Jim Chew started his mission while being bored of retirement.
DALLAS — When 77-year-old Jim Chew of Columbus, Ohio put a bow on his career, he quickly grew tired of being retired.
“I retired and a week later I was bored,” Chew said. “It was kind of a shock at first. I thought, ‘ok, now what do I do?’”
To cure his complacency, Chew’s doing something big: spending his golden years visiting every state fair in America.
The State Fair of Texas was the 30th where Chew met the people, saw the sights, and tried the food. Back home, Chew always loved visiting the Ohio State Fair and figured the others would be just as fun.
However, not every state has a state fair, so Chew substitutes either a local or regional fair for those. Every fair he visits, he adds a pin to his hat.
Chew says, to have a great fair, it’s got to have the classics like livestock, good food, and plenty of live music. But it must also have something unique.
“In California, they’ve got the Cannabis village there,” he said. “Marijuana, cigarettes, hash, and all the things that are legal.”
He’s also found some of the best food in California and some of the cheapest in Mississippi.
“They had free biscuits and honey, so that was pretty nice,” he said.
After visiting, he gives each fair a rating. But Chew says that no matter the score, at their core, they are one.
“This is a taste of Americana,” he said. “You can see a lot of patriotism and just a lot of pride, hometown pride, coming to a fair.”
Chew says a state fair is a glimpse of America at its best where arms are open wide and hospitality is served with pride.
Everywhere he’s been, he’s been warmly welcomed.
“The fair is the destination, but the fun part is the journey,” Chew said.
Texas is no exception. No other state fair is bigger, but is any better?
“It’s a 9 or 10 out of all the fairs,” Chew said. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”