By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Brian Rossbach of Fitchburg, Mass., competes in the 5,000-pound-class tractor pull at the Hillsborough County Fair on Friday, Sept. 8. Rossbach drove his 1957 Ford tractor, one of more than 70 other tractors at his dairy farm. (The Goffstown News/Bruce Preston)

The Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair has long drawn thousands to this rural community, and this year’s event managed to exceed organizers’ high expectations.

“This year is a record-breaker,” said fair secretary Jennifer Brown on a busy Saturday night. With carnival sounds and the smell of fried snacks thick in the air, the bray of farm animals and county music mingled with a woodcutters’ chainsaw to create a gentle cacophony one could only hear at a rural country fair.

The fair, which opened on Friday, Sept. 8, had drawn more than 7,000 people in its first two nights, according to secretary Sue Frost.

The heavy turnout filled up its four allotted parking lots, with overflow going into other lots and people parking at the fairgrounds’ entrance on Route 13.

The event ran through Sunday, Sept. 10, offering a bevy of attractions designed to appeal to a country sensibility, Brown said.

“This is a local, agricultural fair, so those are the type of attractions you’ll find here,” Brown said.

Fittingly, some of the events featured throughout the weekend included tractor pulls, horse-riding competitions, judged projects of arts, crafts and foods, and exhibits from local organizations promoting rural activities.

Some of those exhibits were featured in the French Building, an exhibit hall showcasing local Grange organizations and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extention’s Circle of Home and Family.

The Grange displays reflect the organization’s values by including an open Bible, an American flag and bread, said Joe English Grange secretary Charlene Hooper.

“We’re a Bible-based organization, we’re patriotic and we show that with our displays,” Hooper said.

The French Building had drawn a steady stream of visitors throughout the day interested in learning more about the Grange, Hooper said.

The Hillsborough County 4-H Foundation food booth also attracted a number of visitors, with hungry customers crowding in for hamburgers, hot dogs, and the “Loaded Baked Potato,” a one-pound spud with butter, sour cream, bacon and cheese making for one of the booth’s most popular items.

“We have our regular customers that we see every year, and we’ve had a lot of new people come by,” said Jessica Leonard of Hollis, the booth supervisor who continues a family tradition of working the county fair set by her mother and grandmother.

“We’ve been busy and it’s been hot, but it’s running smoothly,” said Leonard, noting that constant communication serves as the key to success in running the booth.

The petting tent sponsored by Blue Seal Feeds of Milford also attracted several families with children as young as toddlers eager to reach out to the creatures on display.

“I think the pigs are the most popular animals,” said Loren White of Greenfield, one of the Blue Seal employees watching over the petting tent.

“There are a lot of farms around where kids can see horses and goats, but pigs are more of a rarity. The kids really seem to love them,” White said.

Maureen and Mike Cook, owners of Cook’s Forge from Weare, also saw many attendees visit their booth to witness them engage in some superheated metal work.

“They love it when we bend the metal,” Maureen Cook said of the spectators, many of whom received souvenirs of metal leaves and wall hooks.

“We’re getting a lot of good response, especially from the kids,” she said.