LUCASVILLE- Since every fair board member claims they dedicate their hard work to the kids, The Portsmouth Daily Times sent Junior Reporter Josie Whisman, nine, to the Scioto County Fair this week to taste the foods, ride the rides and mingle with fairgoers. She spoke with many and took in a lot of diverse experiences herself to fairly and accurately report on the activities.

According to Whisman, who was recording her thoughts into an old, but nostalgic, voice recorder held together by Superman Duck Tape that has followed her uncle along his 13-year journey in journalism, the benefits of the fair begin the moment you park your car begin to walk, as it is a great way to get exercise and let the excitement of the approaching fair build.

As soon as Whisman entered the fair, she saw two friends gathered around a food truck and approached them, ready to engage in her first interview.

The friends were Eva Martin and Heather Myers.

Whisman was eager to find out if Martin had tried any of the thrilling fair rides, which Martin said she hadn’t yet, but planned on soon. She had tried some of the food, however.

“I had some French fries, but not my regular elephant ear,” Martin said. “The French fries were excellent, and I highly recommend them.”

Josie’s first food order would be the French fries to verify her claim, believing them to be the freshest French fries she’s had in her experienced nine years of living.

“This is just a place we can all visit and catch up with the friends and family we may not see any other time of the year,” Martin said, when asked about her favorite element of the fair. “There are a lot of people I don’t get to regularly see, so it is nice seeing them.”

Josie followed the interview with a lemon shakeup, claiming it was the best lemonade she had ever tasted.

She found two more fairgoers making their way past the 4-H barns and was excited to continue learning from them.

Ali Thompson, of the Portsmouth Area Children’s Theatre, spoke to Whisman. Thompson was spending the day of fun with her mother, Kathy.

“I haven’t ridden any rides yet,” Thompson said to Whisman’s disappointment, hoping to get an insider’s look at what ride she should take on first. “I hope to ride the Ferris wheel soon, though.”

Whisman was shocked, saying she thought the Ferris wheel was a little scary. Thompson agreed but said that she was going to have her mother with her for support.

Satisfied, Whisman moved her line of questioning towards the food.

“I love the corn dogs,” Thompson said, before being urged to explain why by the intrepid reporter. “You just can’t get any other corn dog like it outside of the fair. It is so good.”

Thompson also said that she enjoys the lemon shakeups, which earned her street cred with Whisman.

When asked what she thought was important about the fair, Thompson had an easy answer.

“I’m the director of the children’s theatre and I like to visit and see my 4-H kids showcasing their animals,” Thompson said, excited to turn the conversation away from corn dogs and towards the kids she serves. “Some have horses, some have rabbits and chickens. It is nice supporting them.”

Thompson congratulated Whisman on her careful reporting and then asked if she did a good job interviewing. Whisman agreed and congratulated her as well.

Whisman found another theatre person, this time Kelli Riffe of the Portsmouth Little Theatre, who was handing out pamphlets on their upcoming season. Riffe was with two friendly faces: Eva Martin and Heather Myers, from Whisman’s first interview.

Riffe was all about the fair food. When asked about her favorite, she decided to list them off in order of importance.

“Well, number one is the fried vegetables. Elephant ears are number two. Lemonade, number three. Candy Apples, number four,” Riffe said with absolution.

Walking around, Whisman was excited to run into her Uncle Bobby Whisman. She promised to report factually and without bias, despite the relationship. Whisman was sitting in a comfortable chair at the fair board office, listening to the high school bands.

“I love sitting under this shade tree, listening to the high school bands play,” Whisman told her.

While listening to a band perform, Whisman decided she needed input from one of the members but found two.

The first band kid to eagerly give an interview was Emma Riffe, member of the Wheelersburg High School Band as a tambourine player.

“We were here to play for everyone today,” Riffe explained. “The fair is very, very fun. This is my third year of band and I love coming down here to perform and walk around with a lemonade shakeup. Of course, we normally play in competitions or on the field. We want to make sure everyone in the Wheelersburg area feels free to always stop by a football game and watch us perform.”

Leia Lynn was another band kid to agree to an interview.

“My favorite part of the fair is this sic cowboy hat I bought, but I also like playing for the band,” Lynn said. “I like being able to play with my friends and then enjoy the fair with them afterward.”

Jerry Gampp was also around the band performances when Whisman stopped him for his professional opinion. Gampp serves on the Scioto County Fair Board.

Determined for input on rides, she immediately got back on course to that line of questioning.

“Which ride do I like the most? Big rides or little rides?” Gampp clarified. “Out of them all, I like the flying gondolas, but it is kind of scary. It is the big, tall one.”

Whisman was pleased and asked him what was important about the fair.

“The fair is for the kids. That’s the reason we put it on. We have a junior fair, and it is for kids to bring and exhibit and show their animals,” Gampp said. “We have 400 kids in the barn, and they all make a little money off their animals. Some of the projects were nine months and some were only six weeks. We just hope everyone comes out to the fair to support our kids. It is one of the best in the state of Ohio.”

Whisman agreed with him, adding that the animals looked very happy, everyone appeared to be having a good time, and the food was amazing.

After interviewing many fairgoers, getting a good look at the benefits of the fair from many perspectives, Whisman spent the remaining hours testing out rides, eating food, and playing close to every game the fair had to offer.

She rode nearly every large ride, saying vertigo was her favorite, but zero gravity was also good.

However, if you’ve just eaten a lot of junk food, she recommends that guests maybe consider the bumper cars for a good warm up before they start spinning around. This was after looking at her mother’s distress on zero gravity with a stomach full of greasy food.

Whisman played many games and won two stuffed cats, a sword, and four goldfish in which all were named Jeremy. She then considered calling them all Johnsons, in which her mother absolutely vetoed and said she would explain why when she was older.

Whisman still had a lot of energy after her many interviews and test rides, but her mother did not and knew she had a new fish tank to set up when she got home, so they all called it a day just after the ride lights came on for the night.

Whisman said it was a successful day.

The fair welcomed thousands this year, providing them with a plethora of entertaining acts, 4-H happenings, and fair events. Planning for the next county fair is already underway, according to Gampp, and a schedule for next year’s dates will be released soon.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved. Josie Whisman is a junior reporter and niece of Pratt