Scenes from a great 4-H Fair

(ABOVE LEFT) Miss Lily King won this year’s Pedal Tractor Pull for the 3- to 5-year-old category. No weights were added to the tractors, and the fastest pedaler won. According to her mother, Lily is very competitive!

(ABOVE RIGHT) Liz & Dennis Pickering of Orestes in Madison County have been providing the Bumpy Barrels Ride around the fairgrounds since 2015, though the barrels have been a 4-H staple for 25 years. Barrelmobile driver Dennis wears a shirt that reads “Being Bob Is My Job,” which he does in memory of Bob Rhea. He gets the most notoriety as the train operator, but Liz is the one who makes sure all the riders feel confident in leaving Mom, Dad, and the grandparents behind while they tour the fair in their own parade. She gives them support and encouragement and pairs up nervous little ones with a bigger kid to sit in the “Mommy Barrel” at the back of the line. Dennis and Liz could not even venture a guess at how many children they have served over the years, but the love they show to the children and the joy received is immeasurable.

It’s not just the people . . . the animals got together and discussed their favorite parts of the fair, too! (Reporter photos by Bill Miller)

Yes, no one disputes a great deal of hard work goes into 4-H projects and the fair at-large, but sometimes you just need to take a break and dance. (Reporter photo by Pooja Thakkar)

If you subscribe by July 30, you might even do a happy dance when The Reporter’s renowned 4-H Special Edition returns on Tuesday, Aug. 4!