It’s hard to imagine a county fair without a livestock show, but for many years — more than Jane Burns Jordan can remember — farm animals have been conspicuously absent from the sights, smells and sounds of the Lowndes County Fair.
That’s about to change, thanks to a family’s passion, a 4-H Club’s hard work and a Lowndes County extension agent who refused to let the dream die.
Area 4-H’ers have been working all year to prepare their animals for this year’s fair, which begins Tuesday at the Columbus Fairgrounds on Highway 69 South. And Thursday, livestock will make their grand return to the show ring, with a poultry and livestock show slated to begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by an egg hunt with prizes for participants.
By the time the fair winds down Saturday, dozens of ribbons and rosettes will have been distributed, along with cash prizes. And there’s no limit to the ways a creative person can bring home the blue.
Whether you have a flair for arts and crafts, a secret recipe, a green thumb or a knack with a needle, chances are you can find a contest to enter. Exhibitors will bring entries from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. today for a cornucopia of categories, including food preservation, clothing design, crafts, horticulture, crops and floral arrangements.
Cattle comeback
But the livestock show is particularly nostalgic for Jordan, who became president of the Columbus Fair and Livestock Association last year after the death of her father, longtime president Bob Burns.
As a child, she and her sister, Carolyn Burns, brought cattle to the fair, giving city-dwellers the chance to come face-to-face with animals they might have only seen from a car window, while zipping down the road to somewhere else.
She can still remember the year she left New Hope Middle School early to go to the fairgrounds and take care of her cattle. When she brought an absentee note from her parents, the teacher asked the youngster if she thought cows were more important than her education.
Today, cattle continue to be a big part of Jordan’s life. She and her husband, Bo Jordan, now run 92 head of Brangus at her late father’s farm, “Rockin B Branch,” in eastern Lowndes County.
But though livestock continues to be a mainstay of the Lowndes County economy, it hasn’t played a major role in the county fair for years. The family farm has given way to subdivisions and big box stores. Farmers have become reluctant to leave expensive animals on display overnight. The fairgrounds’ cattle barn has fallen into disrepair, and even as organizers work to repair it, vandals work to destroy it.
Jordan was surprised when she got a phone call from Lowndes County Extension Agent and Director Reid Nevins.
Nevins, who left Clay County’s extension office to come to Lowndes last November, grew up raising calves on the family farm in Hamilton, but he never had the chance to show them at the fair. Instead, he bottle-fed the babies, raised them to be big and strong, then he sold them, put the money in a savings account and began again.
Nevins knew there was a strong 4-H program in Lowndes, and he believed that with a little work, they could give area youth the chance to experience what he never had.
It didn’t take much to sell Jordan on the idea. She was already in the process of fixing up the cattle barn and pens. The young agent’s enthusiasm was infectious.
“He’s very enthusiastic and he’s got the energy we were lacking,” Jordan says. “He’s getting people involved that had kind of faded out of it. I’m very impressed. He is wide open with the kids. His work is what’s bringing this back.”
For Nevins, it’s work that feels more like play, because he enjoys it so much. He loves animals, he loves children and he has a deep appreciation for the lessons youth learn when raising show animals. From raising chickens that began as eggs to caring for bleating dairy goats, the young caretakers gain a sense of responsibility, work ethic, sportsmanship, compassion and pride.
“When you’re up at daybreak and that baby calf’s out there bawling, you can’t lay there and sleep and ignore it,” he says, laughing. “They learn a lot, these kids.”
‘More than just
carnival rides’
Jordan says bringing livestock back to the fair, beyond the ever-present petting zoo, gives people more to see while giving children the chance to learn something instead of sitting home and watching TV or playing video games.
“We’re trying to bring back the old fair,” Jordan says. “We’re trying to bring back the exhibits. We have so many counties now that have joined us. 4-H teaches values and self-esteem. That’s what we try to instill. It’s a way for people to see what these kids are accomplishing. It’s more than just carnival rides.”
Of course, the midway will still be there, in all its dizzying glory. But farming equipment will also be on display again this year, and next year, Jordan plans to have a tractor pull and bring back the antique tractor show — the kinds of things that used to be as much a part of the county fair as cotton candy and ferris wheels.
“We’re going to get better every year,” she says. “This fair is our first step. Last year, we made a tiny step with the petting zoo. We’re going to bring back more and more every year.”
She hopes bringing back more to do and see will also bring back the people. Attendance has been poor the past few years, with a scant 3,000 attendees last year. She remembers a time when the fair was the event of the season, drawing as many as 20,000 people.
The one thing that won’t change, Jordan vows, is the price of admission. Ticket prices remain $2, and Thursday, children can enter for free.
Jordan’s sister, Carolyn Burns, says organizers have worked hard to make the fair better than ever, from beefing up security through regular patrols by local law enforcement to putting the final touches on the grounds.
“We, especially Jane, have been busy cleaning and refurbishing the buildings and the fairgrounds so that it is a nicer place for families to come,” Burns says. “That’s the main theme of the Columbus Fair — families doing things together and having fun.”
The fair gates will be open Tuesday through Friday from 5 p.m. till 11 p.m. Saturday’s hours are 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Entry fee is $2, and armbands to ride all rides are $20 (tentative, price not finalized at press time). Entry is free for children 18 and under on Thursday.
Special events include the livestock show Thursday at 6:30 p.m., youth pork grilling, pumpkin carving and hot dog eating contests Friday night, wrestling Friday and Saturday night and a pet parade and pet show Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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