May 1st 1982 the Knoxville World's Fair opened. I remember everyone thinking millions of people were coming and tons of new hotels were built. They even renovated the Robert E. Lee Hotel in downtown Athens, TN. Mom and dad were excited about getting to go to the opening and see President Reagan. I was finishing up my freshman year of college and working at the DPA. I really didn't spend much time at the fair. I spent most of that summer on the lake, and in the darkroom, but fall brought frequent visits to the Australian pavilion. Carson Newman did not allow drinking on or off campus, so we would sing Men at Work songs down the halls of New Men's dorm as code for our down under adventures. The great debate was whether Fosters or KB (dubbed Killer Beer) was the better Australian export. The highlight of the fair for me was being in the Australian pavilion when Tennessee beat Bama for the first time in forever.
In celebration of the fair's anniversary, Gracie woman and I went to Petros for supper. Barry is trumpeting the fair, and WBIR is airing a special. It took 25 years to get that really bad techno theme song out of my head, and one commercial and the nightmare has returned. None the less, it will be fun to look back.
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I was thirteen when I went to the Knoxville World's Fair -- only got to go one time, right before I had two major surgeries in June and I spent the rest of the year flat on my back. The thing I remembered most about it was that little Petros stand and how good those were. ;)
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