HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Bill Hildebrandt has worked through 43 Kansas State Fairs, but this year’s fair was his last. Hildebrandt, who began working at the fairgrounds following his service in the Vietnam War, will retire at the end of this week.

Hildebrandt worked as the fair’s carpenter and grew up on the fairgrounds in the 1950’s. His parents helped organize the annual South Hutchinson United Methodist concessions for many years. His mother made pies and chicken noodles at the church. His father would get off from his job as a parts clerk at a local dealership and head to the church’s fair booth, where he washed dishes every evening.

Hildebrandt graduated from Nickerson High School in 1969. Eight months later, he was fighting in Vietnam as a Navy gunner’s mate. Every year, until he returned in 1974, his father would send him a box of peanuts from the state fair vendor.

In April 1976, he applied for a job at the Kansas State Fair as a general laborer. He figured he would work at the fair for just a few years. Now 43 years later, he retires as one of the Kansas State Fair’s longest-serving employees in its 106-year history.