July 26 – 31
Courtesy of Theresa Silm
For the last thirty-eight years I sat down a couple weeks before the annual Clinton County 4-H and Youth Fair and tried to write about what is new and different about the event that year as compared to previous years.
Sometimes I’m a slow learner, but I think I’ve got it now!
It’s not what’s different that makes the Clinton County 4-H and Youth Fair special, it’s what hasn’t and doesn’t change! It’s what has stayed the same for over 77 years that makes this event one of a kind and touches the lives of children and families and the community as a whole. No – carnivals and big name concerts are not our style; this fair is just about kids and families.
Once again in 2014 hundreds of Clinton County youth will spend the last week of July showing their friends, family, neighbors and the community what they have learned this year. They’ll showcase the items they made with the skills they learned. Some will show off their very first efforts and others will combine the skills they’ve learned over a period of years to display more complicated and complex projects.
Whatever the actual item is, they show it with pride and a sense of accomplishment and they’ll bask in the glow of compliments from those who come.
Some come from homes in town, some from farms and some from rural non-farm homes, some will show animals, some will show sewing, foods or crafts, some will bring things they’ve grown in their garden and some will bring photographs or paintings. There will be all kinds of projects to see, and some will be very different than what you’ve seen in the past, but you’ll still be seeing the wonderful work of young people who are learning from mentors and role models in their neighborhood – people who share their time and talents for nothing more than the inner reward they get from knowing they are important to the youth they impact.
Bob Davis is the Fair Board President and Loretta Conklin is the 4-H Council President. Bob’s been in office a couple of years and Loretta is in her first year. But even though the faces and names have changed through the years, the fact is that the annual Fair is always organized and implemented by community volunteers (both adult and teen) who give of themselves and take pride in the event.
It takes hundreds of volunteers to provide 4-H opportunities all year and to run the annual Fair. Some of those volunteers are new each year and then there are others who have been involved for over fifty years – people like George and Shirley Hazel, Karl and Margaret Schaefer, and Charlie Silm.
There are volunteers who get involved to make opportunities available for their children and then there are those whose children have grown up and moved away and yet the parents stay involved making it all possible for other families – people like Shirley Eldridge, Susie Green, Dennis and Pat Koenigsknecht, Marilyn Cotton, Larry Ciolek, Barb Falor and Michelle Fedewa.
Fair week activities include livestock shows, project judging, contests, a 4-H style show, a truck and tractor pull, an antique tractor pull, draft horse pull, a games tent, a petting tent, the annual 4-H and FFA Livestock Sale and a concert by the Clarkson Band.
There is a lot to see and do but it seems that one of the things people enjoy the most is the chance to sit and visit with friends, reflect on times past, and work on making new memories.
So if you come every year, or you haven’t been for a while, make plans to come home to the 2014 fair. No admission or parking fees; lots of great food for a meal or a snack; and time to relax with friends. You can call 989-224-5240 for a copy of the schedule and a map or just stop by; we’re at the same place – the fairgrounds in St. Johns adjacent to the City Park and St. Johns High School.
So what doesn’t change but is never the same? That’s right, the Clinton County 4-H and Youth Fair always and forever focused on Clinton County youth, families, and the community; a place to meet friends or make friends; a place to remember or to make new memories; and a time to remind everyone that nothing is more important than kids and families.