![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/XVVQKGD5FFF65NHTRL5LGSBK3U.jpg\")
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State Fair of Texas employee Faye Thomas, 87, scans a ticket for a young fairgoer at an entrance to the State Fair of Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Thomas has worked at this same gate for 35 years. Her daughter-in-law worked here first and asked her if she wanted to try it. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I did, and I\u2019ve been going back ever since,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Gate 5 is one of seven entrances and Thomas hasn\u2019t budged when it comes to working anywhere else.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
![\"Big](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3AXKQFHL2NDLTERPHXPKFOWKBQ.jpg\")
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\u201cThat\u2019s the best gate in the State Fair of Texas,\u201d she says with a grin. \u201cIt\u2019s a special gate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gate 5 is the Grand Gate to Fair Park, right next to the African American Museum of Dallas and Magnolia Beer Garden. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s also home to a kind of community that lasts far beyond the fairgrounds. Ann Taulton has been Thomas\u2019 supervisor for about 18 years. They spent their shifts laughing, teasing their younger co-workers and greeting kids as they walk by. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s here when I can\u2019t get nobody else to be here,\u201d Taulton said. \u201cMiss Faye is always on time and she\u2019ll stay as long as I need her. We hang out outside of it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ED4CCVBEDVGBJG3M7LLSZURJFM.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
State Fair of Texas employee Faye Thomas, 87, waits to greet fairgoers and scan their tickets at an entrance to the State Fair of Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Visitors recognize Thomas, as well. Some families seek her line every year, skipping others just to be greeted by her familiar face.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s sweet,\u201d says Lee Andrews, who comes to the fair each fall with his wife. \u201cIt gives you that family feel. She\u2019s gonna greet you with a smile and is very welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas was born in Frederick, Okla., and moved to Dallas in 1960. In 1989, she started her long tradition at the fair. These days, her income is a mix of Social Security and her few weeks of State Fair pay, which started out as $5 an hour and is now $18 an hour.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It\u2019s] a big chunk in my income,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut I don\u2019t do it just for the money. I do it because I enjoy it \u2014 meeting people, talking to them, making sure they have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/QX4VFEL7BBG3LNP4LATDK4DWGI.jpg\")
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For residents of South Dallas, the State Fair is more than a yearly event \u2014 it\u2019s an economic engine. Locals rent out yards for parking and sell snacks or souvenirs to crowds streaming toward Fair Park. Thomas sees how much the fair means to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just benefits the whole community,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople enjoy having to park their cars in their yard so they won\u2019t have to go so far to walk to the State Fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her work is steady and joyful, but it can sometimes have its moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell the people what they can do and can\u2019t do and [some] have an attitude with you,\u201d she said, laughing softly. \u201cYou just keep smiling and tell \u2018em have a nice day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas has watched the fair change and grow \u2014 she\u2019s seen co-workers retire and pass away, attractions come and go and each new generation of attendees. She\u2019s been around since the building of the African American Museum to the day Big Tex caught fire in 2012.<\/p>\n
![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/7PUSEZ2YVJD67K55VFMN63ZUPI.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
State Fair of Texas employee Faye Thomas, 87, scans tickets for fairgoers at an entrance to the State Fair of Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really a sad day for everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cThey really didn\u2019t want to work here no more. Big Tex had been there for so many years. They were really saddened about that because they knew there wasn\u2019t gonna be no other Big Tex like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
But each fall, when the banners go up and Big Tex\u2019s arm starts waving again, she\u2019s back at Gate 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still there, so I thank God for that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes me feel young.\u201d<\/p>\n
By midday, the crowd thickens with families, teens, school kids, couples in matching fair T-shirts. The sun beats down, and Thomas barely pauses as she scans ticket after ticket.<\/p>\n
Each beep of the scanner is part of her rhythm. Each \u201cthank you\u201d is a small act of care. When asked if she\u2019ll ever stop, she just chuckles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy going back every year and hope to go back next year if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.<\/p>\n
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access\u2019 journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 9 a.m. sharp, Gate 5 at Fair Park hums to life. The sun cuts through the State…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":307771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,347,11321,7711,1596,14053,7348,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-307770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-arts-entertainment","11":"tag-arts-access","12":"tag-dallas","13":"tag-south-dallas","14":"tag-state-fair-of-texas","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115383302078688823","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}