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50 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE JULY 2023 In 1949, a high school agriculture teacher asked his students to seek signatures on a petition asking people to support the county to build the new Bon- neville County fairgrounds on Rollandet Ave. Gor- don Moir, a junior in high school, participated in gathering those signatures. His father, Jack, was on the fair board. e new facilities were built with two cinder block barns being the first to house the ani- mals. Soon aer, a wash barn, sale building and a large building on the hill for cooking and sewing projects were built. is property was five acres. With the FFA high school projects plus the 4H projects, the county fair flourished. en the high schools dropped the FFA program, leaving only the 4H youth. By 1980 when the Foothill 4H club started, all animals from four clubs could be housed in one of the two barns. e 4H program started to grow until both barns were full and a large tent had to be brought in to house extra animals. en Bonneville High School brought back FFA, which also helped. Parking, safety and space problems increased, showing a need for new facilities since five acres were not enough. ere was no space for the 4H horse program, so the horse part of the fair had to take place at borrowed arenas. e county fairboard finally decided to look into new fairgrounds. ey split into pairs and went north, south, east, and west looking at all county fairgrounds to see what others had and what was needed. It was a good effort of research, but it was still just a dream. e County Commissioners, Roger Christensen, Bryon Reed, and Dave Radford saw the need because of growth and safety prob- lems, and the new fairgrounds became a reality. In 2017 approximately 50 acres were purchased south of Sandy Downs for the new fairgrounds. On the grounds was a very large building that would be a great starting point to house animals. e original fairgrounds were sold to the city and new facilities planned. ese new facilities were to be used year around, not just the week of the fair. In 2018, work began on the Educational Complex, which houses offices for 4H and University of Ida- ho Extension services. e south part of the building was to be used for family and con- sumer science projects. at same year, the Melaleuca and swine barn was completed. e first county fair was held on the new fairgrounds in August of 2019. In 2020, the Bank of Commerce horse arenas were com- pleted. e beef barn and the Westmark horse barn were completed in 2021, followed by the small animal building and the picnic shelter in 2022. CELEBRATE LIFE At the Enjoy a Fair Time By Susan Stucki