CANTON, Ohio – Final attendance figures weren’t available at presstime, but all indications are that this year’s Stark County Fair was a good one.
Fair week weather was “just perfect,” said board treasurer William Locker, and that added up to solid attendance all week long. Locker didn’t expect to set any new attendance records, but said daily attendance was up overall.
The fairgrounds was primed for all those visitors, as all available commercial space in the buildings and all stalls in the livestock barns were filled, Locker said. “We had no more space available.”
The junior fair market livestock sale and cheese and wool sales on Wednesday evening and Saturday brought in a total of $354,590.77, up nearly $12,000 from last year’s sale total.
The Kline-asty continues. Siblings Laura, Louise and L.V. Kline of North Canton continued their string of champion wins at the Stark County Fair junior market livestock competitions, showing the grand and reserve champion steers, grand and reserve champion goats, reserve champion lamb and reserve champion crossbred steer.
Laura, who showed the grand champion steer in 2000, reserve steer in 1999, grand champion hog in 1997 and reserve lamb carcass in 1997 – as well as the grand champion steer at the Ohio State Fair in 2001 – won the grand champion steer banner with a 1,325-pound crossbred steer. The steer sold for $3.50 a pound, down slightly from last year’s bid of $5. K. Palmer & Associates was the buyer.
Buyer Kelly Palmer of K. Palmer & Associates turned around and bid one more time, as L.V. Kline brought his 1,330-pound reserve champion, the champion Shorthorn, into the ring. Palmer paid $2.40 a pound for Kline’s steer, up from the $1.85 he paid for Louise Kline’s reserve champion last year.
Other breed champions were shown by: Scott Vaughan, Simmental; Bethann Miller, Hereford; Chris Myers, Angus; and Robert Weisgarber, Holstein.
Reserve breed winners were: Louise Kline, reserve crossbred; Andrew Motts, Simmental; Dustin Adams, Shorthorn; T.J. King, Hereford; and John Bauman, Holstein.
Michelle Linder repeated her performance from last year, by raising the grand champion steer carcass. Barley Heating and Air Conditioning paid $5 a pound for Linder’s 1,320-pound steer.
Biery Cheese paid $4 a pound for Diana Biller’s reserve champion steer carcass.
Prior to the start of the steer sale, Jeanelle Linder of Louisville received the 2002 Stark County Cattlemen’s Association Distinguished Youth award.
The steer sale, which included 111 live steers, totaled $178,126.25, with an average, including champions, of $1.29 a pound.
Lambs and wool. Kellie Winters, who raised the reserve champion hog last year and in 1997 and the reserve champion lamb in 2000, won the market lamb competition with her 124-pound lamb. She received $6.75 a pound from State Rep. John Hagan, Citizens for Kirk Schuring, Judge Dave Stucki and Paul and Dorothy Pohovey. Last year’s champion sold for $9.25.
Laura Kline’s 132-pound reserve champion lamb sold for $5.50 to auctioneers Lennie Milano and Rusty Kiko.
Brother-sister duo Laura and Eric Bevington led the carcass lamb contest, with Laura claimed the grand champion banner from the 18 lambs entered. Her lamb sold for $5.50 a pound to Canton Topsoil, a bid also down slightly from the previous year’s $7 a pound.
Trbovich Distributors matched the bid, $5.50 a pound, for Eric’s reserve champion carcass lamb.
The Bevingtons have taken command of the lamb carcass competition in recent years, with Eric alone showing the grand champion carcass in 1997 and 2000, reserve carcass in 1999 and reserve live lamb in 1999.
Logan Mulligan had the champion rate of gain lamb, followed by Sarah Dezordo. Mulligan received $1.50 a pound for his lamb; Dezordo earned $2 a pound.
The lambs averaged $1.78 with champions and the lamb sale totaled $19,611.72.
Joe Rindchen exhibited the grand champion wool entry, which sold for $60 to Richville Bingo.
Carolyn Schaeffer, who was one of this year’s Outstanding Youth, sold her reserve champion wool to the Canton Weavers and Spinners Guild for $80. Schaeffer has shown either the grand or reserve champion wool in each of the last three years.
Thirteen lots of wool sold, totaling $630.
Hogs. Rachel Shane raised this year’s grand champion hog at the Stark County Fair. The 270-pound champion sold for $5.50 a pound to Campbell Oil Co. and Bell Stores.
Rohr’s Lawn Care and Landscaping paid $4.75 a pound for the 249-pound reserve champion hog, raised by Neal Berkebile.
Both bids were up from last year’s bids of $4 and $2 for the grand and reserve champions, respectively.
