Fair Fare

 

Randy in 1967, a 5th grader and his first year in Stafford County 4-H with his first 4-H beef project.

 4-H is "very fun." Just look at any beginning 4-Her's permanent record book.

Randy's record book from his first year as a Stafford County 4-Her in 1967 said:

This year is my first year in 4-H. I have enjoyed it very much. Going to the 4-H things has been very fun. I really enjoyed the refreshments very much. I am looking forward very much to next year in 4-H. This year, I have enjoyed 4-H camp and have got lots of ribbons. 

My first 4-H story was also written in 1967, as a fourth grader. (The photo at the left was the one attached to my 4-H permanent record.) My story was longer. (There's a big surprise, right?) I used the word "fun" six times to describe my song leading job, picking out ingredients for my Snacks and Little Lunches project, 4-H Sunday and assorted other 4-H events. I also "enjoyed" things twice and "liked" 4-H another time or two. A glance at Jill's and Brent's record books mirrored our family's outlook that 4-H is "fun" and very likeable.

4-Hers - and their parents - have been "liking" the youth program for more than 100 years, long before there was a "like" button on Facebook pages. On Friday, we went to the Shawnee County Fair in Topeka to see Kinley's and Brooke's 4-H projects. Kinley and Brooke come from a long line of 4-Hers, including their maternal great-grandparents and their paternal great-grandmother (Bonnie Ladd). 

 

Bob & Janis Moore - Pratt County Fair service award recipients

 in 2011

 

My family's involvement with 4-H started with my parents back in the 1940s. Both were members of the Lincoln Bluebirds 4-H Club in Pratt County, the club that my siblings and I later joined. (That club later merged with another, and we became the Lincoln Climbers.) 

 

Eric's family is similarly entrenched in the 4-H program. These days, Eric is one of the community leaders for the Auburn 4-H Club in Shawnee County. His dad, Alan, worked in both Kansas and Iowa Extension before retirement. Grandma Christy still judges her fair share of hand pet projects at county events.

 

Participating in county fairs is second nature to all of us - including Kinley and Brooke. This year's fair for the girls wrapped up on Sunday. 

 

But the girls excelled in the foods division. Kinley's Apple Cider Doughnut Cake with caramel frosting was Best of Show, giving her a chance to sell in the premium auction.

 

Kinley also had the top ribbon for decorated cookies or cupcakes.

This year's entry was a beach theme. The decorating/artistic part of food preparation appeals to Kinley, and she's had a purple ribbon in that category every year of her 4-H career.

Here she was in 2021 and her decorated watermelon cookies at her very first Shawnee County Fair. We all think she could sell the cookies professionally, but she'd have to get faster to make it economically feasible. Bonus: The leftover cookies were delicious!

 

Brooke also got to sell during the food premium auction. Her braided Everything Bagel bread got the champion ribbon in intermediate foods. 

 

I had to show the full balloon display created as a backdrop for this year's fair. 

Brooke had a great first year in photography. Two of her photos got champion and reserve champion in beginning photography for color photos. Until this year, I'd helped Kinley mount her photos for the fair. But this year, Kinley mounted her own and taught her younger sister. That's what 4-H is all about: Learning to do something and then passing it along to another 4-Her. 

Brooke also got a champion ribbon for her educational notebook on book genres, which helped complete her 4-H reading project.

Kinley and Summer were back in the dog obedience and agility competitions. 

Summer made it through the agility course with no errors, a first for this duo, which qualified for a purple ribbon. 

 

   

We did plenty of laughing getting Summer to the fairgrounds for the show. Kinley and Eric had to go early to help set up. Eric asked us to bring a wheelbarrow to help move all the paraphernalia after the show, so Summer couldn't sit in her customary spot in the back of the SUV. She invaded Brooke's personal space.

 

 

And she probably caused some second glances from other drivers at stop lights as we drove across Topeka to the Expo Center.

 

The fair ended on Sunday after the style show. Both girls earned purple ribbons in that competition and both qualified to compete at the Kansas State Fair fashion review in September.

