Cindy DePue used to bring her kids to the fair to keep them entertained in the late summer.

One day, they got her to take tickets at the gate. Now, her kids are in their 30s, and she’s still working the gate.

“It’s fun, my kids are grown now, I don’t have anything to do, so …” she said. “Everybody has different reasons why they do it. Some are just older people who just like to socialize and see people.”

If the West End Fair is happening, DePue and her sister Jackie can usually be found at one of the gates, making jokes and faces at each other and fair guests. This year, they are at gate 1.

They’ll tease everyone from kids to the elderly, lightening up the long days which generally start around 8 a.m. and don’t end until the fair does, around 10 p.m.

“You just gotta kind of joke with them. You can pretty much tell who you can joke with and who you can’t,” she said.

She attracts a following at the gate. She laughed, recalling a man who wouldn’t leave her alone for a half-hour until she sent him away. He brought her back a stuffed animal.

“I said ‘what are you doing back here?’ He said, ‘I missed ya.’ I said, ‘I know that, I just wanted to hear you say it,’ ” she said.

DePue became a fair regular because of her love for exhibiting items in the various contests. She crochets, sews, bakes and crafts.

While Jackie spends the whole year preparing, Cindy sometimes waits until the last minute. That didn’t stop her from taking home the blue ribbon in the herb vinegars category this year.

“You’re allowed 25 entries. We go for the 25. We’re very competitive,” she said.

The most memorable events at the fair for DePue are the odd ones, like the time when a man fell down on the pavement in front of her ticket stand, injuring his head, or when there were rumors of gangs at the fair. But even more memorable than that are the people that DePue meets.

“Everybody around here is pretty good, nice people, have fun. Every once in a while, something weird happens,” she said.

She’s heard just about every excuse or joke that a person can come up with at the fair’s ticket gate. More than a few adults have joked about getting the children’s discount. She also notices that there are a disproportionate number of children who come in just under the age limit for a free child’s ticket.

“It’s 11 years of age and older. We have an awful lot of 10-year-olds,” she said.

Jackie used to take a picture of Cindy each morning of the fair, showing how the fair would take its toll on her energy each day.

But she keeps coming back because she hopes that she can add to the fun of the fair.

“We just sit here and act crazy with them, try and lighten up some of the thoughts and tensions they have,” DePue said.