Ozarks Notebook: Missouri Fair Carries on Generations of Tradition

The Billings Community Fair in southwest Missouri celebrates its 60th year in 2026, and organizers chose Pat and Peggy Napper, married 64 years and longtime fixtures of the town, as grand marshals. Pat has driven school buses and refereed games for decades; Peggy was the area's first school nurse.

Fair board member Stephanie Dobbs, a former Boston resident who moved to the roughly 1,000-person town about a decade ago, described being startled by the local custom of waving at passing cars and has since taken up goats, chickens, and a seat on the school board.

The fair itself has moved from Main Street to a grassy lot near the school, swapped rented carnival rides for inflatables due to cost, and still features tractor pulls, a dunk tank, and exhibits of homegrown produce and sewing.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.