“It is a day you don’t miss”: East Perry Community Fair returns

ALTENBURG, Mo. (KBSI) – “The character of the people here is just stellar.” 

Grand Marshal Nelda Koeberl, along with her husband Bill, said this character is what has enabled the East Perry Community Fair to flourish since before World War II. 

“If you ask people to do something, you are very rarely turned down,” Nelda Koeberl said.

“If you want anything done, I guess this is the place to come to because it will get done,” Bill Koeberl said. 

Nelda Koeberl recently retired after 50 years of teaching, with 45 of those spent in East Perry County. 

She said the family atmosphere this fair possesses gives parents a sense of security when they bring their children. 

“In this world, in this day and time, the parents really do feel like their children are safe, and everyone looks out for everybody’s children,” she said.

Fairgoer Katrina Voelker had Koeberl as a second-grade teacher. 

“She knows 90 percent of the people here,” Voelker said of Koeberl. “She’s taught them, she’s taught their children. She’s worked with the grandparents. There’s nobody quite like her that knows the community.” 

Voelker said she and just about everyone who attends the fair wouldn’t miss it for virtually anything. 

“It is something that if you grow up here, it is a day you don’t miss,” she said.

The fair continues Saturday with events like mule jumping, tractor pulls, music, and more.