The Big Knob Fair has been held in the Beaver County area every year since 1938. It was only ever discontinued twice, the first time being during a five-year period as the second world war effort arose. It was discontinued again in 1950-1951 as a new hall was under construction. Now, in 2024, the 82nd Big Knob Fair was held on Aug. 27-31. As per previous years, the fair involved games, rides, livestock auctions, a parade and more. It also included some new elements, such as a rodeo at the track. Additionally, this year an old, discontinued tradition resurfaced: the Big Knob Fair Queen contest.
For many years, girls competed annually in the contest to win the title of Fair Queen. It was halted in 1999 and has not happened since then, until now.
“It was really sad when it happened,” Dave Druschel, a committee member at the Grange, said. “We just could not get any girls interested in competing.”
Now, 25 years later, the contest made its way back to the surface. The idea to bring it back was from Sue Vogel, the wife of state senator Elder Vogel, as she saw it as an important part of the event’s history. She coordinated the program alongside David Stang, a chairman of the Grange, to bring the old contest back to life.
This year, there were three contestants: Phoenix Richards (11), Alexis Hewitt, a homeschooled student living in the Beaver Falls district, and Freedom class of 2024 alum Josephine Brenckle. The three went through a lengthy process leading up to the crowning ceremony.
After submitting an application, the girls were given the prompt, “What my fair means to my community,” and were assigned with writing a 300-word essay addressing the topic. They also submitted background information as well as additional information, such as their future goals, current hobbies and extracurricular activities. Then, they had a luncheon and an interview with all of the judges. During both, they discussed the fair and themselves.
On the opening day of the fair, the winners of the contest were announced. Prior to the event, contestants had to prepare a five minute persuasive speech convincing the judges and a public audience to go to “their” fair, including points about PA fairs and agriculture, as their prompt. Following the speeches at 6:00 p.m., the crowning ceremony began.
The 2024 Big Knob Fair Queen title was given to Brenckle, making her the first Fair Queen in 25 years. Alongside her, the runner-up “alternate” queen position was awarded to Hewitt. After they were crowned, all three of the girls participated in the annual Big Knob Fair parade.
“It was super fun to be in the parade as a contestant and I am happy I got this experience,” Richards said.
Brenckle earned 500 dollars and the opportunity to attend the PA Fair Convention in Hershey among queens of other fairs in January. There, she will compete for the title of PA State Fair Queen. Hewitt won 100 dollars and assisted Brenckle with her duties for the rest of the fair.
“I can not put into words how excited I am,” Brenckle said. “I can not wait to meet all the other girls and get to experience this competition process.”
Throughout the week, Brenckle had obligations as part of her title. She announced events happening at the fair every night, as well as future events happening in the community. She also spent time going to events around the fairgrounds, talking to fairgoers and attending the youth events going on around the fair.
“Even if I do not win the title as PA State Fair Queen, it would have still been a win for me,” Brenckle said. “This is a great opportunity to network, make friends and most importantly, get the agriculture of western PA on the map!”