was not limited to athletics; it also
involved 4-H and livestock judging. Ed
Franklin’s Topeka boys (Tom Turner,
Arnold Christner, Jake Gloor, and
Dean Kauffman) were the 1949 State
4-H Champion Dairy Judging Team.
DeWayne Bontrager says that the Topeka boys placed either first or second
at the International Jersey Dairy Show
in Tennessee. DeWayne also said that,
“The next year Dave Yoder, Dick Troyer,
Robert Yoder and I were determined
to beat them when we went to Dallas,
Texas, but the best we could do was
third place.”
The present LaGrange County
4-H Fair grew out of a discussion during the 1953 Corn
School. What followed was a
series of meetings involving
club leaders, parents, interested community leaders, and
the executive committee of
Extension. On the first night
of the fair (August 9th) WOWO
Radio’s farm director Jay Gould
was the dedication speaker. The
dedication was marred by a severe storm that took down one
of the tents, but everything was
moved inside and the program
was completed.
The words of Indiana native
Otis E. Hall, author of the 4-H
pledge, best sums up the mission and the vision of 4-H when
he said, “We’re not trying to make
farmers out of all these boys. We don’t
care how many hogs or cabbages he
raises; it’s the boy we’re interested in.
We’re trying to build self-reliance, good
judgment and character. For many, 4-H
is a stepping stone.”
The Hometown Treasure · August ‘12 · pg 21
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