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Leavenworth County Fair 2001

By Staff Report - | Aug 15, 2001

Winners on parade

These are the winners from the Leavenworth County Fair Parade:

4-H floats

Boling 4-H (1)

Lucky Clover 4-H (2)

Livewires 4-H (3)

Open class

First State Bank (1)

Community National Bank (2)

Heartland Daycare (3)

Old Cars

Fred Benedict (1)

Eddie Slawson (2)

Mary and Junior Kern (3)

Most unusual float

Tonganoxie Nursing Center

Horses

Ford Family Chiropractic (1)

Basehor Community Library (2)

Austin Harkrader (3)

Clowns

Leah McCaffrey (1)

Shirley Beemer (2)

Star Struck (3)

Bikes

Shawn Roberts (1)

Brandy Roberts (2)

Brooke Grey (3)

Looking for blooms

The judges at Thursday’s open class flower show at the Leavenworth County Fair take their work seriously.

As Kit Carlson and Virginia Williams gave the winning flowers a nod, student Leann Johnson took notes, and assisted in the judging.

Carlson and Williams are nationally accredited flower show judges, a rank toward which Johnson is working. The three women are from Lawrence.

As they judged about 100 floral entries, they chatted about what it takes to become a nationally accredited flower judge.

“You take five classes over a period of three years,” Johnson said. “There are written tests with each class.”

After passing the five tests, the candidate is named a student judge.

“You have to judge five flower shows and win five blue ribbons from your own flowers before you can take the written exam,” Johnson said.

The course takes about two and one-half years to complete. But the results are well worth it and long-lasting, said Kit Carlson.

“After you master all this, you always look at flowers with a new eye,” she said.

Judges generally don’t receive payment for their work, they said, or as Virginia Williams said, smiling:

“It’s for free as my husband says.”

Betty Englen and Barbara Dale headed up the open class flower show.

This year, the number of entries was up from last year, they said.

“We’ve had more than 100,” Dale said. “Last year was down with about 85 entries.”

The show was held in the fairgrounds administration building, which was heavily damaged by the May 2000 tornado.

When the building was repaired, air conditioning was added to half the building.

“We’re enjoying the air conditioning so much,” Dale said. “We do thank the fair board for that.”

Dale said they also appreciated the volunteers who each year run the flower show.

“These ladies show up every year,” Dale said. “And sometimes they bring someone new with them.”

A quilting affair

Near the floral arrangements, Linda Freese, organizer of the needle arts section, oversaw the quilts and other sewn handiwork.

“There’s lots of entries this year,” Freese said. “It’s very exciting.”

Freese, who has been volunteering at the fair for eight years, soon will move to Clinton, Mo.

After the move, the fair is one of the things she will miss the most, she said.

In working at the needlework exhibit, Freese has come to know quilters and seamstresses of all ages across the county.

She points to quilt after quilt and speaks knowingly of the people who have made them. Especially meaningful to her, she said, is an increase in the number of entries from youths.

“There are a lot more youth entries this year than last,” she said.

This is a good predictor of future fair activity, she said.

“I think the exciting thing when the kids enter is that hopefully they’ll just keep on doing this year after year and the fair will continue down the line.”

Parking, fellowship

Harlan Stinson took a roadside seat on Second Street last week, and made it to the fair almost every night.

But it wasn’t the people the 82-year-old was watching till long past dusk it was the traffic.

Harlan and about two dozen other workers from the First Christian Church in Leavenworth continued this year the church’s 26-year tradition of directing traffic on the fairgrounds.

While his cohorts stood on their feet directing traffic through the evening, Stinson said he knew he was where he needed to be.

“I’m probably the oldest man out here,” he said. “My feet don’t hold up real well out there in the field.”

Friday evening, about 9 o’clock, the volunteers gathered for their nightly fair-fellowship at the Methodist Church food stand.

“Every night of the fair, no matter how hot it is, we come down here and have chili,” said Jody Bryant, the secretary of the Leavenworth church.

Francis Wayman, vice chairman of the church’s men’s fellowship group, said the tradition of directing fair traffic started 28 years ago.