The grand champion carcass hog, raised by Shana Shultz, sold for $4.50 a pound to Rohn Provision, Judge Charles Brown, State Rep. John Hagan, Judge Dave Stucki, Citizens for Kirk Schuring and Paul and Dorothy Pohovey.
Carrie Faverty’s reserve champion hog carcass sold for $4 a pound to Farmers Service Repair Co.
A total of 57 hogs competed in the carcass competition.
The hogs averaged $1.35 with champions; the hog sale totaled $72,825.05.
Goats. The red-headed Boers dominated the market goat competition. Louise Kline’s grand champion goat sold for $400 to Rohn Ranch Trailer Sales, Paul and Dorothy Pohovey, state Rep. John Hagan and Judge Dave Stucki. The bid was well below the $700 bid paid last year for the grand champion.
Tractor Supply Co. paid $170 for the reserve champion goat raised by L.V. Kline, who also raised last year’s reserve champion. Last year, Kline’s reserve champion brought $400.
The goats averaged $147.83 per head, with champions.
Wednesday night. The Wednesday night sale kicked off with the rabbit meat auction and ended with $77,302.75 in the pockets of rabbit, turkey, cheese, dairy feeder, veal and chicken exhibitors.
Kate Russel’s 13.6-pound grand champion pen of rabbits brought in $250 from Dave Russell. Last year’s grand champ, which had continued the bid record, sold for $400.
Rachel Saunier’s 12.6-pound reserve champion rabbit pen sold for $50 more than the grand champion. Terry’s Truck and Trailer, Eric’s Lawn Care and Fitzpatrick Realty paid $300 for the pen, up $100 from last year’s winning price.
Twenty-nine rabbit pens sold for a total of $2,300, averaging $79.31.
Sweeping veal. Kevin Schrock wasn’t satisfied just taking reserve champion veal calf last year, so this year he didn’t hesitate to take both grand and reserve champion honors. Bishop Construction bought his 460-pound reserve veal calf for $2 a pound, and 21st Homes also bought his 470-pound grand champion for $2 a pound.
These prices are up from last year’s, but still not a record. Grand took 40 cents more a pound than last year and reserve got 50 cents extra a pound.
Four veal calves brought in $3,580, averaging $2 a pound.
Champion cheese. The cheese bidding warmed as 4-H’ers passed around plates of cheese wedges to tempt buyers’ taste buds. Although they said the cheese was tasty, buyers weren’t willing to bid as high as last year.
The grand champion cheese basket was way off the mark from last year’s record $1,900, although brother/sister duo Kellie and Danny Schmucker again swept the grand and reserve spots.
With her grandparents’ support, Kellie’s 11.51-pound grand champion basket’s winning bid was $1,250 – from Elwood and Donna Schmucker.
John Griffith, a milk hauler, picked up Danny Schmucker’s 9.02-pound reserve basket for $800, $400 less than last year’s reserve cheese.
Fourteen baskets of cheese contributed $7,450 to the overall sale total, averaging $532.14 a basket.
Ups and downs. Dairy feeder prices and entries were both up this year. Seventy-five dairy feeders brought in a total of $46,992.71, averaging $1.10 a pound.
Farm Service Repair Company Incorporated had the winning bid of $2.70 a pound for Tyler Royer’s 695-pound grand champion dairy feeder. Farm’s Service’s purchasing price was up 95 cents from last year’s high bid.
Justin Zwick’s grandfather, Harold Yoder, continued raising his buyer number until he had outbid all other buyers to purchase his grandson’s 565-pound reserve champion for $2.50 a pound. This was up 80 cents from last year’s reserve champ.
While dairy feeders were up this year, prices were down for turkeys. The average per head fell more than $24 from last year to $148.89. The total was $2,530.
Julie Indorf’s 41.6-pound grand champion turkey sold for $250, half of last year’s winning bid, to Bevington Meats.
Joshua Faverty came into the sale barn with another reserve champion turkey this year and sold it for $275 to Wallace Farms Feed Drive-Thru. His reserve turkey sold for $350 last year.
Grandma’s support. Doris Gabric only had to pay an extra $100 for this year’s grand champion pen of chickens. Last year she bought her grandson’s champion pen for $1,500, and this year Gabric bought her granddaughter Mindy Oberlin’s champion pen for $1,600. After the gavel came down and Gabric had the winning bid, there were tears in her eyes since it is her granddaughter’s last year of 4-H.
Hartville Kitchen bought Julie Indorf’s 16.15-pound reserve champion pen of broilers for $500, $1,200 less than last year’s price.
The 77 pens of broilers averaged $184.61, totaling $14,215.
