Hashtag is proud to announce the debut of a new monthly feature. The #Hashtag Junior Spy Club. . .  So, listen up, all of you mini-spies out there.  All it takes to be a member is to be a kid and to email the newspaper at juniorspyclub@gmail.com and you will be sent a copy of your #Hashtag Junior Spy Club card through email. Please be sure to include your first name. Mom and Dad will have to print it out to make a badge for you. Wear it proud because that will officially make you a #Hashtag Junior Spy.  Email us with your stories and experiences around town.You might be lucky enough to have your story featured in a future edition of the #Hashtag.

Last month it was all about the West Virginia State Fair. What better way to view the fair then from the eyes of a child? A mini-spy’s perspective.  (Plus, they are able to cover a lot more ground.  Maybe it has something to do with being lower to the ground and more aerodynamic. Idk. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess. I’m sure age has nothing to do with it.)

I was lucky enough and honored to be asked by the editor to interview some Junior Spies for the first article. These excerpts are taken from the actual interview I had with them. According to Junior Spies, Sadie, Courtney and Isabella, the best thing at the fair, hands down, was the rides; especially, ‘The Stinger’. Sadie said she was scared at first, but she got over her fear and it became her favorite. She was still waiting for the $10 her older sister owed her from the bet that she wouldn’t go on it. I assured her that notoriety from this article might get her money a little faster. Courtney said, ‘The Freak-out’ lived up to it’s name. She freaked out when she rode it. One additional humorous note: One of the spies told me that their Uncle Jerry screams like a little girl when he gets on the scary rides. All three spies agreed that the food at the fair was really good . The best thing to eat at the fair, according to Sadie, was the popcorn. She said it was, “Totally awesome”.

The best popcorn she ever had. . . . and she added, “The .99 hot dog were really really good”. Courtney’s little sister, Isabella, had a corn dog and she really liked the Dippin Dots. That is some kind of freeze dried little dots of ice cream, I think. They didn’t have that when I was a kid. Courtney liked the pizza and the caramel apples. They said all of the food at the fair was pretty good. They all loved the shows. They saw the death-defying motorcycles ride the wall. They saw the tigers. They saw a hypnotist and were amazed by that. They said it was real. “These people were really hypnotized”, said Courtney. When I asked them if they had seen any of the exhibits and prize-winning animals at the fair, there was a deadpan silence. After a few seconds, they all said in unison, a resounding “No”. . . and then went on to add that it’s not really what the fair is all about. There you have it, folks. Straight from the Junior Spies. I thanked them for the interview and told them what a great job they did. We hope to hear from a lot more mini-spies next month. Until then, ‘The Spy’

– Random Prophet. HashtagWV #93. September 2017.