 young ladies.  We make a trip to the 7 Mile Fair twice a year. We have come home with plants, fruit, flowers, toys, clothes, purses, and yes, one day we came home with a bunny (who is still alive today and we named him Squirrel.....). If it has been awhile since we have been there you can be sure that one of them will ask, "Mom, When are we going back to the 7 mile fair?" My 16 year old warned me that she was on the hunt for yet another critter....I think I will get the cage now so that I'm ready.
 
I held true to my promise to myself. I have a family of my own and we make the trip from Madison twice a year. When I'm there and outside wandering from vendor to vendor, I look up and remember the day I was first there, and my balloon.

2nd Place Winner  $1700  Carrie N from Random Lake, WI

7 mile fair will always hold a very special place in my heart. When I was little girl my grandpa and I would make the trip from Port Washington to 7 mile fair every Sunday morning. It was our routine. He would pick me up at 6am, now, I am not an early bird, but grandpa said that the “early bird got the best stuff and the best deals” and he was right. So we would make our way down listening to FM 106.1 and the Sunday morning oldies, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Merle Hagar and Johnny Cash.
 Once we pulled into the parking lot you could see the excitement on my grandpa’s face. We would get through the gates and get our stamp and be on our way. Grandpa had a very strategic way about going through 7 mile fair, we had to see all the vendors, and by the time we made our way through the aisles, new vendors had arrived, so once we were finished at one end, we had to make our way through each aisle again to make sure we didn’t miss any good deals. I remember just being in awe of all the stuff they had there, they had everything that you could possibly think of and more, but grandpa was most interested in the tools. He would have ten hammers at home, but if he found a good deal, which was often, he would add an eleventh to his collection. Grandpa had a massive garage, and more than half of those tools in it came from vendors at 7 mile fair. Grandpa also had a thing for “cheater eyeglasses”, I remember this neon green pair that he bought, he looked hilarious in them, they made his eyes look humongous,  and I think we all tried them on when we got home and had a good laugh, but he loved them, he had over 100 pairs of them, but if he found a good deal on a pair, which he always did, he had to buy them.  I also remember grandpa buying a car engine that fit into his 56 Ford that he was remodeling, he was ecstatic! He also bought the tires for it and rims, yes, rims my 67 year old grandpa bought these awesome chrome rims from a vendor there. He was so proud of his find.
Grandpa would give me twenty dollars to cut his grass and help with yard work and that would be my “7mile fair spending money” let’s just say that I never went home with change, as a girl, I liked the vendors inside, the purses, clothes and shoes and with twenty bucks, I came home with a lot!
 As I got older there were many other teenage things to do, but no matter what I always looked forward to 7 mile fair with grandpa on Sundays. I planned on going to college out of state and my grandpa was helping me move my things to Florida, he bought a trailer at 7 mile fair to haul my things he also helped me buy numerous things that I needed to furnish my apartment. I remember buying a vacuum cleaner there for twenty five dollars, and twelve years later, I still use it, it’s the best vacuum cleaner I ever bought. Before I moved to college, I wanted to make some extra money, so one weekend grandpa and grandma helped me sell some of my stuff there, we made a “family weekend” out of it. It was so much fun and I sold a lot and made really good money for school.
 At the end of our trips we would always go through the produce aisle and grandpa would buy fresh fruit and vegetables. He would buy grandma her favorite cherries, Queen Anne cherries, and they had to be the ones from 7 mile fair, they were the sweetest.  We would buy radishes, cucumbers, and oranges for us and the orioles, nuts, kohlrabies’, grapes, kiwi and the largest, sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted. We loved looking at the exotic different kinds of fruits and sometimes we would be daring and buy something different to try like an “ugli fruit” which tastes just like an orange actually. Grandpa couldn’t wait to get home and show grandma all the “goods” we scored. We would also take a look at all the cool plants and flowers they had. Every spring grandpa would buy these beautiful goliath hanging plants from this certain vendor, they were beautiful and would last forever. People would actually stop at their house and ask where he got them, they were that beautiful. 
Grandpa also bought delicious fresh honey from these certain vendors. I remember them having these really neat birdhouses and lawn ornaments, which he bought for grandma. They are in my yard now to remind me of those special trips to 7 mile fair with grandpa. Grandpa never left without fresh gladiolas for grandma, which she would cut and place on the kitchen table every Sunday.
7 mile fair to me was a beautiful, unique bonding experience with my grandpa, grandpa had been going there for years and he started bringing me when I was 10. I am 30 now with 2 young boys of my own, passing the tradition on. Grandpa passed away on a Good Friday in 2007. I will never forget those memories that we shared, I hold those tight to my heart. When I hear the commercial for 7 mile fair on the radio it brings tears to my eyes, in a good way, because I know how sacred that tradition of going every Sunday with my grandpa was. I look back now and yearn to see grandpa pulling up in his Cadillac early in the morning and beeping the horn and looking at me with his little suspenders on saying “you ready to find some good deals?”

