Rusty Patterson: a Fair Account of History.

By: Grace Smith – Wise News Network

SHELBY, NC (WNN) – If you were to ask Rusty Patterson about his favorite memories of the Cleveland County Fair from his childhood, he would reminisce about the rides and the animals; but if you were to inquire about his current preferences, he would share his love for the stories.

Patterson, a retired Executive Director of Foundation for Cleveland Community College, has devoted an extensive amount of time to documenting the rich history of Cleveland County. He authored six books from 2000 to 2011, all of which delve into various aspects of the Cleveland County area.

“After college I became a history buff, but I think I always had an interest,†said Patterson.

His most recent book is about the Cleveland County Fair, an annual tradition that has brought the community together since 1924. The fair has missed few dates in the near century it has been around. Recently, it was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Patterson’s most recent book, “Images of America: Cleveland County Fair,” explores images of the fair throughout the years. He wrote this book with his wife in their first year of marriage, after the passing of his co-author, Barry Hambright. “Cleveland County Fair†can be purchased on Amazon, the Barnes and Noble online store and a variety of other online locations.

All of Patterson’s books have been published by Arcadia Publishing, a publishing company based out of South Carolina. It is standard for Arcadia to give their authors nine months to finish their books. This is a tight deadline for such an in-depth project and can prove to be stressful.

“If you can write a book with your wife in your first year of marriage and come out the other side, you can survive anything,” said Patterson with a chuckle.

The process of writing this book was a thorough adventure for the author. The Cleveland County Fair reached out to Patterson and asked him to write the book, documenting the untold history of this major event. They gave him thousands of pictures, and it was up to him and his wife to decipher the stories behind the images.

“The fair had probably 10,000 interesting older black-and-white photos, with virtually no information on the back end. So we were only able to use the photos that we found background or history to tell the story,” said Patterson.

Some of the photos had descriptions written on the backs, but for the most part, he had to speak with older fairgoers to understand the subjects of the pictures.

In the months leading up to writing the book, he interviewed several individuals. Patterson often spoke with Joe Goforth, the former Cleveland County fair manager, who would then recommend others to talk to. He met many dedicated attendees; some gentlemen never missed a single year of the fair in their entire lives.

“The best way [to find stories] was to interview two or three of them because one would have a recollection, the other would have another recollection, and they would just start to feed off of each other,” said Patterson.

He spent months recounting tales from Cleveland County’s elders as his subjects relived their childhood years. Many of them were fans of the Cleveland County Speedway.

The half-mile track was built in 1924, and races of all kinds were held there. What began as horse races eventually transformed into NASCAR events, attracting Hall of Fame racers from all over the south.

The race track was one of the most popular attractions, but several fairgoers went for the unique dining experiences. The Cleveland County Fair inspired many culinary traditions, including vinegar-dipped French fries. Patterson’s favorite fair food is a ham biscuit from the Piedmont Shriner’s booth.

According to “Cleveland County Fairâ€, many civic and fraternal organizations around the county would set up food stands or donation booths to raise money for their groups and causes.

Like any fair, the rides were also a major attraction. Patterson’s book is filled with images of smiling children as they enjoy the fair rides.

The livestock exhibits also brought a lot of traction and economic growth to the Cleveland County area. Families would submit animals to livestock competitions and winners would take home cash prizes. Economic development driven by livestock and agriculture is explored in depth in the chapter “Agriculture Impacts Economic Development,†of his book.  

Patterson had a copy of Cleveland County Fair where he collected signatures from major players in the history of the Cleveland County Fair. As he flipped through the pages, signatures from NASCAR racers, fairgoers, and a variety of attractions passed beneath his fingers.

“I’ve gotten a bunch to sign it,†said Patterson as he looked at a page with NASCAR photos. 

Patterson cherished his time spent researching for his book. He heard many stories. When asked about his favorite story from his research, he laughed and shook his head.

“I wasn’t allowed to print them, so those are gonna go to the grave,†said Patterson. 

Although he honored the wishes of those who asked him never to repeat their stories, Patterson expressed the importance of maintaining an oral tradition so other people’s stories live on after they pass.

“If you’ve got a grandparent, sit down and talk to them and get their stories…find an older person to sit down and ask them to record their stories,†said Patterson.

An interview that was originally about the historic Cleveland County Fair and his writing process turned into a conversation about maintaining an oral tradition and keeping history alive.

Interested in attending?

• The 2023 Cleveland County Fair will take place Sep. 28 through Oct. 8 at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds, Shelby, NC. 

Article by Grace Smith – Wise News Network

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