Clark County Home
Clark County has Grown
Barn Full of Farm Leaders
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Everyone probably has their “Center-of-the-Universe.” Mine is probably located somewhere in the proximity of U.S. Route 68. As I write this article I am practically sitting on Route 68 in a booth at Young’s Jersey Dairy.
My whole life has been spent near Route 68. I was born in Georgetown, Ohio which is on Route 68. When I was two years old, my Dad bought a house on Route 68 which my Mother still lives in. When it was time for me to go to college, the family chose the University of Kentucky in Lexington which is on Route 68. In the fall of 1970, I had several job offers coming out of college. Ohio State University made the best offer so I agreed to become a 4-H Extension Agent. When they told me they were sending me to Clark County, I asked the question: Where is that? They said it was on Route 68. Thirty-five years later, I’m still in Clark County traveling up and down ole 68. I never expected to spend my whole career here which leads me to today’s topic: What makes a great community? I guess the reason I’m still here is I have not found a better place to live. My life has always revolved around Agriculture. Growing up in Brown County and taking soil classes in Kentucky, I was “shocked and stunned” about how productive the soils were here. Some of the best soils in the world have sustained many Clark County families for many generations. Clark County has possessed a great history in agriculture, especially manufacturing, innovation and education. However, great communities are defined by the people living in them. Clark County takes a “back seat to no one” when it comes to rural leadership and national respect. In a recent tour of the Ohio Agriculture Hall of Fame, I found the following inducted former Clark Countians: A.B. Graham, founder of 4-H Clubs; A.P. (Put) Sandles, fair exhibitions; Max Scarff, seed and landscape industry; Robert Grieser, SWCD’s; Lawrence Kunkle, education; John T. Mount, OSU administrator; Douglas J. Michael, vegetable industry, born and raised in Clark County; and John Sawyer from Hamilton but got in the Hall of Fame because of large scale composting at Ohio Feedlot in South Charleston. National and State livestock leadership from Clark County includes: Dairy, Chet Folck, Maurice Baird; Beef, Flenner Mellinger (1st President of now Ohio Cattlemen’s Assn.), Gordon Flax, Marvin Berschet, Paul Deer, Jerry Williams; Horses, Blair Flock who founded the Ohio Quarter Horse Congress which is the world’s largest livestock show of any kind; Sheep, Ruth Ann Rahim, first woman president of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Assn.; Swine State Fair Superintendents included Thomas l. Calvert, Colonel E. Foster and L.S. Calvert; and Ag marketing, Ralph Baumgardner with dairy cooperatives. There are so many more that even I could not name or have room to “pen” them all. One can easily think of rural leaders such as Alan Armstrong, Gordon Flax, Ron Harbage, Bob Kaffenbarger, John Waymire and others. But in my 35 years of service to Clark County Agriculture, the man that stands in my mind at the top of the mountain was J. William Ferguson. Bill was a “Mountain of a Man” in stature and was a man of integrity and bravery. I have been through two major rural crises. One was the agricultural financial depression of the early 1980’s and the other was the Clark County Fair war that began in 1978. It was Bill Ferguson who “rose-to-the-top” to chair and lead the Clark County Federation of Rural Organizations which was reconvened to deal with the fair crisis. It was Bill’s leadership that guided the fairboard when they literally did not have two pennies to rub together. Clark County had fairboards in the past that went bankrupt and ended exhibitions. Bill also chaired the Clark Landmark board. For as few of people that lived on Mills Road, it must have been the agricultural leadership capitol road of Clark County. You had Russell and Ilene Cessna at the north end who were Pork Industry State Leaders and J. William Ferguson at the south end. Just around the corner and down the road a short distance was the boyhood home farm of Steve Waddle. Leadership comes in many different forms and is usually intangible. Steve Waddle’s leadership is physical. You can actually see it! It’s called the pork complex at the Clark County Fair. Steve has been the constant leader of this huge expansion of pork facilities that has served thousands of youth with pig projects. Yes, it took many people to accomplish this. But, those who know Steve best realize the passion that he has to improve this great complex. There must have been something in the water of the North Fork of the Little Miami River that recharged the wells on the farms of the Cessna’s, Ferguson’s, Waymire’s and the Waddle’s. Some leaders do not get the recognition they deserve because of what I call “quiet leadership.” Because of the quiet, meek personalities of farmers like Bart Neer, David Stickney, Richard Flax, Jim Agle, Alan Thompson, and Jay Wolfe, they don’t always get their “just do” to respect and contributions they make to our community. Then there are rural leaders like Karen Neer who one could not possibly put under the category of quiet leadership! I had to mention Karen because along with Jason Dagger of Farm Bureau, they are the “driving force” behind Agriculture and the Arts in this county. This program will give the international recognition that our rural and urban community deserves. Don’t miss this program in November. Now you know why I don’t plan to leave after my retirement. It’s all about great people and the greatest have always been found right here in this community. I have appreciated all of you who faithfully have read my columns. My last one will appear on October 30th. 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