The girls definitely had a better outcome at the Shawnee County Fair than I did at the Stafford County Fair the week before. But that's OK. I definitely have had my share of champion or reserve champion photos in open class in the past.

And I did well with the extra photo contests - one sponsored by the Kanza Chapter of the D.A.R. and another contest sponsored by Stafford County Economic Development. 

This composite photo was chosen by the D.A.R. as the winner in a contest celebrating America's 250th birthday. I created it several years ago and have used it on notecards, but I thought it was perfect for the sesquicentennial. 

This photo taken in a milo field last October got the top award in the commerce category from Stafford Eco/Devo.

That photo is now on a conference room wall at the Staley Leadership Building on the campus of Kansas State University. (Story HERE.) It will also be used for the South Central Community Foundation Match Day campaign this fall. The photo also got a blue ribbon in the fair's open class agriculture category. 

A cropped version of this panoramic sunset shot taken last December at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge was second in the Stafford County Places category. 

A story and photo about the Trojan Pop Shop in Stafford operated by three sets of sisters won first place in the business owner/blog category, a new category for the fair. I'll post that story in an upcoming blog. 

Other blue ribbon photos in open class were this one, taken on the Durango-Silverton train in Colorado last October ...

... And this photo I took when we were on vacation with the girls earlier this summer in Omaha at the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens. 

 

I had several other photos which were second- or third-place in their open class photography category and some that didn't place at all.

 

My online scrapbooking entry in arts and crafts got first place in its category. I try to do a book after our trips to collect the photos and the blog posts I write following the trip. 

 

While it wasn't a banner year for me at the Stafford County Fair, that's not why I do it anyway. I've been part of county fairs in one way or another for my entire life. It's a tradition that's worth preserving. 

 

And while it's great to collect purple ribbons and extra prize money, I hope what the girls ultimately collect from the 4-H experience is to take the 4-H pledge and the 4-H experience to heart.   

 

 I pledge my head to clearer thinking 

 My heart to greater loyalty

 My hands to larger service

 And my health to better living

 For my club, my community, my country and my world.

 The 4-H Pledge, Written in 1919 by Kansas 4-H Leader Otis Hall

 

It would probably be a better world if all of humanity would think about the principles that 4-Hers vow to uphold: Clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service, better living ... those are all attributes that would do this old world a whole lot of good.

For 120 years, 4-H has been changing lives. Back in 2006, we celebrated 100 years of Kansas 4-H. The youth program has been part of the national landscape since 1902.

 

The 4-H website says:

The 4-H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. That idea was the catalyst to begin the 4-H movement and those values continue today.

 

No wonder it's stuck around this long.    

Making Memories: Part I

 

Time passes quickly. I know writers are supposed to avoid tired, worn out cliches like that. But the sentiment is definitely apt. When the 2026-27 school year begins, Kinley will be a freshman in high school. Brooke will leave elementary school behind for her first foray into middle school as a sixth grader.

And we know we're not getting any younger. So we decided to make a few memories while the girls were still willing - and able - to spend a few days with us. With their packed schedules - no matter the season - carving out time is a challenge. Last year, we took the girls on a short trip to Branson, Missouri. This year, the destination was Omaha. 

Thankfully, Kinley and Brooke were patient with the old people. And, as the society pages in the old weekly newspapers would report, "A good time was had by all." 

We left Topeka on Memorial Day. A flag-filled park in Auburn, Nebraska, caught our eye. We "crashed" the community's Memorial Day celebration in Legion Park. And it gave us a beautiful place to stretch our legs.

Legion Memorial Park is designated as a National Historic Park Site (one of six in the state of Nebraska). The granite and limestone building structures were part of the Works Progress Administration projects of President Roosevelt. On Memorial Day, there were hundreds of flags lining sidewalks and dotting the grass throughout the park. 

Our next stop was the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park near Ashland, Nebraska. It's a four-mile, drive-through wildlife park, featuring elk and buffalo. 

We did see both elk and buffalo, but they were far enough away that the photos aren't memorable.

There are also a few places to park - like the Pelican Wetlands.

