State Fair Destination: $1 milk booth

But the booth that keeps them coming back decade after decade isn't doing anything fancy. In fact, some (who obviously aren't in the know) might say it's a little humdrum.

What they're selling at the booth inside the Kerr Scott Building is milk. Cold milk. Half pint cartons, to be exact, with your choice of either 2 percent white milk or skim chocolate milk. The price: Just $1.

For decades, tens of thousands of people - as many as 30,000 during a single 10-day fair - have stopped by the milk booth for their cup or carton of cold milk. In fact, it's such a tradition that many come up to the folks behind the counter and say something like, "I have to get my milk," Carlyle Teague said.

Teague has helped run the booth for the past 35 years, but he didn't start it. Teague, who retired as president of the N.C. Cooperative Council in the mid-1990s, said the booth had been in operation for at least a decade or more before he took over.

The booth is an opportunity for the state's dairy industry to show off its product, he said. The milk is kept cold - at around 35 degrees to 40 degrees.

"The purpose is for the dairy industry is to show people that cold milk tastes good and is a good product," said Teague, who worked for the N.C. Department of Agriculture before moving over to the council and has been working the fair in some capacity since 1969.

Over the past three decades, Teague said there's been plenty of changes in the state's dairy industry. Today, there are fewer farms and fewer processors.

In fact, the milk served at the fair comes from North Carolina, but it must travel over the border to Maola's processing plant in Newport News, Va., before it comes returns, ready to drink.

There have been plenty of changes at the milk booth too.

Chocolate milk was added about 15 years ago and is now the clear favorite - 3 to 1 over the white milk, Teague said.

Long-time fair goers also remember when a cup of milk cost as little as 10 cents or 25 cents. The price went up to $1 per serving for at least a decade.

Another big change in the past decade: The booth moved from serving milk into plastic cups from large bulk dispensers to the small cartons, which are familiar to any school kid. That caused a bit of a fuss too.

"It's just easier to do and with increased emphasis on cleanliness, we felt like it was a better way to serve it," Teague said. "Although, it's not really been accepted well. The same ones that ask the question about the [bulk milk] are the same ones that say, 'I remember when it was a dime or a quarter.'"

Teague checks in at the booth everyday. Chester Lowder with the N.C. Farm Bureau also helps out. On weekdays, volunteers with the dairy industry sell the milk. In the evenings and weekends, you'll find members of clubs from N.C. State University - the agribusiness club and agricultural institute club. They are raising money for their clubs through milk sales.

Even after all of these years, Teague said he loves the job - seeing old friends, long-time cold milk fans and little kids, eager for that carton of rich, creamy chocolate milk.

Said Teague: "It's people watching as much as anything."