BURBANK : Veterans Pay Annual Visit to Valley Fair

Arthur Johnson, 77, remembers the last time he was around farm animals, right down to the year: 1946, just after the war.

Johnson, who served in the Coast Guard during World War II--patrolling the waters from Seattle to Alaska--attended the San Fernando Valley Fair on Thursday with about 35 other veterans from the Sepulveda Veterans Administration Medical Center in North Hills.

For Johnson, it was like a trip down memory lane.

Johnson grew up on a farm in Wenatchee, Wash., where he had his own cow and horse and helped his parents and his sister raise all of the family’s food.

“I haven’t visited a fair since I was a kid,” said Johnson, after petting a white pony inside a corral filled with baby farm animals. “It feels like home.”

For the last eight years, many of the 135 veterans at the 38-year-old center’s nursing home have raised vegetables, baked cookies and made crafts such as pottery and needlepoint to enter in the fair each year.

Ruth Phillips, an assistant occupational therapist who accompanied the veterans to the fair, said the event is always the highlight of the year.

“It really helps raise their self-esteem,” Phillips said. “It gives them a goal to reach for.” She added that some of the veterans are already thinking about what to make to enter in the fair next year.

Dale Coons, the general manager of the fair, said that the veterans group is one of about 15 adult groups and nearly 25 youth groups that attend the fair free of charge every year.

“We try to cater to any nonprofit group that wants to spend a day at the fair,” Coons said. “It’s excellent therapy for them.”

Aside from petting farm animals, the veterans dressed up in bandannas and straw hats and had their pictures taken after admiring a roomful of award-winning vegetables and brightly colored crafts.

The fair was open free of charge to people over 55 on Thursday and will be free to children under 15 on Friday until 6 p.m. Admission for children under 12 is always free.