The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

A s the crowd began to filter into the pa- vilion at the Columbia County Fairgrounds, I straightened my back a notch and affixed a smile to my face.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Heidi Miller, who is my fellow Columbia County Fair Hostess this year.

"Smile," I said. "Say hi. Show off our new outfits."

Indeed, our outfits this year are exception- ally showy. We've adopted a pink, black, and silver color scheme, which was reflected in the pavilion's décor on this particular night - the night of the Kickoff Dinner.

We began greeting peo- ple, pointing them towards the silent auction tables, telling them to enjoy the night.

Eventually, other fair courts showed up.

If memory serves, the first to arrive was the newly coronated Waitsburg Cel- ebration Days court, dressed smartly in silver and black. They were later followed by Junior Miss Rodeo Wash- ington, Little Miss Rodeo Washington, and Miss Ro- deo Sweetheart Washington. We shook their hands, ex- changed complements, and pointed them towards the special royalty table at the head of all the others.

After them came the Wal- la Walla Fair and Fronteir Days court. Heidi has a friend on that court, and as a result we spent most of the time leading up to the dinner speaking to these girls.

At one point, the Walla Walla queen complemented us on our belt buckles. (Fair and rodeo royalty wear very large belt buckles inscribed with their name and rank as well as the name of their fair and the year of their reign.)

"Thanks," I said. "Enjoy them while you can, because sooner or later the city of Dayton is gonna want its manhole covers back."

After dinner was served, the girls on the fair courts helped out with the live auc- tions. The twelve of us court girls trooped over to a table, where we each picked up a dessert. As the auctioneer prattled, one girl at a time would strut around the room, displaying the goods up for bids.

Towards the beginning of the auction, the auctioneer asked the crowd at large whether anyone had come here without planning to spend money.

Somebody raised their hand.

"And you're in for ten dollars!" he yelled.

So it went on. I tactfully avoided carrying cookies or éclairs or other individual items, because if a court girl brought a tray up for the auctioneer to examine he would invariably accuse her of eating a few.

Eventually, as he accosted one of the princesses from Walla Walla for allegedly having consumed two of the cheesecake bars out of her box, she gave him a flat "No."

Then, after a dramatic pause, she said: "I ate three."

Eventually, the people began to drain out of the building. Heidi and I bade the other courts goodbye, receiving a few unexpected hugs along the way. Then the two of us helped strip the tables and sweep the floor, returning the building to its pre-Kickoff state and proving that no royalty, how- ever well-dressed, should be above a little cleaning.