Over 3000 people will visit the Jefferson County fairgrounds over the next five months, as the County kicks off its annual events season. The Culpepper and Merriweather Circus is coming to town June 28, and the 40th Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo begins Aug. 22.
As of May 1, husband and wife Dave Miller and Sara Johnson are the fairground’s new and very active caretakers, responsible for the watering, weeding, repairing, and cleaning necessary to keep the over 100-acre campus ready for visitors and festivities. They succeed longtime caretaker Glenn Bruce, who died last September.“We’re extremely excited, but are you ever really ready?” said Miller. “We see this as an opportunity for our family to have something concrete to focus on, and to really become a part of this community.”
Johnson has lived in Boulder her entire life, while Miller relocated from Ovando, MT eight years ago. In addition to their responsibilities at the fairgrounds, both work full-time jobs. Miller works at BNSF Railway as a hostler laborer in Helena, where he connects, inspects, and maintains freight locomotives for journeys across the country. Johnson works as a substitute teacher and instructional aide at Jefferson High School.
They have two children, Micah and M’kenna, who will both be attending Boulder Elementary School this fall. They also have two dogs, Paisley and Kaya, which complete the family and cast of characters now living on and responsible for Jefferson County’s most important events property.
“There are a thousand things to keep in good, working order, but generally the fairgrounds have been very well maintained,” said Johnson. “It’s a lot of fun, but, at first, maybe, a bit overwhelming. Now that we’ve started moving and have gotten our feet under us a bit, I think it’ll be fantastic.”
“And I’m about to find out what it takes to get this place ready for winter,” said Miller.
