Scott and Marilyn “Hat Lady” Holden said goodbye to their work family Saturday at the Clark County Fair. Both have worked at the fairgrounds for more than 20 years, and this was their final fair was employees. Photo by Paul Valencia
🎧 Hat Lady and Husband Retire from Clark County Fair
Marilyn and Scott Holden have worked at the Clark County Fair for decades but this was their last fair as employees at the fairgrounds, retiring on Saturday and saying goodbye to their colleagues who they say have become family
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
Every year for decades now, Marilyn and Scott Holden have celebrated their wedding anniversary at the Clark County Fair.
They are surrounded by family. Work family.
Their colleagues have become family, which made this year’s Clark County Fair a little bittersweet for the Holdens.
Marilyn has worked at the fair for 27 years. Scott has been there for 22 years. That is more than half of their 43 years of marriage.
On Saturday, Marilyn and Scott said goodbye to their work family, both retiring on the same day.
“I have a lot of favorite things,” Marilyn said about her experiences. “To describe just one, it’s impossible. We love everybody here. We’re going to miss everybody here.”
“It’s been a really neat place to work,” Scott said. “Sometimes a hard place to work, very challenging, but also very rewarding.”
The two work under the maintenance umbrella at the fair, and both have had multiple roles in their time at the fairgrounds.
Scott has no problem saying that Marilyn is the more famous of the two. Marilyn started as the Tractor Lady, the one who drove around the fairgrounds every weekend to help deliver supplies for the customers or vendors or guests.
Soon, she became even more popular as the Hat Lady, the Clark County employee who wore a different hat to work every day.
“When I go past the barns, kids will run to see what hat I’m wearing,” she says proudly.
Marilyn became a favorite among the children.
In her early days, she was in charge of the flowers and the flower beds throughout the grounds. She was told that she would constantly have to be ushering children away from the flowers, when their parents were too busy to look after them.
Well, the first time she saw children in one of her flower beds, she surprised herself with her reaction. There was no need to admonish the children or even make them stop.
“They were having a blast. Flowers can be replaced,” Marilyn said. “This is all about the kids out here.”
The Clark County Fair is the biggest event of the year, but employees do so much more than prepare and work the 10-day fair. The Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds hosts one to seven events every weekend throughout the year.
Scott got his job after building bleachers on the fairgrounds. Skilled in construction, he also impressed others with how fast he could get the job done.
Marilyn does a little bit of everything, but she does not repair things. That’s Scott’s job, she said.
Now retired, there is a trip to Arizona to visit a great granddaughter. But nothing else on the schedule.
“We can’t make plans because they always get ruined,” Marilyn said.
“Just living life,” Scott added.
The couple live in La Center, and they are not relocating.
In fact, they expect to still be in Clark County next year around this time. Will they visit the fair, even if they aren’t working the fair?
“It’s too soon to say,” Marilyn said. “I would like to come back and check it out next year.”
It is called Summer’s Best Party, and Marilyn said that is a perfect description.
“This is the best. It is the best fair, as far as I’m concerned,” she said
They will miss the fair, but they will miss their colleagues and fairgoers even more.
They have advice for their colleagues, too.
“This is a family fair,” Marilyn said. “Keep the family going.”
“Make it their own work,” Scott added. “That’s what we did.”
“We love them, and we’re going to miss them,” Marilyn concluded.
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