Focus: Going Home to a ‘Middle’ of Fair Sights, Friends, Neighbors and a High Five

But, what about the middle? The end of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has always brought me, and many a “fair” kid, back to that middle haven. It’s home … It’s that time — the time when you held it and walked with it (that balloon that eventually got away) that made you smile — like a memory. Letting it go never takes that middle away. ~ Elaine Van Develde

Call it finding a new “middle.” The end of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair 2025 came on Saturday night.

The beginning of the end-of-summer tradition — for not only Fair Havenites, but the many who’ve bonded with it in a community brick-and-mortar-like solidarity — came more than 120 years ago.

The middle? It’s the mortar that bonds the foundation bricks of the house that community legacy built. The mind holds onto those middle moments. It reaches for them to walk with them in the comfort of what is home. It’s the part that you’re allowed to hold on tight to forever. You don’t have to ever let go of your “middle.” It’s yours to keep.

And sometimes, a new “middle” comes along and flat-out high fives you. It happened to this old forever Fair Havenite and fair kid.

Nostalgia and a little melancholy can grip a fair kid when they go home again. Oh, there are plenty of great new fair moments — ones that make your heart smile. Those “middle” moments of yesteryear never leave the mind though. Some of the favorites are no longer on the fair grounds. And just when you’re trying to reach back to hold on tighter, a new “middle” speaks to you in a baby’s new grin, reach and real high five.

Yes, I met little 1-year-old Christopher who gave me the biggest, happiest, fairest smile of all, sharing a piece of his own middle — his first Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair with this old forever fair kid at heart. My “middle” was created long ago. I hold on tight to it. I hope I am now part of his middle. He’s part of my new “middle” for sure. And so the fair legacy goes …

Here’s a glimpse into those fair moments and people that make up someone’s “middle” …

— Photos/Elaine Van Develde for R-FH Retro exclusively

FAIR RIDING

Hold on tight, because it’s really all about the ride. Forget about waiting in line in nerve-wracked anticipation to get on it. Forget the guise of regret when that ride comes to an end. ~ EVD

FAIR GAMING, FOOD AND FRIENDS

Teary eyed, she always used to remind me of her tradition and that she never forgets. No one does. No one forgets that middle. ~ EVD

FAIR FOREVER NEIGHBORS

My people of Parker were there still embracing their new fair moments, still home and coming home. Their faces say it all — Yes, you can go home again …