Anna man to donate hat with dozens of Du Quoin State Fair celebrity signatures to Cancer Society

For 35 years Dale Lipe of Anna has been one of the first in line at the Du Quoin State Fair ticket windows.

He has purchased front row tickets to some of the greatest names in the entertainment world.

Along the way he has picked up the autographs of most of the celebrities he has seen.

He has filled one hat with names and has started to collect signatures for a second and third hat.

He has been offered upwards of $12,000 for the hat. During the 2014 Du Quoin State Fair he told this reporter it is time to do something meaningful with the hat. It is time to either donate the hat to the American Cancer Society or to donate the proceeds from an auction for the hat to the society.

He has not completely formulated his plan, but says it is important to him that the hat winds up contributing to something good.

Lipe talked about his love of the Du Quoin State Fair before and during the Rodney Atkins show while sitting in the first row just behind the handicapped seating in front of the stage.