THE TEAM

It definitely takes a team to successfully service restrooms at the Little Brown Jug harness racing event at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, says Kyle Hack. It’s the biggest event of the year for Tidy Tim’s Inc., a portable restroom and septic service business his parents Tim and Patty Hack started in 1995.

The workers on the fairgrounds for more than a week are typically members of the Hack family. Kyle and his sister Katie Gossett are currently going through succession planning taking over the family business, with the help of their spouses Chelsey Hack and Zach Gossett. But the other six employees in the business are just as important to keep up with Tidy Tim’s other work servicing construction site portable restrooms as well as septic tank pumping, Kyle Hack emphasizes.

“We couldn’t do it without the people who are out there picking up the slack,” he says. That was important when Hack approached organizers in 2017 with a bid that won out over a large company that previously held the Little Brown Jug contract. Since then, Tidy Tim’s signed a second contract for additional years. 

THE MAIN EVENT

The Little Brown Jug event started 85 years ago, when the fairgrounds were moved to Delaware, Ohio, and the track with its steep banks was designed to be fast, which is appreciated by participants and fans. Part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing, it is said to be the fastest half-mile track in the world and a premier pacing classic for 3-year-old pacing standardbred horses.

Held for five days during the third week in September, it attracts up to 40,000 spectators for Thursday’s main event, Jug Day. Many spectators travel from Canada, and Hack has met people from other countries such as Australia. By Thursday, the Tidy Tim’s team has been servicing restrooms since the Saturday before when the Delaware County Fair begins. After the weekend and early part of the week, the fair transitions into race mode. “It’s a rocking place. The busiest time is Tuesday night through Thursday night,” Hack says.

BY THE NUMBERS

Taking care of the large crowd requires 100 Satellite Industries Maxim 3000 units, and 20 Satellite Liberty ADA units, all with hand sanitizers. A couple of Satellite hand-wash units are placed near the livestock area and restrooms are set up to augment the fairground’s permanent bathroom facilities.

A 10-stall JAG Mobile Solutions trailer serves as VIP facilities on top of Pavilion Hill. Three other multistall homebuilt trailers are set up in other locations. A good portion of the restrooms are set up to serve campers on sites around the fairgrounds. Fair staff handles the paperwork and lets the Tidy Tim’s crew know where camper customers are located.

CAMPER PUMPING SERVICES

Many campers are self-contained and need pumping services during the event. Tidy Tim’s posts flyers in restrooms and around the grounds with their number and pumping information. When they get a call, they schedule in the service along with the restrooms in the camping area starting around 8 a.m. “Sometimes people flag us down and we add them to the list,” Hack says. “We are contracted to be there until noon, but we stay longer if there’s demand.”

Access can be challenging as campers are not parked in a straight row. Trucks carry 60 feet of hose to reach campers far from the access road where the truck is parked. Customers must be present and pay the driver when campers are pumped. The system has worked out pretty well, Hack says, except for one year when there was a heavy rain and the trucks couldn’t get to campers that were parked along grass aisles.

LET’S ROLL

Though the system was well organized for setting up restrooms when they first started, Tidy Tim’s has made a few tweaks over the years. Hack recalls the first year driving up Pavilion Hill’s narrow path and setting up the JAG trailer. The tricky part was squeezing it in place between massive tents set up for a dinner and concert. Now, drivers make sure to place the trailer before the tents are put up. Early setup is helpful in other areas as well.

“They gave us a staging area, and a week in advance we can start dropping off restrooms,” Hack says, noting their business is 40 minutes away from the fairgrounds. Using 16-foot F.M. Manufacturing and 10-unit homebuilt transport trailers, drivers can drop off restrooms when it’s convenient with their routes. Then just before the event, the restrooms and hand-wash stations are moved into place.

An onsite dump is also helpful as well, and Hack is given a camping site for a trailer with supplies and the trucks they use. The two Kenworth trucks (2005 and 2016) were built by Best Enterprises, with 1,100-gallon wastewater/400-gallon freshwater stainless steel tanks and National Vacuum Equipment pumps. A 2018 4WD Ram pickup repurposed with an old 700-gallon waste/250-gallon freshwater steel tank is available if a lighter vehicle is needed for muddy conditions. The fairgrounds also provides a golf cart for workers to haul supplies to stock restrooms.

Two Tidy Tim’s teams with two trucks service the fair area at night. Then, during the day they service campground restrooms and campers. “The most consistent challenge is moving from place to place. It’s a sea of people and a nonstop party,” Hack says. “We put the strobe lights on and do the best we can.”

WRAPPING IT UP

As with setting up, Tidy Tim’s takes its time hauling restrooms back to the yard in Mount Gilead, Ohio. It’s easier to wait until tents have been removed before moving the JAG trailer. Since campers often linger at the event, the private units are the last to be removed. In just a few years, the team has gotten to know many of the people that attend the Little Brown Jug race.

“It’s a good time and a good way to cap off our event season,” Hack says.