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Last month, when people from across the region gathered in the city’s south for the 175th Muskingum County Blue Ribbon Fair, a man seemed impossibly present at every event and ceremony.
Darrel Cubbison, now in his mid-80s, is arguably one of the most familiar faces every year. Having dated since he was a young boy, Cubbison is someone everyone seems to know and want to say hello to.
At the opening of this year’s fair, Darrel and his wife, Carol Cubbison, had the privilege of cutting the blue ribbon, marking the official start of the week’s festivities.
Surrounded by family and elected officials, the two had the opportunity in light of their important 60th wedding anniversary.
Cubbison spoke of how he attended the 100th Muskingum County Fair as a young man and the many memories he has from all of his years of attending.
“In addition to a few years in the military, I attended the county fair every year,” Cubbison said proudly.
The lifelong Muskingum County native laughed about the year he took chickens to the state fair, saying it didn’t necessarily go as planned.
As a teenager, Cubbison was heavily involved in both Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4H.
He then graduated from New Concord High School in 1955 (which would eventually become John Glenn High School).
Cubbison would work for the Guernsey Muskingum Electric Cooperative in their member services office. He lobbied on behalf of the Washinton, DC Co-op.
For 23 of John Glenn’s 24 years in the US Senate, Cubbison was one of those lobbying the former astronaut.
His alma mater, now East Muskingum Local Schools, inducted Cubbison into his selective Hall of Fame alongside Glenn in 1996.
In 1972, Cubbison was approached to run for the Fair Board. He will be elected and will be its president for more than 40 years.
During this time, he and his wife were known to visit many other fairs across the state. According to their count, they have participated in more than 80 different fairs.
Cubbison would also be president of the Ohio Fair Managers Association for two years. In 2019, he was inducted into the Ohio Fairs Hall of Fame.
Even at an advanced age, Cubbison continues to tend the livestock. Currently, he raises 50 steers.
Cubbison was only 9 years old at the 100th Fair, which took place August 13-17, 1946.
While a lot has changed over the past 75 years. Some structures have been demolished, others have been built, some on the land where the previous ones once stood.
Cubbison recalled the great celebrations and the joy that the centennial year had had on the local people.
“It was great,” said Cubbison who then just smiled and went on briefly to say it was “a good time”.
At the 175th Fair this year, Cubbison was practically everywhere. At every event, he was there.
When the Zanesville Band passed through the fairgrounds, Cubbison was leading them in his golf cart. When the ceremonial time capsule was set, Cubbison was filling the hole with his bare hands.
Everywhere he went he was regularly arrested. His familiar face and friendly personality are a staple in the annual experiences of many fair visitors.
Asked by a Y-City News reporter how he maintained such a stigma, Cubbison laughed and cited his once or twice daily 15-minute “breaks” to his camper for a reprieve.
Cubbison then paused for a short time, pointed at a random young girl walking with her mother and said “you see that girl right there, that’s why I do everything I do.”
For one of Muskingum County’s longest and most involved fair-goers, an almost 17-hour-a-day week is well worth it. He has a small role to play in making sure the next generation has positive experiences to share with their children about the 175th Muskingum County Blue Ribbon Fair.
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