Here’s a wonderful photo from the Chapter CU TTT scrap book from the early years of the fair stand. Ralph Hoover and George Keeley are helping out, while Hazel Hoover and ??? look on. Fair burgers are on the posted menu at left, selling for 25 cents.

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FEATURED STORY · July 14, 2010
FROM THE COON RAPIDS ENTERPRISE FRONT PAGE ARCHIVES

Editor’s Note -- On the eve of the 92nd annual Carroll County Fair, why not bring up the subject of the TTT fair burgers?
By Alyssa Jackson
The CU TTT group of Coon Rapids has found many ways to serve the community but one of the most memorable ways has been hosting a food stand at the county fair.
Anyone who has grown up in Coon Rapids knows about the TTT fair burgers.
“Fair burgers’ are something they’ve had from the very beginning,” said current club president Pam Lloyd.
“Fair burgers” are basically loose meat sandwiches, and they’ve been a mainstay since the TTT group initiated a fair booth in the late 1950s. No one is quite sure on the date of the first fair booth, but it is a sure bet that fair burgers were the main item on the initial menu.
“I remember the first time we did it, Maurice Grettenberg paid for the booth. It was very primitive serving that first year. We served what we call ‘fair burgers’ and they’re still serving them,” said CU TTT charter member Anne Textor.
The CU TTT was chartered in November 1956 and Textor, along with Mildred Shirbroun, are the only two charter members still living.
“There were eight of us and we had the first meeting at Bernice Keeley’s house and state officers of the TTT came to install us. So, at the time it was quite exciting,” Textor said.
Charter members included Bernice Keeley, Louise Tuel, Mildred Shirbroun, Bernice Grettenberg, Faye Betts, Hazel Hoover, Gertrude Horning and Anne Textor. Textor remembered that it was Keeley who brought the idea of a TTT group to Coon Rapids and who organized it.
“Bernice [Keeley] -- she went around visiting with women that she thought she would like to have in the chapter and eight of us accepted,” Textor said.
Mildred Shirbroun remembered, “I felt so honored to be selected to join it in the beginning.”
Both Shirbroun and Textor are still members today, having served over 50 years in the group. In the beginning, Textor remembered that the CU TTT helped the community by doing everything from paying bills for people who couldn’t afford their utility coverage to fixing the teeth of a deserving young girl.
Today, the group focuses much of their attention on sending fifth-grade girls to camp. They also donate to congregate meals, the second-grade trip, RIF and give Christmas gifts to Thomas Rest Haven residents and local residents. They even offer a college scholarship.
All of this is accomplished through fundraising efforts by CU TTT members, which number about 45 today. Their biggest fundraiser remains the fair booth. Many will remember the old days of the fair booth, when it was held in the old fair exhibit hall and served crushed ice snow cones, pop and fair burgers.
“George Keeley used to pop popcorn for us. And when we first sold pop, it was in bottles and they had to keep it in tanks with ice and then go look for the bottles afterwards so we could turn them in,” Textor said.
Today, the TTT booth is hosted in the new and very modern exhibit hall/While their location has changed, their mission has remained constant. Proceeds of the booth support underprivileged in the community of Coon Rapids.
The CU TTT fair booth will be open Thursday, July 15 through Sunday July 18 at the fairgrounds.

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