LOGANSPORT — On July 8, a sweltering Wednesday, Indianapolis resident Cliff Pappe parked his 2008 Mercury Mariner under a shade tree at the Cass County 4-H Fairgrounds near Logansport.
He was there in the afternoon when the atmosphere was more laid back and most concessions were closed. Tom’s Tasty Taters didn’t open until 5 p.m. He saw 4-H kids playing cornhole to pass the time and prized hogs lying on their sides in show pens cooled by industrial fans.
Pappe, a former 10-year 4-H member who grew up on a Noble County farm, is on a mission to attend all 92 county fairs. This was fair number nine.
He started the tour on June 9, another hot summer day, at the Brown County 4-H Fairgrounds in Nashville. Pappe cooled off with a Pickle Sickle — frozen dill pickle juice served in a cup — from the 4-H livestock food booth before it opened for the day.
“It was,” the 51-year-old Indiana National Guard chaplain said, “pickly.”
With Indiana on his mind during a 10-month deployment to Kuwait in 2024 and 2025, he hatched the county fair plan, mapping the annual events on a colored grid, indicating dates by week.
The week of July 13, he scheduled visits to fairs in Vigo, Parke, Fountain and Montgomery counties.
When he’s at the fairs, he attaches his phone to a handheld tripod to take photos and videos, interviewing people for social media posts. “I try to capture the spirit, the scenes of the day, by just walking around.”
At the Cass County Fairgrounds, Pappe talked to Andrea Smith, a volunteer with the 4-H cottontails club, about the 100 rabbits in the show barn. He took a video of llamas named Peaches and Kitten. He interviewed 12-year-old twin girls hosing down an American quarter horse, Libby, as they rubbed Dollar Store shampoo into her coat, preparing for show time.
He caught up with 2026 Miss Cass County Queen Lily Yax, who directed him to a vendor for a brownie sundae, a local fair favorite. He got one on the way out, the ice cream melting as he spooned it into his mouth, walking away from the deserted midway.
Eighty-three fairs to go.
“In five years, I can get to them all,” Pappe said.
Follow his journey on Instagram or TikTok.
FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.
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