Racing to finish a barn
Sep. 3—HALFWAY — Lynda Bird clipped the ribbon to officially dedicate the new horse barn at the Pine Valley Fairgrounds on Thursday, Sept. 1 — just one day before the 101st annual Baker County Fair.
"We want to thank everybody for coming, and for all your donations," Bird said to those gathered in the mid-day sunshine.
This was a project of the Friends of the Pine Valley Fairgrounds.
"We've talked about this for years," Bird said.
The new barn is 12 feet wide and 120 feet long. It is divided into 10 horse stalls, each 12 feet by 12 feet.
According to Bird's research, horse racing in Halfway dates to the early 1900s.
The Baker County Fair started in 1921, and the original race horse barns were built in 1935.
"They'd race during the rodeo," Bird said.
A 1936 program lists Buck, owned by Chas. Whiteley and ridden by C. Summers, and Blue, owned by Vera Jones and ridden by D. Summers.
Horse owners and racers in 1946 included Benita Smelcher, Jane Smelcher, Ralph Cook, Don Rock, Ve Makinson, Percy Laird, Ray Harding, Wayne Curtis, Doc Summers and Dorothy Summers.
In the 1950s, local racers were joined by Native Americans from Warm Springs. By that time, all 20 stalls in the horse barn were filled, with overflow into the cow barns.
In 2007, the horse races were replaced by mule races, which are still held during the Panhandle Rodeo, a mainstay of fair weekend.
The horse barn — one of three original buildings at the fairgrounds — fell into disrepair.
(The other original structures are the grandstand, which was reconstructed in 2012, and exhibit hall, which was rebuilt after suffering snow damage during the winter of 2016-2017.)
In 2019, a fundraising effort began to build a new horse barn, kickstarted by a grant from the Leo Adler Community Foundation.
In all, 85 donors contributed $95,000 to build the new barn. Much of the money came from individual donations, in addition to contributions from Baker County and the county Transient Lodging Tax.
Each horse stall features a Dutch door — the top and bottom open independently — and the exterior is built with blue-stained pine.
Smokey Creek Barn Company, owned by Donnie Higgins, handled the construction.
It's not quite finished — an addition of 16 feet is planned for storage with a six-foot sliding door.
"It'll make it convenient," Higgins said.
Fair and Rodeo
The 101st Baker County Fair and Panhandle Rodeo is Saturday through Monday, Sept. 3-5.
Youth will show their animals on Saturday and Sunday. The livestock auction happens at 9 a.m. Monday, followed by the parade at 12:30 p.m.
Fair admission is free.
The Panhandle Rodeo happens Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m., and Monday at 2:30 p.m. Mule races are held during the rodeo performances.
Tickets are $15 for reserved seats, $12 general admission, $6 for ages 6-12, and free for ages 5 and younger. Admission is free for veterans on Monday.
Throughout the weekend, the midway will feature music, vendors, concessions and games for the kids. On Sunday, the EV Locals will perform from 3-6 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, the kids dance starts at 9 p.m. at the Pine Valley Grange Hall.
After the rodeo, on Saturday and Sunday, Frank Carlson will play live for an adult cowboy dance on the midway. A cowboy dinner will be available for $15.