American White Pelicans can be seen fishing in groups, where they swim in circles to concentrate the fish and simultaneously dip their heads below the surface to catch them. During mating season, they produce temporary growths on the top of their bills. (You can see that better in the photo below.)

There was also an enclosure for black bears (maybe one black bear ... we only saw the one).

Our next destination was the Holy Family Shrine near Gretna, Nebraska. Randy and I visited their twice when Jill and Eric lived in Omaha just after they were married. 

The structure of the chapel reminds us of the one we visited in Eureka Springs, Ark., a few years ago. (I wrote about the Holy Family Shrine in more detail HERE and HERE.)

The Holy Family Shrine was built not far off I-80. The idea for the shrine was conceived in 1993, and the visitor center was completed in 1997. The visitor center is built into a hillside, bringing to mind Jesus' burial in the tomb following his crucifixion. After the original chapel collapsed in a windstorm in 2000, the rebuild took two and a half years to complete.

On Good Friday 2009, they erected a crucifix outside the shrine. It is approximately 40 feet tall, one foot for every day of Lent. The figure of Christ is just over 8 feet tall.

Since we'd last been there, they'd added a walkway with the Stations of the Cross. Even though we are firmly United Methodist - not Catholic - I think the symbolism and beauty are well worth the short detour off I-80.

Next stop was Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha. We began in the 17,500-square-foot Marjorie K. Daugherty Conservatory, which features a glass dome that houses thousands of tropical and rare plants. The grounds feature more than 20 distinct outdoor areas, including the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Victorian Garden, Song of the Lark Meadow and an arboretum.

We probably didn't do our best planning in regards to this stop. By the time we arrived, it was pretty hot. And remember what I mentioned about old people? Well, sometimes it's not just plants that do some withering in the heat. And, honestly, the teen and pre-teen were fading, too. 

But we did get a few 4-H photos taken.

We chose the Inner Rail Food Hall for supper. With eight different food vendors, everyone could choose what they wanted. We liked that so well that we returned for another supper later in the week.

As intended, we arrived at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium the next day at opening time to try to capitalize on the cooler morning, at least for as long as it lasted.

This was another destination we'd explored when Jill and Eric lived in Omaha, but this was B.C. - before children, so it was fun to experience with the girls.

The zoo consistently ranks as one of the country's best zoos, and we would concur. It spans 160 acres and houses more than 33,000 animals. In the photo above, we're in front of the Desert Dome, the world's largest indoor desert and the largest glazed geodesic dome. It recreates ecosystems from the Namib, Australian, and Sonoran deserts.

 

All four of us chose the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium as our favorite zoo spot. It features the largest aquarium inside of a zoo, complete with an underwater tunnel that lets guests walk beneath sharks, fish and sea turtles. 

And Brooke tried some more photos for 4-H - bonus!

At the time we arrived, a zoo keeper was inside the puffins enclosure, so it was fun to watch her feeding and interacting with the animals.

The penguins seemed to be watching us as much as we were watching them.

They have a huge enclosure for apes, gorillas and monkeys.

 

 

This guy seemed protective of his celery.

I also loved the butterfly house. (Others were probably not as enamored.)

  

We saw the usual lions and tigers and bears - oh my! - along with elephants and giraffes. We also cooled off with some Dole Whip.

And we saved some steps riding the Skyfari.

We ended the day watching two films in the Imax theater. There was a method to our plan. The theater was near the exit. We watched Coral Sea Adventure and Wild Asia: Life at Extremes in the air-conditioning as the afternoon temperatures continued to climb.

After a rest and showers for grandparents and girls, we ate at Cheesecake Factory. Of course, we had meals. But the highlights were the desserts. Brooke isn't a cheesecake lover, so she ordered the chocolate cake. But the rest of us got cheesecake. (Half of the desserts ended up going back to the hotel refrigerators for another day-end treat.)

Grandpa's Banana Creme cheesecake is also shown above.

Yes, I should have taken the photos when they arrived at the table - pristine and photogenic. Come to think of it, it's a good thing that a guy asked to take our photo at the zoo just as we were getting started. It would have been a less photogenic picture at the end of the zoo day. 

More from our trip tomorrow.