Wayne Cooper is Back in the Fiddlestick Business

McKENZIE (May 10, 2022) — Wayne Cooper of McKenzie is back to selling fiddlesticks, which is deja vu for the 81 year old. That’s where his career started when he was 10 years old and he says, that’s where his career will end.

Wayne Cooper, who grew up in the McKenzie area, was about 10 years old when he traveled to the Carroll County Fair to help local farmer Tom Lee with his cows. As a young man, Wayne did not have any money, so he went to Mr. Roy Pope of Pope’s Concessions and told him he was hungry. Pope, a first cousin to Cooper, and his wife operated the carnival at the fair. Pope gave Cooper some money and a job selling popcorn for five cents.

When Cooper was age 12, he went with the carnival to Spencer, West Virginia and traveled all over the United States operating a glass pitch game for the carnival.

The carnival was traveling to Woodville, Mississippi and stopped at the Carroll County Fair, where he worked the fiddlestick stand. The most beautiful young lady he had ever seen walked up and wanted a fiddlestick.

“I looked at her and said, ‘I don’t know who you are or don’t even know your name, but I am going to marry you,” said Cooper. It was love at first sight and she was not charged for her fiddlestick.

I was 16 and she was 15, recalled Cooper.

In 1956, Cooper began to date that young lady, Bobbie Orr, the true love of his life. The carnival traveled to the Mid-South Fair in Memphis and Bobbie’s parents drove her to see him there.

In 1960, Cooper was drafted into the Army and was stationed at San Antonio, Texas before being transferred to Germany. Bobbie traveled to Texas to see Cooper. She had $500 in her shoe. It was money she had made at Wilker Brothers, a sleepwear manufacturer in McKenzie. The two stayed in separate motel rooms while in Texas. He deployed to Germany and she took a bus back to McKenzie. After two years in Germany, Cooper returned to McKenzie in May of 1962. The two married on July 1, 1962, at the ages of 22 and 21.

Wayne went to work at Replogle Lumber in Henry, where he worked 55 years, retiring in 2018. On June 14, 2020, God chose to call home Bobbie, Wayne’s true love.

“After 58 years of marriage to my beautiful and wonderful Bobbie, my life has not been the same since her passing. The lonely days without her are sometimes too much to bear,” said Cooper. “On Monday, April 25, I was having one of those difficult and bad days, so I decided to phone Jane Pope and see if she needed any workers for the carnival. She responded, “Come on.”

“At the age of 81, I am back where I started with the carnival, where I started at the age of 10 selling fiddlesticks. I worked the Trenton Teapot Festival and also the Humboldt Strawberry Festival and loved every minute of it. I love meeting and talking with people of all ages and from all walks of life. I love selling those fiddlesticks and especially seeing the smiling faces on children when they get a fiddlestick,” said Cooper.

He noted the teenage girls remind him of the precious memories of his bride of 58 years.

“It started with a fiddlestick and it’s going to end with a fiddlestick,” said Cooper.