Members of the Exchange Club spend their free time preparing the machines, rides and booths for the fast approaching Brookhaven Exchange Club Fair.

The fair will begin Aug. 1 and continue until Aug. 8. Gates will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. Armbands will be $10 for adults and $5 for children under 5.

“It’s just a lot of little things,” outgoing President of the Exchange Club Mike Walley said about the repairs he and other club members have been doing for the past three months.

Walley said work has included installing new cushions on the roller coaster, installing seatbelts on kiddie cars as well as the Frolic, and putting brakes on the Tilt-a-Whirl — which Walley said has never had brakes — and having some work done on the Scrambler.

Another update to the park this year that the club just finished is upgrading the cross ties on the train tracks that encircle the fair area.

Walley said the oldest ride they have there is probably the Ferris wheel, which he said has a plaque on it stating that it was patented in 1922. He said the Scrambler was acquired in the 1960s, the Tilt-a-Whirl in the 1980s, the kiddie cars and roller coaster both in the 1950s and everything else was obtained in or after the 1950s.

“One of the things that keeps ours in good shape is the fact that we don’t run them every day,” Walley said.

He said the Exchange Club operates it mainly one week out of the year for the fair then for a few other events through the year such as Make-a-Wish, Relay for Life, end-of-the-school-year fair, churches and the occasional one- to two-hour rental.

“There’s a place out of Texas we order stuff from,” Walley said about parts they need for some of the rides. He said Scramblers are still made the same way so they’re able to order parts from a company in Illinois fairly easy.

For parts or issues that can’t be solved through manufacturers, Walley said that’s where the Brookhaven/Lincoln County community steps in. He said that a lot of businesses and people in the community donate resources and time when it comes to keeping the fairgrounds in tip-top shape. Walley shared a story about a shaft that needed repairing on one of the rides. James Minter built a new one.

“He brought it back; we slapped it on and were able to run the ride that night,” he said.

Volunteers from the community work booths and rides at the fair while Exchange Club members take care of the fairground’s maintenance and get it ready for events.

Walley said during the past few months he’s been at the fairgrounds almost every day along with Chairman Greg Boyd. He said a lot of club members come to work on the rides when they get off work around 5 and 6 p.m.

“We’ve got people in their 80s and 90s. They’re the ones who got the fair started. They’ve put in their time,” Walley said. “The younger people, it’s up to them.”

Walley said next week, club members will be at the fairgrounds working on rides nearly every day.

“Then when Saturday gets here, we’ll be ready to fire it up,” Walley said.