Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair begins with new director

FLORENCE — The Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday for the first time in 52 years without a Jones at the helm.

Pat Lee is the new executive director/manager for the fair, which runs through Sunday. She takes over for Bobby Jones, who died in December. Bobby Jones took over from his father when he died in the 1960s.

“Bobby was 14 when he first started working out here,” Lee said. “I worked with both him and his daddy.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair
WHEN: Today through Sunday
WHERE: Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fairgrounds, 5226 E. Palmetto St., Florence
COST: Prices vary on certain days
INFO: (843) 665-5173
ON THE WEB: www.ecafair.com

Lee used her vacation time at BellSouth to work at the fair. She retired in 1992 after working at BellSouth for 30 years.

“I’m trying to do the best I can to make sure we have a good fair this year,” she said during an interview in her office at the fairgrounds. “We’re going to have a lot of entertainment and new rides.

“But it’s going to be different without Bobby because we worked together for so many years. He was like a brother to me. It was hard when he first passed away. I would come into the office and be waiting for him, but there was no Bobby coming in the door.”

Lee is confident things will go smoothly. After all, she has been the master organizer since she came aboard. Simply put, she has the event “down pat.”

“Once you do it, you enjoy it,” she said. “It just gets in your blood.”

And it has to because preparations for the annual fair begin far in advance. Planning will begin for the 2010 fair as soon as the 2009 edition is history.

“We work about four hours a day throughout the year,” Lee said. “Things don’t just come together; it’s a daily thing.”

Lee enjoys seeing the carnival people each year. She says they’re very family-oriented and she helps them in anyway she can.

Lee said the first day is the most hectic.

“It’s setup day and everybody wants their passes and everything else,” she said. “I handle most of that. But I have a lot of help from people who have been working in the office for years.”

Meanwhile, finding the parents or guardians of children is imperative when children get lost. Lee had one child who stayed with her for about six hours when the fair was at Florence’s airport. She gave him candy, popcorn and a drink. He was fine. He even went to sleep.

“I think some parents actually lose their children on purpose just so they can enjoy the fair and have a babysitter,” she said. “But then the vast majority are petrified. We just try to keep the children calm until their parents get back to them.”

While she isn’t much for the rides because “they’re just too fast for me,” Lee is partial to the food. Her favorite is a sausage dog with no onions.

The fair was held at the Florence airport when Lee started in 1966. The fair that year had more than 180,000 in attendance.

And there are probably others who remember the 1966 fair. Among those winning prizes 43 years ago were Diane Holloman, 10, of Effingham, a transistor radio; Robert Horton, 11, Florence, a bicycle; and Hampton Johnson, 9, Pamplico, a bicycle.

But perhaps the happiest of all the prize winners was Randy Godbolt, 6, of Florence. He won a pony.

And fast-forward to the present, some things never change. The telephone is ringing constantly. Most of the callers want to know when the fair is starting, what are the hours and how much the rides cost.