While others are booking rooms at area resorts, retired Sturgeon Bay priest Tony Birdsall takes his five-day vacation every year at the Door County Fair.  For nearly a century, the family name has been synonymous with the Door County Fair, dating back to Birdsall’s parents entering projects since the 1920s. Birdsall himself has entered projects in the Door County Fair since he was a young boy aside from a few years when he was assigned to be a pastor at Catholic churches outside of the area. Citing his love for competition and chickens, Birdsall says he also likes seeing kids have their own success at the fair.

Dubbed the “Chicken Priest,” you will most likely find Birdsall tending to his dozens of chickens in the poultry and rabbit building, where he served as a Door County Fair superintendent for several years. If not, Birdsall says he reserves Thursday for cutting flowers to be entered in the open class division.

Picture from Corpus Christi Parish