BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
CHEVIOT -- Billed as "the biggest little fair in Ohio," this week's Harvest Home Fair goes back to a time when Cincinnati's west side was a collection of small towns and lots of open farmland.
From the time of its 6 p.m. kickoff parade Thursday, fairgoers will find tradition and longevity are as much a part of Harvest Home as animals, baking contests and music.
"I remember the fair during the first World War," said Bill Owen, 89, a fair worker for nearly 40 years. "It was a day affair at that time. It was mostly farm stuff. There were horses and cattle. Everything around here was country."
Harvest Home is older than some county fairs and predates the Civil War. The first fair was in 1859.
It runs Friday through Sunday. The fair raises upward of $100,000 for the Kiwanis Club of Cheviot-Westwood.
The highlight, some say, is Thursday's parade. "It's the parade of parades," Cincinnati Councilman Tyrone K. Yates said.
The parade, among the largest in the Tristate, features about 230 units and lasts three hours. It's about 30 years old and attracts more attention than the fair.
"It's impossible to miss it," Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said. "It rivals Oktoberfest as far as attention that it gets in the media."
It's a must-do procession for any area politician, the lifelong west-sider said.
"This is one way to get your face in front of a whole lot of people very quickly," he said. "This is real America."
Though the fair has grown larger -- and the west side more suburban -- the event has not forgotten its roots, say the Kiwanians, who put on the three-day show.
Bakers, with visions of blue ribbons, still bring their pies, coffee cakes and breads to be judged. Contests to seek out the best fruits, vegetables and homemade wines are always under way.
The mainstay of the fair has always been the horse show, a 53-year tradition.
There will be jumping contests, races and a western show Saturday evening.
"It is the fabric of the west side of town," Mr. Bedinghaus said.
