Every year there’s something new at The Puyallup Fair, but that doesn’t keep long-time vendors from continuing to open their doors every September.
When The Puyallup Fair opens on Friday, Sept. 7, it will mark 29 years of hamburgers with grilled onions and Howard’s secret sauce at Howard’s Hitching Post.
“People ask for (the special sauce),” said Stella Jenkins, owner of the burger stand.
Jenkins and her husband, Howard, opened the stand for business Sept. 8, 1978. At the time, the Jenkins also owned Howard’s Drive-In on River Road.
“We had both ends of town covered,” Jenkins said.
It’s been 15 years since Howard was alive, but The Fair restaurant keeps going every year.
Howard used to make the sauce, but now the duty is their son Larry’s job.
“Instead of Doing The Puyallup, it’s doing it for dad,” Jenkins said.
All of her four children and eight grandchildren have worked at the restaurant at one time or another. Her four great grandchildren would work there too, but they’re not old enough, she said.
“They all help me,” Jenkins said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it if they didn’t.”
Each family member has their thing they do, she said. Some help fix the building up and others show their cooking chops in the kitchen.
“It’s a big family thing,” Jenkins said. “Everyone has their own little things.”
It takes a few weeks before The Fair starts to get everything ready and a few weeks after The Fair ends to put everything away for the year. After all the equipment has sat for a year the family goes to work to make sure everything is running and the building is up to par.
“I’m the designated handyman and cheap cook,” said Jenkins’ son Jim. “I’d say a lot of hamburgers have gone through my hands, but it doesn’t sound right.”
Before The Fair opens he’s up on the roof of the building doing the yearly repairs.
While Howard’s Hitching Post has been in its spot by the end of the Skyride for almost 30 years, what has been around the building has changed.
When they first opened up there was an old western fort behind them. It’s why they named it the hitching post, she said. It was a place for people to tie up their horses and get a burger.
The fort is gone. It has been for more than a decade, Jenkins said. Now there’s a grassy area behind them with barns.
It was better when it was there, Jim said. Every year, there’s something different behind them, so they just go with it.
Some of the changes have been very exciting. For example, her grandchildren were the first to ride the Skyride when it opened.
She doesn’t walk around The Fair much anymore, she’s too busy making sure everything runs smoothly.
“I think there’s something for everyone here,” she said, but Howard was the one who liked to check things out the most.
He used to take their grandchildren to all the rides and exhibits at The Fair, she said.
When their grandchildren were younger they thought their grandpa owned The Fair. In fact, it’s been a big part of their family.
“Nobody knows what September looks like,” Jim said.
For 29 years, the month has been all about The Fair, he said. Memories are filled with The Fair and family. These two things have kept the burger stand going. And every year Jenkins sees children who used to come to the stand when it first opened grow-up a little more.
Howard loved to cook, Jenkins said. He would make everything from scratch. But what he looked forward to the most every year is the people.
“He loved the people,” Jenkins said. “He knew everybody and everybody knew him.”
What Jenkins looks forward to the most are seeing all the people she’s met throughout the years come back. Sometimes old-timers will come around and talk to her and tell her they used to go to the drive-in all the time, Jenkins said. Howard and Jenkins are both Puyallup High School alumni and old classmates stop by to reminisce.
Throughout the years there have been a lot of people who have worked at the hitching post. She usually has between 35-40 people working during the 17 day run. Many of them are teenagers who grow up and start their adult lives, but they don’t forget the place they worked at The Fair.
“They all come back,” Jenkins said.
She remembers how two former employees, who worked at the drive-in, got married and now have two children. They make it down to The Fair to say “Hi” almost every year.
Reach Reporter Chris Albert at 253-841-2481 Ext. 313 or by e-mail at chris.albert@puyallupherald.com.
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