FREE !  Admission, Rides & Entertainment

SATURDAY       9:00 ~ 5:00

SUNDAY          10:00 ~ 4:00

Fun for the whole family! Enjoy Live Music, Great Food, Old Time Motors & Machinery, Kids Slide (Weather Permitting), Steam Donkeys, Antiques – Collectibles, Child Activities, Music & a Kids Carnival! At Mary M. Knight School,   2987 Matlock-Brady Rd.

Old Timers Fair – Matlock, WA/Emily rides the train. Image by Jeff Slakey/2012

The Miracle Of Matlock

Every year on the first full weekend in May, history and old fashioned family entertainment come alive on the campus of Mary M. Knight School, in rural Matlock, Washington.

In the mid 1980’s, starting with a group of local residents concerned with the loss of knowledge about the lives and technology of their pioneering forbearers, a cadre of citizens began to assemble artifacts, and oral and written records of those bygone years.  From those fledgling efforts, have sprung the Mary M. Knight Historical Society, and the annual Old Timers Historical Fair.

Residing in a pre-depression era building which originally housed the entire school and later, the home of the school superintendent, hundreds of historical artifacts and records that have been donated or loaned by descendants of the original pioneering families are on display.  Topics run the gamut from early era logging and farming equipment, through memorabilia of bygone living implements, extensive pictorial records, accounts, personal belongings relating to the legendary outlaw John Tornow, and numerous items found only on display in museum settings.

The museum is open to the public each year during the fair and yearlong on the fourth Sunday of each month.  The museum is also open to groups throughout the year on an appointment basis.

The Fair itself first began as a small gathering of antique tractor and old time engine aficionados in the late 1980’s.  That initial gathering was so successful that in succeeding years more and more attractions were added so that this annual event now attracts more than five thousand visitors from Washington and many surrounding states.

Since its inception the guiding principles of the Fair have been oriented towards the whole family and that admission, parking and attendance at all attractions, entertainment, displays, and events be free.  This effort is only possible through the thousands of hours of volunteer effort and unsolicited donations by the greater Matlock community. Since there are few communities where an extremely successful event of this magnitude could happen utilizing only volunteer efforts of a community of 120 families, this annual event has been dubbed “the miracle of Matlock.” 

From the Matlock Historical Society

Hunters have through May 22 to apply for special hunting permits for fall deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey seasons in Washington state.

Permit winners will be selected through a random drawing conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in late June. The special permits qualify hunters to hunt at times and places beyond those authorized by a general hunting license.

To apply for a special hunt permit, hunters must purchase an application and necessary hunting licenses for each species they wish to hunt.

Applications and licenses are available from license vendors statewide or on WDFW’s website at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/special_permits.html. Applications must be submitted on that website or by calling 1-877-945-3492 toll-free.

Most special hunt permit applications cost $7.10 for residents, $110.50 for non-residents, and $3.80 for youth under 16 years of age.

The exception is the cost for residents purchasing applications for mountain goats, any ram and any moose, as well as “quality” categories for deer and elk. Those applications cost $13.70.

Instructions and details on applying for special-permit hunts are described on pages 86-87 of the 2013 Big Game Hunting Seasons & Regulations pamphlet, available at WDFW offices, license vendors, and online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations. Additional information is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/faq.html.

Dave Ware, WDFW game division manager, reminds hunters to update their email and mailing address in the system when purchasing their special hunting permit applications and licenses. Each year, hundreds of special hunting permits are returned due to invalid addresses.

Results of the special-permit drawing will be available online by the end of June at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wa/specialhuntlookup. Winners will be notified by mail by mid-July.

Despite cool and windy weather in many parts of the state, anglers had a lot of success reeling in large trout on opening day of this year’s lowland lakes fishing season.

Based on creel checks conducted at 98 lakes around the state, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) estimates that anglers caught an average of 4.6 trout on opening day, April 27.

“We saw a lot of limits caught at lakes around the state and many anglers happy with the large trout,” said Chris Donley, WDFW’s Inland Fish program manager. “Late morning and early afternoon windy weather blew folks off of some waters, but not before they caught lots of fish.”

For most lakes, the daily limit is five fish. Donley said the 4,076 anglers contacted by WDFW on opening day retained an average of 2.8 trout – up from 2.3 fish in recent years. The rest of the fish were released.