Tractor displays, taste-testing part of celebration that begins today

Colorful pennants flapped in the breeze Thursday near the entrance to the North Idaho State Fair, hung in preparation to greet fairgoers during opening day today. 

Nearby at the tractor and engine display, Roger Hahn of Rathdrum carefully positioned his 1941 Model B John Deere tractor among its fellows.

Collecting vehicles has become somewhat of a hobby for him and he now owns five tractors. 

“I used to be an auto mechanic, I just have it in my blood, I guess,” Hahn said of his love for fixing engines. 

Hahn said he was attending the fair a few years ago when he struck up a conversation with the people heading up the tractors and engine display. When he expressed his interest in the pieces on display, they told him to bring in his favorite tractor.

Since then, he looks forward to summer days at the fair and talking about vehicles and engines with like-minded people, which goes well with the fair's theme, "Keeping Tradition Alive."

“There’s no computers,” Hahn said. “It’s carburetors and things I know how to fix.” 

For kids with an interest in what makes engines run, Hahn said there are activities at the station to ignite some interest in how machines move. 

The day at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds began early for Sara Bennett as she led a group to judge foods entered in the culinary competition at the fair. Bennett, a Rathdrum resident, has been superintendent of the culinary department for several years now and said the process can be a long one to finalize the scoring. 

The taste-testing was still going on at 1 p.m. 

“Everything we’re doing today is tasting and we started at 8:30,” Bennett said. 

The opening ceremony for the fair is at 4 p.m. today at the main gate.

    Rathdrum resident Sara Bennett takes a break from taste-testing baked goods Thursday to show off some of the culinary and craft entries on display at the North Idaho State Fair. Bennett has been the superintendent of the culinary department and said the judging last much of the day. The group started at 8:30 a.m. and was still sampling foods at 1 p.m.
  

    A LEGO display in the crafts and culinary section of the North Idaho State Fair honored first responders. The design was created by Jude Anderson as a youth entry and had a message thanking first responders.