CENTRE HALL, Pa. (WJAC) — The rain and lightning didn't stop day three of the Grange Encampment and Fair. But sometimes you need shelter from the storm. and some go all-out with their tents.

6 News spoke with some families about their prime real estate.

The Dillon family's tent has a fridge, microwave, beds, and other amenities. Like many other families at the Grange Fair — the last tenting fair in the county — the Dillons have camped out on the grounds for generations.

"How long have you been coming here for?" 6 News asked Shari Dillon.

"57 years," she replied.

"And how old are you?"

"57."

"I'm 79 years old," Helen Alters replied to the same question. "Basically, my whole life."

While there's much to enjoy outdoors, in order to stay here for days on end, you gotta make a home away from home.

"It's waterproof on one side and has...cotton on the other," Alters said of her tent. "And that way, it keeps the moisture out because we have so many little ones that you wanna make sure they're safe and they're dry."

"We bring food over in the cabinets," Lori Confer told 6 News, pointing to her tent kitchen. "We have food like sandwiches and chips and stuff, so we don't have to eat out every meal."

The Grange Fair is steeped in tradition — not just regional tradition, but, more importantly, family tradition.

"Avelina Rose... first grandchild," Dillon said. "This is her first year. [Her family's] from Pittsburgh."

"It's really, really a family affair," said Alters.

Sometimes you even grow your family here.

"My mom met my dad at the ball pitch here at the fairgrounds. And that was the first time they met," Dillon recalled. "And the rest is history."

"There's a lot of adults, but there are also five great grandchildren that are four and under," Alters said. "Took the pictures here by the railing, so that every year we can show how much has changed, how much they have changed."

And just like with money, possessions, or deeds, some even inherit their tents.

"When mom passes on, then it goes to me and my sister and my brother," Confer explained. "And then when we go, it'll go to our grandkids and our kids."

When it's time to pack up and go, the goodbye can be bittersweet.

"From beginning to end, it was our vacation," said Dillon.

"We cried every year at the end 'cause we didn't wanna leave."

Luckily, it's less of a "goodbye" and more of a "see you next time."

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfnL%2BiusaeZJ%2BZmad6tbHNrZyrq12Yrq68yKeeZp2emK6uvMyepa1laGJ%2FcnmRaWlrZZOau7W%2BxGaaqK2eqcY%3D