Mother's Day thoughts from Australia

By Candi Malcolm Smith
Woodlander in the Land Down Under
Global Correspondent

Mother’s Day is here so I thought that I would write a piece about my mom, Lelah Jean (Jeannie) Hayden Malcolm. Mom grew up in the huge metropolis of Yolo. She likes to joke that when she and Dad moved to Woodland in 1962 that they were moving to the city. Mom was born in 1938, the second daughter to Clyde and Lelah Hayden. Her sister Sally was six years her senior. They lived in a small farm house on land right next to Cache Creek. Among other things, she was a member of 4-H and showed ten steers during her time in the club (I still refuse to believe my siblings that my parents named me after Mom’s favorite steer ‘Candy Kisses’). She graduated from Woodland High School in 1956 and attended UCD for two years.

In many ways, the course of Mom’s life was set; when in 1954 at the age of 16 she applied to the Yolo County Fairgrounds for her first ever job. Her sister did part time work at the grounds during fairtime and there was an opening for a livestock clerk. Mom got the job. She was a livestock clerk for a few fairs, worked in the main office as an office helper (today we would call them personal assistants) and by 1958 she was the entry supervisor. This job entailed taking all entries and preparing the necessary paperwork for the judging of goods at fairtime.

In 1959 a stranger to town stopped at the fairgrounds. Back then the grounds were on the “outskirts” of town, so it seemed like the right place to find a phone and directions. So, in August 1959 Mom met Gary Malcolm. He came into the office looking for change for a quarter in order to make a phone call. Once he made the call, he went back to ask the pretty girl behind the counter for directions. Dad made a few friends in his new hometown, and was quick to ask who the young woman at the fairgrounds office was. Little did Dad know that he asked the boyfriend of one of Mom’s closest friends. Mom and Dad officially met in October and were married in March 1960. The children followed in 1960, 1961, 1964, 1966, and 1968. Important to note: not one of us was born in the month of August.

At one time or another, all five of us kids have entered something in the fair for judging: many items within the arts and craft, sewing, baking, flower arrangements, flower booths, and photography. Even the ten grandchildren that live in Woodland or Davis have entered over the years. Funny thing though – none of us ever showed any animals at the fair and not one of us was a member of FFA, though the eldest children were members of 4-H for several years. A few of us have even worked for the fairgrounds during fairtime or have volunteered at the fair during Mom’s years at the fair.

By now you might be wondering what it is about the fair and Mom. Well, to put it simply – Mom has always worked at the fairgrounds. As mentioned she started working there in 1954 and she still works there to this day. This year she will celebrate her 55th fair. She loves her job with the best part being all the people that she gets to see; some of them being friends that she sees only once a year at fairtime. In Mom’s 54 years with the Fair, she had worked for four Fair Managers. Not too bad if you think about it. Mom is the longest serving staff member at the grounds and has seen so many changes over the course of her tenure. She welcomes all of the changes that have come down the ‘track’; the hardest was learning the computer at a later stage in her life; which she is quick to qualify as one of her proudest accomplishments within her job. She wouldn’t go back to the manual paperwork if you paid her more to do it.

The other accomplishment that Mom is most proud to boast about is the fact that her job gave her the flexibility to raise five children and be a part of their growing up. She attended all the concerts, the sporting events (which included football, baseball, softball and many upon many track meets), the open houses at school, and much more. She was always there at the end of the school day to pick us up or at least be at the house when we arrived from our walk home. And if Mom wasn’t home, we knew the number to the fair office to call her and let her know that we made it home ok (I still have that phone number memorized even though the fairgrounds has had new numbers put in). The worst thing for Mom at her job is the day after the Fair is over. All of the work that everyone has done for a year is finished and it leads to the day after being a bit of a let down. None of the office crew enjoys the day after.

Mom has seen things come and go. She doesn’t miss Booster Barrel, the Sugar Queen Pageant or the old office. She does enjoy the ‘new’ office with the exception that she doesn’t feel as though they are a part of the fair because the location is no longer amongst the hubbub. Mom would love to see the judged entries increase in number again. The two areas she especially would like to see increase are within the Flower House and the vegetables. She’s not certain why there has been a drop off in entry numbers within these two areas, but she can remember a time when the Flower House and the Agriculture Building were bursting with colors of the county.

Mom’s life for one reason or another has always revolved around the fair. She got her first job there, met her husband there, encouraged her children and grandchildren to entry items in the fair, and makes new friends there every year. Her calendar is secretly blocked out from July to September so she can concentrate on the job and getting rest so that she can concentrate on the job. As noted above, none of her children are born in August. A few of us rebelled and have had children in July and September and she is ok with that. But none of us were allowed to have an August wedding. Two of us pushed the boundary limits with June weddings and one pushed with September.

Mom loves her job. She loves her family like any mother out there. The most important person in her life is her husband. She would bend over backwards to help any family member or friend in need. Just don’t ask in August ;)

So that’s my mom. You should stop by the office sometime and say hello – tell her Candi (the one named after the steer…oops, that’s right I refuse to admit that) sent you.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.

And Mom, Happy Mother’s Day to you too. Your family Down Under loves and misses you very much.