“We’re all in this together” has been a trite, and often false, statement of solidarity during the lockdowns. But in Tulare, California, that togetherness was real — and visible at the county fair.
The Tulare County Fair is one of many like it throughout the country, where agriculture and community combine for a fun week of rides, cotton candy, and concerts. Coronavirus restrictions have changed that this year, but Tulare managed to preserve the most important part of its fair.
Children in junior high and high school show animals at the fair every year, ranging from cows to pigs to rabbits. Market animals are sold at the end of the week, with the money going back to the people who worked to get the animals to show.
This year, one girl was unable to show her lamb. It had recently been discovered that the girl had a tumor, and she was undergoing chemotherapy. Her friend would show the lamb in her place. When the word spread throughout the auction hall, the lamb sold for double the usual amount.
But those in the auction hall were not finished. They raised paddle after paddle to add on to the total amount. By the time it was finished, the total had reached around $10,000. The moving display left her friend in tears.
This wasn’t the first such display from the Tulare County Fair either. In 2014, a similar add-on effort was done for a high school student who died in a car accident shortly before the fair. The add-on total for his lamb was just under $25,000, some of which his family used to establish a scholarship fund in his name and to donate back to his chapter of Future Farmers of America.
Often, it seems that our country is hopelessly divided, with neighbors at each other’s throats over national politics. But it’s important to remember that even in this time of restricted gatherings, our communities can be as strong and united as ever, and they will perservere.