Dallas man celebrates 80 years of State Fair of Texas visits
How many years have you been going to the State Fair of Texas? Ten? Twenty? Thirty?
If you think you have a record, you might want to think twice. Eighty years is the number to beat.
Eighty-five-year-old David White has been going to the fair for eight decades and counting.
"Five years old," said White of his first fair. "I really don't remember anything about it, but my parents told me I was there."
And if you take the Dallas native's parents at their word, he's had one of the longest streaks of state fair attendance.
Meeting a governor at eight
"I believe I was eight years old," said White, referring to the first fair he remembers. "I met Governor Allan Shivers at the front gate."
The lifelong Texan was hooked.
"It's the best thing going," White said. "Everybody should go to the fair."
Worked the midway in youth
White even tried his hand at working the fair back in the day, taking tickets — not coupons — on the midway.
"It was a lot of fun," recalled White. "It was tiring, of course, because the midway is open about 12 hours a day."
Rides used to cost nine cents
While the midway games have mostly stayed the same, there have been other changes to the fair in the last eight decades. White still remembers when rides were just nine cents.
"Some of the rides are amazing," White said. "We hadn't even thought of back then."
Corny dogs and people watching
His favorite part of the fair?
"Of course, the food," White said. "Oh man, that's the highlight of my trip."
These days, White is content to eat his corny dog and people-watch — especially seeing the young kids light up at Big Tex, just like he did all those years ago.
"I think it's good that some of those kids may be coming back every year," White said fondly. "Some of them may come back for 80 years."