The 1939-built long exhibition hall that’s in desperate need of repair now has a glimmer of hope.

The Friends of the Dickinson County Fair was chosen earlier this month as the third-quarter donation recipient by the Dickinson County 100-Plus Women Who Care.

Trisha Peterson of 100-Plus Women said although the non-profit hasn’t received all the checks from its absent members, she projects it to be about the same or more than last quarter’s donations that totaled more than $17,000 for the Medical Care Access Coalition.

“I floated home — it was amazing,” said Lisa Bedard, president of the Friends of the Dickinson County Fair, adding the group has attended the 100-Plus Women meetings for more than four years in hopes of being selected.

Lisa Bedard and Rob Barkle of the Friends of the Dickinson County Fair check out the windows and doors that need to be replaced on the long exhibition hall building at the fairgrounds in Norway. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

“We were picked one time to speak about three years ago but didn’t win,” she said. “I went this time feeling very positive, and was chosen, along with two other wonderful causes, the Friends of the Braumart and the Niles Hiltunen Benefit Fund, to give a presentation.”

“It was just our turn — we really need it,” Bedard added.

The funds will go to the long list of repairs needed to the “concession row” building, she said.

“It won’t cover everything, but it’s a start,” she said. “Our buildings are old and need a lot of help.”

The first priority is to address the leaking roof and then look to replace the windows, doors and siding.

The building houses the canning, bakery and antiques during the fair week. The racing association has also set up shop in the end section nearest to the grandstand.

Their goal is to keep the historic features of the building during the restoration, including the interior tin ceiling and archways.

“The facade is so cool, it’s like an old antique storefront,” she said. “It’s a showpiece.”

The Friends will begin to seek estimates for materials, as well as reach out to the community for skilled laborers willing to donate time for the project.

“We are very excited for everyone who wins, but it’s exciting for the Friends of the Fair to win. They will be able to make improvements to our biggest county park that receives the most visitors,” said Trisha Peterson of 100-Plus Women.

“I’m so proud the women stepped up for this,” Bedard said. “We can’t thank them enough — it’s great.”

Bedard said she felt it was important to talk about the history of the fairgrounds, as so many are unaware that it goes back 115 years.

In 1910, a group of businessmen and farmers donated teams of horses and wagons to haul clay from the river to build the first track. They worked 24 hours a day, for two or three weeks.

All the timbers that were used to build each structure on the fairgrounds were harvested from the mines in Norway. This included the large exhibition building, barn, grandstand, concession row and several other small buildings on the grounds.

Bedard said WPA workers were paid $2 a day and lived in the barracks they built on the grounds.

Dickinson County hosted its first fair in 1910.

“Can you imagine the history out here? We need to save these amazing buildings,” she said.

“That’s what makes the Dickinson County fairgrounds so unique.”

Bedard said the goal of the Friends of the Fair is to preserve, improve, promote and protect the fairgrounds and the fair.

The group started with the paperwork to receive their 501(c)(3) status in 2018 and was granted in 2019.

Since that time, they have been working diligently to raise funds by applying for grants and hosting fundraisers.

“We want to make a difference, and I think together we can,” she said.

Each year, the non-profit decides what projects they need to focus on.

They recently received a large grant from the Henry Family Foundation that was added to a few smaller grants for the purchase of security cameras.

“We just recently gave that over to the fair board,” Bedard said.

They are always accepting donations for ongoing upgrades at the fairgrounds.

Donors can also earmark their money to go towards specific projects.

“We know this community supports the fairgrounds, and has a lot of wonderful people that have hearts of gold,” she said.

Bedard noted her hands are full right now with the fair, but they will begin to apply for more grants this fall.

“It’s no small feat to put on this kind of a party,” she said. “Last year we had almost 67,000 people come through the gates.”

Bedard reminds the community that all the buildings on the fairgrounds are available for rent.

The fairgrounds also has about 140 campsites that include water and electricity that are available from spring through the fall. They also have a dump station and each site has its own fire pit.

“We really want to promote the fairgrounds more,” she said.

In addition to Bedard, other board members are vice president Tricia Cayemberg, secretary Emily Gunville and treasurer Cheryl Carlson.

“We are a very dedicated group of volunteers and would love new members,” Bedard added.

Anyone wishing to make a donation or to volunteer their time can reach out to them through their Facebook page Friends of the Dickinson County Fair, email fdcfnorway@gmail.com or call the office to get a message to a member.

The next quarterly meeting of the Dickinson County 100-Plus Women Who Care will be Monday, Nov. 24.

———

Terri Castelaz can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85241, or tcastelaz@ironmountaindailynews.com.