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County Fair celebrates in style

By Staff Report - | Aug 15, 2001

From all accounts the 75th annual Leavenworth County Fair last week in Tonganoxie was a roaring success.

From the 4-H’ers who showed horses, rabbits and pigs to the fair-goers who tested their nerves on carnival rides, the fair provided something for just about everyone.

Following is a report about several activities at last week’s fair. Complete results of judging will appear in next week’s edition of The Mirror.

Everyone loves a parade

An oversized shopping cart powered through the Leavenworth County Fair Parade last Wednesday, but it wasn’t carrying gigantic groceries.

The Price Chopper Big Cart, driven by Bob “Mr. Clean” Dotte, Tonganoxie, carried the Triple Creek Realty softball team up Fourth Street in the parade. The team took third place in the K-Ball softball tournament last month.

The vehicle joined numerous fire trucks, politicians, antique cars, bikes, clowns, Shriners and horses in the annual parade.

The shopping cart is one of seven in the world, five in the United States, and takes roughly a year to build. The cart is 17 feet long, 12.5 feet tall and 8.5 feet wide, which are global measurements for Dotte.

“It’s the biggest and most powerful shopping cart in the world,” Dotte said.

The engine is a 454 Chevy Big Block with a 671 Weland Blower and Twin 650 Holey carburetors.

The machine apparently has some power its speed potential is unknown, but the engine is geared for 180 m.p.h. and its basket can hold 8,759 oranges.

Other participants in the parade weren’t as oversized, but won awards in their respective classes. In the open class, First State Bank took first with its drill team routine incorportating moneybags in its dance.

Susan Oelschlaeger has lived in Tonganoxie for four years, but this has been the first Leavenworth County Parade she’s attended.

“It’s nice for a small town,” Oelschlaeger said.

Susan’s daughters Sarah, Kayla and Grace, also attended the parade. Getting candy was a major objective for Susan’s daughters, but no official count was known.

“It’s hard telling this one was eating most of hers,” Oelschlaeger said, referring to Grace.

Lisa Scheller, news editor for The Mirror; Shawn Linenberger, reporter for The Mirror; and Joshua Roberts, reporter for the Basehor Sentinel contributed to this report on the 2001 Leavenworth County Fair.

Look in the County Fair section for more coverage.