In return for standing in the hot sun for five hours from Tuesday through Saturday, the church gets a percentage of the $1 fee each vehicle is charged, Wayman said.

As he looked at the group of fellow church-goers seated beneath the food stand’s roof, Wayman said their efforts were appreciated.

“It takes from 20 to 23 people to be out here each night and almost every one of us here come five nights,” he said.

Sometimes, the group says it’s time to stop.

“Every year we say we’re not going to do it again,” Wayman said. “But every year, we’re here.”

It’s not all work, he said:

“What’s important is it’s fun and it’s the fellowship that we have.”

Lisa Scheller, news editor for The Mirror; Shawn Linenberger, reporter for The Mirror; and Joshua Roberts, reporter for the Basehor Sentinel contributed to this report on the 2001 Leavenworth County Fair.

Leavenworth County Fair 2001 continued

By Staff | Aug 15, 2001

Helping the needy
While some fairgoers were getting funnel cakes and curly fries from concession stands, local 4-H’ers were grabbing food for the needy.
Members of the Leavenworth County Junior Leadership group set up shop at both fairground entrances, asking those coming to the fair for donations, either non-perishable items or cash.
Parent Sharon Tuttle said that the cash donations were really good this year.
“We expect to be better than last year,” Tuttle said.
This is the second year for the drive. The group added donation boxes at B&J Country Mart in Tonganoxie and Dillons in Leavenworth this year.
In its second year of conducting the food drive, the Junior Leadership group got the idea from other 4-H clubs and organizations.
All food accumulated is sent to Hutchinson for the Kansas State Fair where it will be used to “build” a house out of food.
After the fair, the LCJL’s contribution is sent back to the county, where it is distributed to the needy.
Tuttle said the leadership group consists of about 20 people.
Mary Grasela, Leavenworth freshman, said the LCJL was getting more of a response for the drive than she expected.
“This is a fun way to reach out and help other people,” Grasela said.

Horses compete
Participants from four states competed in the Leavenworth County Draft Horse Pull at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds last Wednesday.
The contest included seven teams of horses from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Tom Nichols, Kingsville, Mo., won the event.
His two-horse team crossed successfully, pulling 8,000 pounds.
Al Dyer, who established the county horse pull 10 years ago, said this year’s event was a success.
“It was a good pull,” Dyer said. “All the horses did well.”
The horses pull a flat piece of metal piled with concrete slabs and are connected to the metal with an eight-foot metal chain.
The next six places are as follows: Jack Gray, Villisca, Iowa; Robert Poole, Wendyville, Mo.; Robert Poole, Wendyville, Mo. (Poole had two teams); Doug Gray, Enid, Okla.; Jack Gray, Enid, Okla.; and Lee Langford, Basehor.

Lisa Scheller, news editor for The Mirror; Shawn Linenberger, reporter for The Mirror; and Joshua Roberts, reporter for the Basehor Sentinel contributed to this report on the 2001 Leavenworth County Fair.

Leavenworth County Fair 2001 continued

By Staff | Aug 15, 2001

Animals for sale
More than 160 farm animals were sold at last Friday’s livestock auction at the Leavenworth County Fair.
“There were as many animals in the auction as there has ever been,” said Beth Hecht of the K-State Research and Extension office of Leavenworth County. “This year pretty much falls in line with the past auctions.”
In this 36th year of the auction, potential buyers were able to choose between purchasing cattle, sheep, pigs, rabbits and goats. Some buyers purchased a combination of animals.
Although judging the attendance for the event is difficult because spectators come and go, Hecht said the auction was well-attended.
Although the fair is supposed to be a fun time for county residents and the local 4-H clubs, Hecht said it isn’t fun for the animals.
“Every animal that gets sold in the auction goes straight to the slaughterhouse,” Hecht said.
Hecht said sale totals for the auction were still being calculated but rough estimates indicate that this year’s auction broke fair records.
“This year’s premium sales were right around $70,000,” Hecht said. “We aren’t sure about the total but I think we might have broke some records this year. It (the auction) was just strong as usual.
“We had a lot of loyal buyers and we had a lot of new buyers. It was just a good turnout.”
As for the future of the auction Hecht said as long as the Leavenworth County fair is around, the auction will be as well.
“It teaches the kids how to raise high-quality animals and the amount of responsibility involved in doing that,” Hecht said. “These kids that bring in the animals have to feed them, get them vaccinated, present them and market them. The bottom line is they learn what it takes to care for their animals.”

