A Fair Voice
L.H. “Bing” Carter was the first Johnson County resident inducted in to the Kansas State Fair Hall of Fame. He was inducted January 10, 1989, in recognition of more than twenty years of service to the Johnson County Fair.
Carter joined the Johnson County Fair Association in 1956, without having attended the local fair. He was appointed secretary-treasurer and assumed the responsibilities of general manager. In this capacity, he supervised all fair operations. He located the carnival and secured all of the premium money. Carter persuaded the Fair Association to auction 4-H livestock, as did other counties. The first auction was held at the 1956 county fair, with Carter as auctioneer.
In addition to the above duties, Carter was instrumental in securing public support for the county fair. Several levies had been defeated without support from northeast area voters. Carter contacted a rising politician, Jan Meyers, then president of the Johnson County League of Women Voters. He described the benefits of the county fair, emphasizing the participation of youth in the 4-H competitions. Ms. Meyers and the League campaigned for a mill levy to support the county fair. The measure was approved in the mid-1970s. Public support has expanded the fair “tremendously” says Carter.
Carter has become an institution at the Johnson County Fair. His voice can still be heard calling the 4-H cattle sales. With Shirley Bruce-Brown, he announces the Fair Parade — a community-wide event. According to Carter, the 4-H clubs are “the heart of the Fair. Their support secures community participation and gets families involved with the event.” Today’s fair has grown so large that it is “not even the same, it is much more involved and bigger each year. There is no way one person could run it like I did in the past.”
Carter earned his nickname as a child. The first recognizable word he spoke was “Bingo,” a neighbor dog’s name. The name stuck and was later shortened to Bing.
--ALBUM vol. 9, no. 3 (summer 1996)