Beer Garden offers father-son teams

Mick Ditlevson chuckles when asked if he ever thought he would be back helping his father at the Beer Garden during the Steele County Free Fair.

“I didn’t think I would be back here farming let alone working in the Beer Garden,” said Mick Ditlevson, who moved back from the east coast in 2021 and now farms outside of Blooming Prairie. “Life works in funny ways sometimes.”

Mick joined his father, Mark Ditlevson, for the first time this year as superintendent of the Beer Garden during a year that the elder Ditlevson was recognized for 35 years of service to the fair. They are one of two father-son teams devoted to the Beer Garden. Roger Noble and his son, Brandon, also have been volunteering their service. Brandon has been a superintendent for four years while Roger serves as a director on the board.

For Mick, memories of the Beer Garden go way back to his childhood while hanging out with dad at the fair. One of Mick’s first experiences was “poppin’ popcorn” for different groups running the popcorn stand inside the Beer Garden.

“I’ve been around the Beer Garden as long as I can remember,” Mick said. “I’ve spent a lot of time at the fair. It’s like the Super Bowl on the family calendar.”

Mick said he has always helped out in the Beer Garden, though he never had a formalized role until this year.

Farming has a way of getting in the way of the fair sometimes, Mick said. “We’re usually harvesting during the fair,” he said. However, this year things worked out perfectly as the Ditlevsons finished their wheat harvest on the first day of the fair.

Mick, 28, is happy to bring some younger blood to the fair’s Beer Garden. “The fair doesn’t continue to exist on its own,” he said, pointing to the fact that younger people need to become involved to continue such a legacy. “We need to keep the fairs going for years to come.”

Mick takes pride in maintaining a tradition of keeping the Beer Garden “family friendly.” His family has even held family reunions with relatives from California during the fair.

“It has always been a community space,” Mick says. “For one week, it’s a community square where everyone gets out to meet each other. It’s a lot of fun.”

After living on both the east (D.C. area) and west coasts (California), Mick has found there is nothing quite like county fairs, especially in the Midwest and the local one. “Steele County puts on a phenomenal one,” he said. “It’s really incredible what they are able to pull off.”

While the Beer Garden didn’t experience its best year this year, Mick is thrilled to see things are “back in stride” after the COVID years. “It’s good to see people come out,” he said.

Mick said he’s been focused on his father’s advice of keeping things organized and clean throughout the fair. “We want to keep it a fun place for the younger folks,” he said. “We try to do the best job we can for the fair.”