The 23rd annual Corn Carnival Collector’s Fair was a huge success with 21 exhibitors. The theme was “Let Sparks Fly”. Marilyn Brekke won the adult door prize of $10 in Gladbrook trade dollars and the youth winner was Grace Schewe, $10 in theater bucks. Trudi Scott decorated the windows of Mike Bearden’s store on Main Street with her huge corn collection. Trudi also made a table display of her corn dishes at the Collector’s Fair. Great Western Bank employee, Carly Heindselman, surprised everyone bringing her favorite race car driver, Jeff Gordon, collection instead of her Disney collection. Whitnee Benken shared her huge elephant collection. Several youth shared their collections, Garrett Jordebrek shared his NAPA collection including the NAPA bears. Stella Betts, a regular at the Collector’s Fair, shared her cute and funny “squishies”. Eleanor Lott shared one of her collections, this year she brought her mustache cups, shaving mugs, soap, razors and razor straps. Many had never seen a mustache cup before. Deb Koester displayed her Kansas Jayhawks memorabilia, while son, Kyle, shared his collection of Gladbrook Theater monthly movie schedules. It was interesting looking over the movies that have been shown here in Gladbrook. Gene Eilanders collects ducks. He brought his collection from Jet, Oklahoma. His tables were a sea of yellow. Gene is the son-in-law of Marilyn Carstensen. Katie Grimmius loves “trashy” jewelry. The “trashy” jewelry are really rhinestones and the pieces she shared were stunning. Mark Goos shared his belt buckle collection. Favorites were his belt buckle from Gladbrook Centennial in 1980 and his Hawkeye ones. Matt Kemp shared his camera collection. The cameras from the past were very interesting in their shape and size. Bill Backoff loves trains and their history. He brought a display on the 1910 train wreck, which happened a few miles southwest of Gladbrook. Another regular at the Collector’s Fair, Jodi Betts, made a display of her angel collection, most of which were Willow Trees. Barb Bereczki shared her Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Dean and Titanic collection. The memorabilia and pictures brought back memories. Many know that Suzanne Boldt is quite a cook. She shared her tin cake pans, including Mickey Mouse and Winnie-the-Pooh. She also shared her tin lunch boxes, Christmas tins, and other pieces. To no surprise Shirley Young has a horse collection, she has raised and shown horses most of her life. Betty Schmitz shared her beautiful pottery collection. Rose Russell created a very elegant display of her beautiful Orrefors crystal pieces. She also shared her Swedish heritage memorabilia. Several tables were used to advertise or promote an activity or group. Pastor Joe Hackett, Peace Church, shared his huge Boy Scout patch collection. He also promoted starting a Cub Scout Pack in Gladbrook this fall. Chris Hackett started a Prayer Beads ministry in Gladbrook this past year. She shared prayer beads made by people in the community. Collector Fair viewers could pick out a prayer bead for themselves with a note telling what each bead represented. Thanks to all the participants for sharing their precious collections. It is a lot of hard work, but the viewers love it and it adds a great deal to the Corn Carnival activities. Thanks to all who came to enjoy all of the collections. Please consider sharing your collection in the 2020 Collector’s Fair. There is no collection too large or too small. The Collector Fair Committee is Karen Handorf, Pauline Flamme, and Jeanne Paustian