A lot has changed at the State Fair of Texas in the last 50 years, but two people who work behind the scenes of the annual event have not.
For more than 50 years, Gerald Townsend and Eula Hamilton have spent their Octobers in South Dallas making sure the fair runs smoothly. Both said the "fair family" they have created keeps them coming back.
"They say, 'Why do you take vacation to come out there and work?' It's just like a family reunion," Townsend said.
Townsend started working at the fair in the 1960s, selling tickets to everything from children's rides to Dallas Cowboys games at the Cotton Bowl.
His office walls are lined with posters from past fairs. His desk is full of mementos, too, like the gold badge he received the first day he came into his office. Townsend says plenty has changed, but not the love of his job. It's stronger than ever.
"They're going to have to bury me here," he said, when asked when he'll finally quit.
Townsend is among a handful of employees who have spent more than a half-century working at the State Fair of Texas.
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"I started in September of 1958. Yes, 1958," said Eula Hamilton, laughing.
Hamilton's affair with the state fair started when a friend asked her for help working in the Fair Park ice arena. After that, she sold beer in the fair. Then it was on to ticket sales. She hasn't left her post since.
"Everything was done by hand. I mean everything," she said.
After all these years, Hamilton still considers it a labor of love.
"I have my family and then I have my 'fair family.' I enjoy all of these people and I hope they enjoy me," she said.