3rd Place Winner  $700  Gary W. from Muskego, WI

 For many years, 7 mile fair has been in my life. I can still remember the very first experience, over three decades ago. The tale goes something like this…….. The sun had not yet rose on that crisp fall day, as my Grandfather pulled the over-stuffed station wagon and rickety trailer into the 7 mile fair lot. A young boy at the time, I was curled up in the passenger seat still wondering what I was doing there at 5 am. I remembered being tantalized by mention of an adventure and money. As my skepticism grew with every moment of sleep I was loosing, I reluctantly slid out of the car. “Now what?” I managed to squeak out. “Now…. we wait” my Grandfather said as he poured a cup of coffee from a thermos. As I stood there rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I began to see beams of light slicing through the darkness on a clear path towards us. In an instant, we were surrounded by people, faces pressed against the windows, hands grabbing at boxes, voices shouting “how much for this?” My Grandfather, with steamy coffee in hand, simply said “We’re not open for business yet”. The crowd mumbled, and dissolved back into the blackness... I stood there confused and astonished at what had just transpired. “Why didn’t we sell anything?!” ……. “All in good time…….now let’s go get a donut” my Grandfather replied. Distracted by sugary fried dough, I quickly dismissed the incident. The sun rose, we set up our tables, and were now “Open for business.” As I surveyed our merchandise, I remember thinking –‘what a bunch of junk!’ Old tools, furniture, engine parts, rusty bolts, small motors, and many things I had no idea what they were, or even what they’re used for. Who would want to buy this stuff? But, much to my surprise, for the next several hours a steady stream of people paraded by our stand money in hand. I closely watched my Grandfather “wheel and deal” with these patrons. I was trying to make rhyme or reason of his selling strategy. If he told a person the item was ten dollars and they gave him the ten dollars, he seemed a bit put off. If the person offered him two dollars he politely declined. If the person offered five, he would counter with eight and they would finally settle on six, both parties smiling- satisfied with the transaction. I was finally starting to catch on…. then my Grandfather threw a curve ball- A rather rude (and obviously in a hurry) woman came up to the stand and picked up a weird copper fish mold. “How much?” She barked. “Five dollars” Grandpa replied. “That’s too much! I’ll give you a dollar” “No, thank you” ……. “Well, three dollars but no more!” “No, thank you” ……”Well how much then?!” She snorted. With crooked smile my Grandfather replied “six dollars.” The woman turned red, mumbled something under her breath, and stomped off to continue her miserable day. Awhile later, an elderly woman approached, greeted us with a smile and picked up that same weird fish mold. “How much are you asking for this, sir?” She politely asked. Grandpa cocked an eyebrow, widened his grin and asked. “Do you really like that ugly thing” The woman nodded. “Well my dear you can have it for free, just so I don’t have to look at it anymore.” She thanked us humbly, and went on with her wonderful day. I was confused yet impressed. I learned a lot that day- A lot about 7-mile fair, people, selling, and my Grandfather. Years later, when I was well into my teens, I had the chance to sell once again with my Grandfather. He was quite ill with cancer at the time and wasn’t able to get out of the car. I went and got us a donut poured the coffee and waited for the sun to come up to flip the “open” sign. Even though I was now in charge of the wheeling and dealing, I would still go to his car window to get his twist on the situation. Now 30 some odd years after that first day, I still frequent 7 mile fair on an almost weekly basis. Though I do a lot more buying than I do selling nowadays, I never have forgotten those basic rules: One man’s junk is another man’s treasure; Don’t pay the asking price; Politeness breeds respect. Hopefully in another 50 years, I’ll be there for your 100th anniversary- smile on my face, coffee and donut in hand.

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