YOUR SPACE: Beer for breakfast? No problem at the county fair

CALHAN • Mel Trafton just might have the best job at the El Paso County Fair.

Or it might be the worst.

He’s the beer boss.

Think “99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall” for eight straight days and nights. Living it, that is, not singing it.

His domain is a nondescript shed docked between the drinking pavilion and the dance tent. It’s a small yet mighty fixture in the vortex of cows, cotton candy and monster trucks.

The beer dock, as it’s called, translates into a big chunk of change for the fair.

“As a general rule, we make $17,000-$18,000 (profit) on sales in the eight days,” Trafton says. “All goes back to the fair.”

It’s the only true watering hole in this rural town that’s been bar-less since Curly’s Place closed a year or so ago.

The dock is no ordinary bar.

People can buy a beer when the fair opens at 8 a.m.

Most wait until at least noon.

Bottles are plastic. Animal friendly, you might say. “We don’t want glass because of the animals walking around, it could get in their hooves and cause a lot of pain,” Trafton says.
The beer dock is run by 30 RVers from Colorado Springs Good Luck Sams Club, who turn into bartenders and bouncers for the week.

“We make sure they can tell when someone is getting pretty far gone. Somebody always asks if they have a ride or have a DD,” Trafton says.

Workers park their RVs on the fairground and stay for the week. Trafton, 60, a Springs locksmith, never thought it would be his idea of a vacation. He’d never been to the country fair until the stint with his RV club took him there in 1996.

“I was a city kid. I missed a lot, but I’m sure seeing a lot today,” says Trafton, who also serves on the fair board. “It’s a way to give back to the community.”

After he became beer boss, he wanted to make noise about it. He asked for a tip bell.

Volunteers Earl and Bonnie Steinbrink happened to have a big farm bell their son made in high school.

It rakes in the money. Tips total about $1,600, which go to various charities, including $400 for the fair queen.

“The drunker the cowboys, the louder the tips,” volunteer Jeff Towne says. “That stupid bell, they love that sucker.”

You can hear that sucker ring in the “Coors for Cowboys” video at gazette.com.

“It goes constantly,” Trafton says.

The beer dock sells earplugs for $1, but these are for the speedway race track, not the bell.

Drinks are $4 for a 16-ounce bottle.

“I anticipate a good year,” Trafton says.
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