The Henry County Fair goes on

MT. PLEASANT - As fourth-grader Cole Meyer and his calf Rusty walked into the Henry County Fair ring on Saturday morning, it was unlike any other beef show Cole had been to before.

The general lack of people and the absence of usual fair atmosphere was a little off-putting for him.

'It just didn't look the same - it didn't feel like the county fair,” he said.

Mostly, the fourth-grader missed getting to be in the cattle barn and camping on the grounds.

With the 2020 Henry County Fair a completely non-public event, outside of presenters, their family members and fair staff and volunteers, the fairgrounds remained mostly empty for the usual five days the event was held.

But that didn't stop the fair from recognizing the hard work local 4-H'ers put into raising their animals.

Cole, a first time presenter, would end up claiming the grand champion market beef title.

'To be honest, it was a shocker … I truly never expected to win,” he said. 'This is a good start for my 4-H career.”

The 4-H'er competed alongside his 12-year-old sister, Morgan, who had competed the previous two years and won the 2020 champion market heifer title with her calf Aphena.

The Meyers began working with their animals in mid-March and spent hours washing their calves at least three times a day, as well as blowing their calves' hair out.

'I love it - the responsibility - I'm just glad to have him,” Cole said.

With a little more experience under her belt, Morgan noticed a couple more differences as a presenter, including not being able to put product in her calf's hair or spend time really jazzing up Aphena's look.

'I think they wanted to do it as quick as possible - get us in and out. Styling takes a good amount of time,” she said. For Morgan, the fair is usually an all-day affair which includes celebration and hanging out with friends.

In particular, Morgan missed the last day of the fair, when shows are over and everyone is preparing to take their animals home.

'Everyone is relaxed. The fair is over, and everyone is happy. It's not tense, we already know who won so no one is worried about anything. Usually I get into water fights with friends. It's really fun,” she said.

Ag teacher at Mt. Pleasant Community High School and FFA sponsor Matthew Jones said it was 'cool to provide some sort of stability” to kids during a very abnormal time.

'I still got to talk to them about their projects and help them make sure everything was ready. They were excited for the fair,” he said of helping students in the lead-up to the fair.

Jones added he's thankful the Iowa State University Extension Office, the Fair Board, Old Threshers and other organizations that contribute to the county fair, were able to 'come together to give kids the opportunity to show livestock.”

'They could just be kids for once. It's been a hard year for everyone,” he said.

Katlyn Kahler, who judged the 2020 Henry County Fair swine show, added she felt keeping the tradition of the fair and shows alive, even in an abnormal year, is really important.

'If we're looking at the bigger picture, the ag industry can't stop. They have to keep making food and keep going because if they stop, everybody else suffers. We're teaching that to these kids,” she said.

Kahler said kids could have easily thrown in the towel in March when there was a lot of uncertainty whether a county fair would even happen but instead chose to persevere through the experience.

'You can't stop. You can't quit, and county fairs teach those kids resilience and responsibility and optimism,” she said.