Up and down
In Clinton Kissinger’s mind, judging the rocket launching competition at the Leavenworth County Fair is easy and fun.
“When you launch them and you get to see them shoot up,” Kissinger said. “It’s just real fun to watch them go up that high.”
Kissinger, 10, was one of several 4-H’ers involved in the Saturday rocket launching competition at this year’s fair. The competition was scheduled for the previous morning, but was moved to Saturday because of rain, 4-H officials said.
4-H members, varying in skill level, launched more than a dozen rockets at the competition. Each year a 4-H member participates in the competition, their skill level goes up.
This is the second year Kissinger, a Tonganoxie resident, has been involved in the competition. At last year’s contest, he won a purple ribbon for his rocket. He said he had high hopes for this year’s rocket, Polaris.
“I hope it does well,” Kissinger said. “They judge the rockets on all kinds of stuff like the paint job, the fins and how well it was put together.”
In viewing some of the rockets launched before his, Kissinger was able to tell what went right or wrong.
“That one must have had a bent rod,” Kissinger said, when viewing a rocket that took a crash landing. “Hopefully that won’t happen to mine.”
Kissinger’s Polaris was the last rocket in line for the competition and as his launch grew closer, he was confident his model would do well.
“We put it way down at the end of the line because the wind is a little better down here,” Kissinger said while explaining his position in the competition. “That way we won’t have to chase it all over.”
And finally with his launch, the model Polaris shot up to its estimated height with ease, opened its parachute and landed softly on the ground, with no damage to the rocket exterior, save one small knick on a fin.
“It went pretty good,” Kissinger said. “Hopefully it’ll do even better next year.”

Pulling toward state
Leavenworth County will have eight representatives from its fair competing in the pedal tractor pull at the Kansas State Fair.
Pullers in four age groups competed in the pedal tractor pull on Saturday in the Livestock Show Arena with the top three in each division earning trophies and the top two advancing to the state fair in September. The event had 95 participants.
Leavenworth youths dominated the first-place finishes, with three of four winners coming from the county seat.
Drew Kennedy won the five-and-younger division in the 40-foot drag, having two full pulls. Jake Schwinn also had two full pulls and won the 6-and-7 division, as did Dane Gonser in the 8-and-9 division.
The lone non-Leavenworth winner was Ashlee Johnson in the 10-and-11 division. The Tonganoxie youth registered a full pull and a 39 1/2 for the win.
Second and third places in each division are as follows: five-and-younger 2, Kody Smart, Lawrence (32); 3, Tristan Sheer, Troy (27).
6-7division 2, Joe Lutz, Tonganoxie (FP, 41); 3, Gracie Perkins, Leavenworth (FP, 17.5).
8-9 division 2, Brian Janesko, Kansas City, Kansas, (FP, 36); 3, Bradley Spencer, McLouth (FP, 35.5).
10-11 division 2, Amy Theis, Leavenworth (FP, 36); 3, John Sachse (FP, 30.5).
Keith Olsen, Horton, provided the tractors and the pulls. A John Deere and a Ford toy tractor were used in the competition. Olsen usually does 30 pulls covering four states each year.
Olsen said he prefers a smooth surface such as asphalt or cement. The livestock arena has a dirt-type surface, and Hutchinson will have a grass surface.
“It’s tougher because of the surface,” Olsen said about Tonganoxie’s pull. “But they’ll be better prepared for Hutchinson.
Participants in the pull get one pull. If it is a full pull, the puller gets another chance with extra weight.

Lisa Scheller, news editor for The Mirror; Shawn Linenberger, reporter for The Mirror; and Joshua Roberts, reporter for the Basehor Sentinel contributed to this report on the 2001 Leavenworth County Fair.