County fair season puts a year’s worth of ordinary work on display. A calf had to be fed in winter and summer heat. Tomatoes had to be planted and canned. Bread required practice, a photograph required an eye for the right moment and a quilt may represent months of patient work. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken looks beyond midway lights to the agricultural and educational purpose that has always been at the center of Oklahoma fairs. Farmers once came together to compare crops and livestock, study new methods and escape some of the isolation of rural life. Today, 4-H members, exhibitors and families continue that tradition. County fairs give young people a place to have their work evaluated, learn from the result and, in some cases, earn a place at the Oklahoma State Fair. Before there is a champion, there is work — and much of that work still begins at the county fair.