Story by Dana Greig
Photo Courtesy of Renee Duman-Verdino
Nothing says small town fun quite like a county fair. The nostalgia of ‘the fair’ floods the mind with memories of amazing food smells and mixed sounds of an array of animals, excitement to the core, and pure joy to the heart. Multiple artists have written songs capturing the magic held in fairs that have become timeless summer anthems. One such song, County Fair by Chris Ledoux, belts:
“Well there’s a full moon in the western sky and there’s magic in the air.
And nothing I know of can make you fall in love like a night at the county fair.”
Originally called the Idaho County Stock Show, the Idaho County Fair has captured hearts as family friendly fun at its finest for the past 90 years. This means you can count on nearly every heart in the county skipping a beat when a song like Ledoux’s is played.
In some areas, the county fair means multiple attractions of rides and pay-to-play games. But in Idaho County, the main attraction is the 4-H and open class projects. The culmination and showcasing of months of hard work put in by the area’s youth and adults alike is one of the many factors that make the fair fun for all ages. Often, entering projects into the fair becomes an entire family affair. Such is the case for the family of Renee Duman-Verdino. Her family of seven has been entering projects into the Idaho County Fair for the last eight years.
Three of those 4-Hers happily shared their favorite things about their projects this year and the fair in general. They are a sample of the 370-area youth taking projects this year.
Ellie Nuxoll, 17, and sister Maggie Nuxoll, 15, have both been 4-Hers for the past eight years. Their younger brother, Hudson Verdino, 8, has been in 4-H for four years.
“I was taking a steer but with [some] trials and tribulations, I am now taking a market lamb,” explained Ellie. “A new project I am also taking this year is an alpaca!”
Hudson shares Ellie’s excitement and is looking forward to showing his baby alpaca named Guapo.
This year is the first that the Idaho County 4-H Program has offered alpaca projects. Alpacas join the other animal project categories which include market animals, (swine, steer, lamb, and goat) breeding and dairy projects, horse, rabbit, dog, and chicken.
Maggie is entering three projects into the fair: market steer, dairy cow and alpaca.
“I like all my animals I am taking in 4-H,” smiled Maggie. “But I like Tina, my dairy cow, the most because she is a second time mom this year and helps me make money by being an awesome milker and raising additional calves by her side.
Being very attached to Tina, Maggie says the best thing about her is that she doesn’t have to sell her.
Along with little Guapo, Hudson will also be entering a market steer.
“He’s really fat, so I call him Fat Frank,” laughed Hudson. “I like him and how he acts, he's nice.”
Though all three are looking forward to this year’s fair, they all have different aspects they enjoy most about the event. Ellie enjoys the opportunity to learn new things and be competitive. Maggie says the best thing about the fair is having all their hard work showcased for the community to see and reap the rewards from it.
“Oh,” smiled Maggie, “and making new friends!”
Hudson’s favorite aspects of fair are getting to camp at the fairgrounds with his family and showing his animals.
Even with all their excitement combined, it’s easy to see that the one who enjoys it all the most is Renee.
“I love my kids taking 4-H,” smiled Renee. “They have gained and benefited from 4-H in more ways unimaginable if they hadn't been involved in it.”
Renee says she could list many skills her kids have acquired, learned, retained, and shared from 4-H, and could talk for days about all the fun her kids have had, especially with their dairy cow and alpaca projects.
“Both girls are now able to show and sell their own steer selected from their previous beef breeding projects,” beamed Renee. “They started from a bottle calf project, [then took that animal] to a heifer project, then on to a breeding project, then a cow calf project. This is the first year they get to show the offspring from that heifer that once was a bottle calf.”
These experiences and acquired skills fostered by our area 4-H program are enabling the upcoming generations with more than just memories of fun at the fair. They are helping set a foundation for the rest of their lives to be built from. Not only the program, but the parents and families that all help each other work through the trials and tribulations that projects can bring. Hard work ethic and family values are being instilled so strongly in this county that it’s easy to see why the Idaho County Fair isn’t just another summer event. It’s the culmination of the heart and soul of our neighbors.
Attend the 90th Annual Idaho County Fair August 21 - 24 to enjoy food, watch the animals, cheer on those neighbors, and feed your memory bank with some good for the soul experiences. Because, as Tim McGraw sings, “A heart don’t forget, something like that!”