port in the county was on Corn School.
The group had no land to build a fairground and few financial resources, but
they had a vision. With dedication, cooperation and a lot of hard work things
began to happen. It wasn’t long until
construction began on the first 40’ x
200’ industrial building and restroom.
At fair time, everything else was either
in tents or out in the open.
When lumber yard owner Ralph
Sprague, who served as the group’s first
president, wanted to step back from
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years of 4-H, but that was just the
beginning.
Following graduation in 1948, Cleo
worked on the family farm and attended Goshen College studying science,
with the hope of transferring to Purdue. He earned his Associates Degree,
but attending Purdue never happened.
There were plenty of trips to Lafayette
for seminars with County Agent Riley
Case who Cleo says taught him about
leadership. Cleo tells stories about getting lost, going the wrong way, always
sitting on the front row, and learning
from some of the top people at Purdue.
He chuckled when he said, “I think I
knew the Purdue campus better than
most of the students.” It was at those
seminars that he learned about no-till
farming and building a milking parlor.
Radical ideas in their day, Cleo dared
to give them a try and today they are
common farming practices.
In October of 1953, Cleo married
his high school sweetheart, Phyllis,
who continues to be his biggest supporter. Phyllis’ role in encouraging Cleo
during those early years in farming
and raising a family cannot be over
stated. Phyllis laughs about it now,
but unbeknown to her, the morning
of their wedding Cleo helped unload a
train carload of feeder lambs that had
just arrived at the Wabash depot in
Topeka. They drove them a mile west
along the railroad tracks and then
another half mile south to the farm.
Fortunately, Cleo had just enough time
to clean up, change his clothes and
make it to Mishawaka for his wedding.
Edgar Franklin wasn’t finished
finding ways to involve Hartzler in
the immerging LaGrange County 4-H
Program. He convinced Cleo to join the
fledgling LaGrange County Fair Board.
It was a herculean task for the young
board because all the focus and sup-
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leadership, the 4-H Fair Board looked
to Hartzler. Cleo was named the new
president and served 1962-1967. Well
into retirement, Cleo and Phyllis continue to be ardent supporters of 4-H.
Otis E. Hall, former Hoosier and
4-H pledge author, once said, “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.” Those words
perfectly describe Cleo Hartzler.
The Hometown Treasure · July ‘13 · pg 15