New Burdock Pavilion built at fairgrounds

           The Keokuk County Fair remains a vivid memory of Harry Burdock’s childhood. While growing up in What Cheer with his grandparents, Dick and Minnie, Burdock remembers attending the fair and having his grandmother involved. He remembers his grandfather as “a simple man...if you needed him, he would help.”

            “They were a big influence on me and I wanted to honor them,” Burdock said. “Since 2010, I’ve been looking for a way to do so, and found it with the fairgrounds.”

            Burdock did so by personally designing a new pavilion on the fairgrounds as a memorial to his grandparents. The pavilion stands next to Thomas Hall, and will act as extension of the hall and a place for rent to host grad parties, fair events and flea market events in the future. All the structure needs now is electrical wiring, more cement and it will be ready to go.

            “It’s a nice addition to our fairgrounds and will be enjoyed by the community,” Bob Dugger, President of the Keokuk County Fair said. “We thank Harry for this generous contribution.”

            Burdock, who lives in Ottumwa and runs a storage facility, was able to design the pavilion and enlisted workers out of Moravia to construct it. His vision is to have picnic benches set inside and provide crowds another option for seating at the fair.

            “I attended one of the great flea markets there and saw that there was a need for more space,” Burdock said. “I asked permission to construct this pavilion for my grandparents and they were very interested. The folks running the fairgrounds were great to work with and we got the job done.”

            Dick passed away in 1990, while Minnie lived past one hundred years old until 2008. The couple lived just south of What Cheer and were regular attendants of the county fair. Burdock hopes that fairgoers and flea market shoppers will enjoy the pavilion while they continue to keep the fairgrounds active and busy.

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