BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS -- Everything Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters needs to make his bid to become Ohio's next treasurer is in place -- the consultants, the media advisers, the high-tech, state-of-the-art campaign organization.
![[]](/editions/1998/08/19/deters_120x173.jpg)
State treasurer candidate Joe Deters, right, gets pointers on working the crowd at the Ohio State Fair from former Gov. James A. Rhodes.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
But he still needs somebody to show him around the swine barn. That is where James A. Rhodes, the 88-year-old former Ohio governor, comes in. Mr. Rhodes, governor for four terms, practically invented the Ohio State Fair, and he will tell you so.
Tuesday, perched on a golf cart with Mr. Deters and his wife, Missy, Mr. Rhodes was the Republican candidate's personal tour guide through the fairgrounds and guru on the fine and nearly lost art of retail, one-on-one, hand-shaking and baby-kissing campaigning. "You got to grab every hand you see," said Mr. Rhodes, who is generally credited with building the Ohio State Fair into one of the largest in the nation.
"Look 'em in the eye. Pat the kiddies on the head. Kiss the babies. Tell the grandmas they look like a million. That's the way they remember you."
And, at the Ohio State Fair, they remember Mr. Rhodes, particularly in the livestock barns, where the farm families from Ohio's rural counties come to show their prize animals.
They remember Mr. Rhodes because he was the governor who spent every night at the fairgrounds -- personally handling the auction, cajoling the business people into writing big checks for the 4-H kids' livestock.
Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Deters, his wife and their three children met the former governor at the Fair Administration Building, and, loading onto two golf carts, took off on an afternoon ride with frequent stops to press the flesh.
For Mr. Rhodes, food is the indispensable ingredient at the fair, and he insisted that the first stop be at the booth of Der Dutchman, a Plain City restaurant run by an Amish family.
"Fix up 10 of those roast beef sandwiches, honey," Mr. Rhodes yelled from the golf cart to a young Amish girl behind the counter. As usual, the governor planned to feed the entire entourage: the Deterses, his campaign aides and anybody who wandered by.
"Best food at the fair," the governor exclaimed, wolfing down a pile of roast beef between slices of fresh-baked Amish bread. "Better than some greasy hamburger. These people know their food." While he was eating, the governor noticed two women, Pat and Nancy Blume -- sisters and teachers from Upper Arlington -- eating at a nearby picnic table.
"Joe, get up and talk to those ladies," Mr. Rhodes barked. "Go on now."
The candidate did as he was told and chatted pleasantly with them for a while. The women waved at the governor sitting nearby in his golf cart. "He's such a darling," Nancy Blume said.
After lunch, it was on to the cattle barn, where Mr. Deters -- behind the wheel of the golf cart -- slipped up and down the long aisles of cattle stalls, stopping to chat with farm families. Most of them recognized Mr. Rhodes and shook his hand.
"This is my friend, Joe Deters, running for treasurer," Mr. Rhodes said. "Gotta help him. Good man. Good family. Good for Ohio."
Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Deters spent about half an hour in the cattle barn -- which is named after former Gov. John Gilligan, whose term as governor in the 1970s came between Mr. Rhodes' two eight-year stints.
A young Deters campaign volunteer asked the former governor whether he had anything to do with naming the building after Mr. Gilligan.
"Why, of course I did; I named all these places," Mr. Rhodes said. "First, I beat his butt; then I named a cow barn after him. "This fair was nothing when I became governor," Mr. Rhodes went on, warming to the subject. "This place was a dump. Built a lot of buildings; poured a lot of money into it. Opened up the gates early. Let the kids ride the rides for free. I made this fair."
Out of the corner of his eye, Mr. Rhodes watched as Joe and Missy Deters walked up and down the barn, shaking hands with everyone in sight.
"He's catching on quick," Mr. Rhodes said, beaming. "That boy is good. He'll go far."
![[]](/editions/1998/08/19/deters_415x600.jpg)