During their travels, Sarah and the state fair queen establish close ties. Past queens often tease Sarah about meeting the newly-crowned queen at the state convention with her “adoption papers,” unofficially making her part of Sarah’s family.

“I really get attached to the girls,” Sarah said. “I’ve been invited to some of their weddings and other big events and I feel like another mother to them.”

While the young women improve their speaking ability and gain self-esteem, poise and confidence, Sarah said she feels just as rewarded.

“There is nothing I like better than to see the changes in a girl during the year,” Sarah said. “She’s like a new person by the time her reign is over.”

The Fair Tradition: Pennsylvania is home to 116 county and community fairs that stretch from April through October each year, and the Department of Agriculture has budgeted $4 million to support the fair system through reimbursements and capital improvement grants.

Last year, the department developed a new program that recognized 36 “Century Fairs,” events that have been operating for more than 100 years, and four “Bicentennial Fairs” for those that have passed the 200-year mark.

Most fairs were started by farmers to exhibit their home-grown produce, foods and arts and crafts, and to compete with their livestock. Over time, and as fewer people were raised in a farm environment, the fairs became a way to showcase agriculture.

Farm families have been participating in fairs for generations. Preparation for next year’s show begins the day after this year’s fair is over. Many families see the fair as a vacation – it’s a break from the day-to-day work at the farm – and they set up campers or tents on the fairgrounds, or sleep right in the barn on beds made of straw bales for the entire week.

What keeps people coming back to the county fair? Because the fairs are built on such rich traditions, a sense of community evolves year after year, generation after generation. Those who have moved away from their hometowns return every summer to attend their county fairs. Even folks who are not from farms have gotten caught up in the fair magic – they enter food products, photographs and arts and crafts just to be a part of the phenomenon.

“It gets in your blood and it becomes your niche,” Sarah said. “I like the people involved with the fairs – they have become sincere and good friends.”

Fairs are organized and run almost solely on volunteer help. Sarah and her husband of 50 years, Frank Long, who passed away in the spring, dedicated more than 30 years to their local fair, the Sinking Valley Community Fair. Two of their eight children are now members of the fair board of directors and their son, Greg, is president.

While the Longs’ local fair isn’t large compared to others in the state, Sarah said it’s one of the best.

“We may not have quantity but we do have quality,” she said.

Weddings and receptions have been held at the fairgrounds (one of Sarah and Frank’s sons was married at Sinking Valley) and an annual fund-raising haunted house is set up for Halloween.

In honor of Frank’s tireless commitment to improving the Sinking Valley Fair, this year’s fair, Sept. 11-15, will be dedicated to him.

“This fair was such a huge part of his life; his vision helped build it through the years,” Sarah said.

After selling their dairy herd in the early 1990’s, the Longs were able to devote more time to the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs and to visit more than 80 fairs across Pennsylvania. They even traveled internationally to England and Canada to see other fairs.

Frank served as a board member of the state association for 16 years and Sarah was elected to his position after he retired. They are the first husband-and-wife team to sit on the board, lending their combined experience to further the state program for the benefit of all the local shows. Together, they attended every state fair convention since 1976. In 2001, Frank was named Pennsylvania’s “Fair Person of the Year.”

Apart from her involvement with the fair associations, Sarah is one of three women who serve on the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau board of directors. She chairs the Women’s Leadership Committee and has been a member of that panel for eight years.

For all of her community efforts, Sarah was recognized by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce with their annual Agriculture Community Excellence Award in 1999.

Thanks to her help, and countless volunteers like her, nearly 6 million people visit Pennsylvania fairs to learn about agriculture and enjoy funnel cakes, cotton candy and hot sausage sandwiches, ride the Ferris wheel, see the world’s largest pig or pet a calf.

Pennsylvania fairs are steeped in tradition – from the farmers to the queens. As Sarah tells the state fair queen contestants each year, “You’re making memories to last a lifetime.”