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GREG MAGNUSON: Each year, for the past 80 years, the State Fair has served as the setting for the Keenan family reunion. The Keenans own and operate Ye Old Mill, which has been taking fairgoers on relaxing four-minute long boat rides since it opened in 1915. It was one of a half dozen Tunnel of Love type attractions built around the country early this century by Irish immigrant James Keenan, who was looking for a means of escape from his job as a theatrical agent on the vaudeville circuit.

Of the original six rides, only two remain-- the one in Minnesota and another in Iowa. 24-year-old Jeremy Keenan is the great grandson of James Keenan, one of four fourth-generation brothers who are keeping the family tradition alive. He says Ye Old Mill is the source of a lot of fond memories.

JEREMY KEENAN: And no matter how tired you are on the last day, if somebody comes up, an Oldr lady, or what have you, and says, I used to ride this ride. I can sit and listen to those people forever. It's just great to hear that feedback. So I think-- I hope, especially this year, that as things are changing around the fairgrounds for the better, and new and improved midways come in and things like that, that people also look around and continue to appreciate a lot of the tradition that's here.

[WATER SPLASHING]

GREG MAGNUSON: A 40-horsepower electric motor drives a paddle wheel to generate the current that propels the handmade flat bottom boats that wind their way through Ye Old Mill. The Keenans began preparing the ride for its annual 12-day run three months before fair time. 29-year-old Jim Keenan, his great grandfather's namesake, says it's an important family fixture.

JIM KEENAN: If we didn't have this ride, for some reason if it left, I don't think I could come to the fair. This is kind of who we are, so. It always comes up. We've lived in Apple Valley, Burnsville area for 28 years or so. So we're kind of known as the Tunnel of Love family, the Ye Old Mill people. And yeah, it's kind of who we are, so it's very important.

GREG MAGNUSON: I'm with Minnesota Public Radio, and I'm out here asking people what their favorite state fair food traditions are. Is there a particular item you make a special point to have every year when you come out to the fair?

AUDIENCE: Well, let's see. What about you? What's your favorite food at the fair?

AUDIENCE: A hot dog.

AUDIENCE: A hot dog. All right. A hot dog, I guess, because my son likes that.

AUDIENCE: Every time I come here, I go in the food building and have cheese curds and pizza. And I guess corn dogs. And what else? Mini donuts. That's about it, I think.

AUDIENCE: We go to fairs around close to home there, and we always got to go for cheese curds. I don't know, it's the idea-- I like cheese, and that's probably why.

AUDIENCE: Well, it's kind of a hoagie bun scooped out. They fill it with a spaghetti sauce with meatballs, mozzarella cheese, more sauce, more meatballs, more cheese, more sauce, more meatballs, and topped with cheese. It's about half of a hoagie. It's wonderful.

AUDIENCE: Oh, my wife and I enjoy the French fried potatoes. Get the big bucket.

AUDIENCE: Almost anything. I don't know. Just different stuff.

AUDIENCE: The Orange Julius is the orange treats over there. It's daily. It's more than daily. It's four or five times a day. I just can't get enough of it.

AUDIENCE: Those chocolate chip cookies.

AUDIENCE: These cinnamon rolls. I don't know who makes them, but there's a line about five miles long, and they're totally delicious.

GREG MAGNUSON: How about you?

AUDIENCE: I'm starting a new tradition. These cheese things. They're delicious.

GREG MAGNUSON: For those not interested in the fair's fast food fair, there are always the 11 dining halls on the fair grounds. Hamlin Dining Hall, located on the newly renamed Dan Patch Avenue in the heart of the fair grounds, is operated by Hamlin United Methodist Church of Saint Paul. The Swedish meatballs and the ham loaf there have been state fair favorites for nearly a century.

If you drop in, you'll likely see Helen and Wally Bakken of Roseville. They've been Hamlin Dining Hall volunteers since 1940, when they began dating at the age of 16. Helen says a lot has changed over the past 55 years, including the building that houses the dining hall.

HELEN BAKKEN: There was a small, much smaller wooden building, which was a main dining hall, and attached to it was a hamburger stand. And the young people all had a lot of fun doing hamburgers stand-- making hamburgers, selling them, handling all of that. And that's what we did in the beginning.

Gradually then, the building became obsolete. Now, it has grown to the point where we start out with breakfast, and we go all day. 7:00 in the morning till 7:30 at night. So there's no running around the fair after that hour.

GREG MAGNUSON: This is Gale Frost's 75th year as an employee of the Minnesota State Fair. His resume makes even a foot long hot dog look small by comparison.

GALE FROST: In 1920, I was kind of just hanging around, but I did run a few errands, so I say I was an errand boy. A little later than that, I mixed lemonade for the grandstand in a horse trough. In 1928, I went to work in the main office as an office boy under the then assistant secretary.

I handled the information switchboard in the main office for several years. I was in the entry department for several years. I handled the non-paid ticket department for several years, worked in the old mill for some years, and worked as a policeman for quite a few years.

I put in a display up on Machinery Hill for three years. Down here for 20 years. That's about most of my career.

GREG MAGNUSON: Since 1975, the 82-year-old Frost has served as superintendent of heritage exhibits at the fair, just like his father before him. As much as he loves the fair and the people he's come to know there over the years, Frost says that as an employee, it is possible to get too much of a good thing.

GALE FROST: It's a junk pile. You have a lot of problems with trash. You have some problems with the toilets.

Now, we try to clean it up so that it's perfect at the end of every day. We have sanitation crews. We have sweeping crews. We have guys that go around and clean the whole place, the whole fairgrounds every night and sanitize it. Take care of the bees and all of the problems. And then start over the next day. And I'll admit that after about six days, I wonder what I'm going to do next year.

GREG MAGNUSON: And what about next year? Gale Frost says he'll return to work at least one more Minnesota State Fair. For the FM news station, I'm Greg Magnuson.