I didn't make it to the Benton County Fair this year; I was out of state and couldn't get back in time. It was only the third time in 26 years I've missed the fair, and I hated not being here for it. My wife and I always go at least once, and often twice. When the kids were small we often went to the state fair as well, mostly for the larger and more numerous rides, but the county fair was a given.

The reasons for our devotion are varied. I love the rodeo, sheep dog trials, small-stage presentations and pigs. I'm a sucker for the pigs, and I will go to a great deal of trouble to watch youngsters attempt to control pigs with a stick. It reminds me of raising children (not that I used sticks on my children, you understand; at least not big ones) but children and pigs are very nearly the same in their willingness to follow directions.

Also, I am inordinately fond of the San Francisco sandwiches and other fair foods. I will skip lunch just so I'm really hungry when we get to the fair.

My wife, Debbie, loves the big-stage music and all creatures great and small. If I had a dollar for every hour I've spent following her around looking at chickens, ducks, pigeons and especially rabbits, I could buy San Francisco sandwiches for the Corvallis High School football team and the cheerleaders.

A big part of the fair's attraction to us is the opportunity it presents to see people we know. We meet friends at the fair each year whom we don't see anywhere else; an interesting phenomenon, if you think about it. Our lives are very different, our interests diverse. We never cross paths except at the county fair, but we consistently get together there.

Perhaps the main reason we go to the Benton County Fair so consistently is this: It is OUR fair. It belongs to our community. Even if we didn't enjoy it so much we would attend, for the same reasons we shop whenever we can at locally owned bookstores, hardware stores, grocery stores and restaurants.

That's why I was so surprised a while back to hear an acquaintance say that he never goes to the fair.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Just not interested in that kind of stuff," he said. Further discussion seemed to indicate a subtle disdain for the "country" aspect of the fair.

Well, OK. People are different. Hard as it is for me to understand, not everyone likes to watch young men ride broncs and children guide pigs. But I suspect that many, if not most, of the people who feel a strong connection to this community attend one or more of the major annual community events such as da Vinci Days, Fall Festival, Tcha Tee Man Wi Storytelling Festival, Philomath Frolic, all the many different parades and others.

Of course, attending large, crowded events is not the only way to be connected. Lots of folks belong to service clubs, book clubs, volunteer at schools, are active in churches, coach youth sports, attend presentations and lectures at Oregon State University and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, are school and sports boosters, play bingo, attend City Council and county commissioner meetings, make their feelings known to the planning commission and write letters to the editor.

I guess it all boils down to taking part, in some fashion. The majority of us don't want to run for office, be on committees or tie ourselves down with volunteer commitments. We are not joiners or leaders or activists of any sort. But we should at least be participants in the life and activities of our community. We should pay attention to the events taking place that might interest us … and make the effort to show up. Otherwise we are simply hitchhikers.

Each of us should consider the way we live our lives and honestly answer the question, "Am I a contributing, active member of this community … or do I just live here?"

Pat Wray is a freelance writer and longtime local resident. His general-interest columns can be found in this section on alternate Fridays. He can be reached at patwray@comcast.net.