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mention that working in the show barn alongside “right arm” newspaper associates like Yvonne Hartmann and Lisa Treiber-Walter made my job as a photographer of various show animals and their exhibitors comparatively easy. All I had to do was wait for the right moment, point the camera and shoot. They, on the other hand, had to corral sometimes-distracted celebratory exhibitors and their winners-circle friends/family members, accurately write down everyone’s names along with other pertinent details and then make sure all that information made it into the newspaper correctly.

In short, working at fair association events was more fun than I could ever imagine, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for all the money that I lost over the years trying to pick a winner at the race track. CHARLES FELLER

Working at a radio station in San Marcos while attending college eventually turned into a long career in broadcasting for me. After leaving college, I moved back home to Gillespie County and started working part-time in 1954 for Radio Station KNAF. I went full-time in 1955.

Then, in 1956, I moved to San Antonio for work. After 20 years of being away from the microphone, I started taking outside jobs in 1976 broadcasting on Radio Station KNAF.

As it just so happens, one of my broadcasts in 1976 was from the Gillespie County Fair Grounds. Bill Jung and I did the first broadcast from the new fairgrounds when it was dedicated in 1976.

Along with broadcasting from the show barn, the exhibition hall and the queen’s contest during the fair and other summer events at the fairgrounds, I also provided radio broadcasts from the Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo, Harper Frontier Days, Blanco County Fair, the District Livestock Show in Kerrville, tractor and car shows, hay shows, the turkey shoot and more. Looking back, I should have kept a diary.

In all of my years of broadcasting from around the Hill Country, I only missed one assignment, and that was because someone ran a stop sign on Milam Street and wrecked my pickup.

Because I grew up on a farm and ranch, I have always had an interest in livestock. My brother and I showed animals at the old fairgrounds, and I even took ag classes in college.

I was asked many times over the years to broadcast from the horse races but I felt like I didn’t know enough about it. I wasn’t going to put my foot in my mouth. I didn’t know a trifecta from a superfecta, and I didn’t know this and I didn’t know that.

One of the best parts of the job is getting to work with the people – with the youngsters, with the judges and of course with all of the committee members that produce the shows. I can proudly say that I never had a cross word with anybody out here.

With 44 years of broadcasting behind me, I have lots of stories to tell and memories to share.

It wasn’t uncommon for an animal to break loose from its owner during a show, but it was usually always easy to catch. However, at one recent show, the steer must have decided it wanted to go home and it wasn’t long before it got out of the show barn and onto the grounds. Concerned about the people outside the barn, they announced over the PA system that they needed someone on a horse to come and help corral the animal. And by gosh, somebody came up on a horse and that ended the roaming of that calf.

Another time while broadcasting from the fair, the main transmitter went out around 5 p.m. and we didn’t have a spare. The engineer and I headed to San Antonio to pick up a new one. He told me to be on the lookout for the cops because we were going to have this thing back on the air before dark. And we did.

I decided to retire from broadcasting in 2020 after 44 years, and I can’t say enough good things about the people I worked with. I have never worked with a better bunch of people than all of the stock shows and fairs connected. Everyone was always so cooperative.

YVONNE HARTMANN

Ever since I can remember I have attended the Gillespie County Fair and I have watched many a horse race dating back to the old fairgrounds way before parimutuel was introduced. I played in the band at the Easter Fires, marched in fair parades and more as a high school student.

After graduating from Southwest Texas State University in 1981 with a degree in journalism, I came back to Fredericksburg and started what would become a 39½ year newspaper career with the Standard, which later became the Standard-Radio Post. Thanks to publisher Arthur Kowert and editor Terry Collier, I was given the opportunity to intern at the Standard for three summers while I was in college. They didn’t waste any time sending me out to learn how to cover the wonderful community we were fortunate to live and work in.

I certainly don’t remember all of my assignments from those early years when I joined the staff full time, but I do remember teaming up with Terry Collier and later Cathy Collier to take trophy pictures in the exhibition hall and the show barn. Not to mention all of the other activities taking place that we photographed. Man, that was a lot of pictures. And all those names! It didn’t leave much time or energy to socialize at the fair, but I still managed to squeeze in some fun.

As a reporter and photographer, I started to realize what all went into producing an event such as the fair. It truly is a sense of pride and bragging rights to win a trophy with prize-winning produce, with goodies made from a favorite recipe, with items created by hand or with livestock projects. It was fun to watch the camaraderie – whether they won a trophy or not -- between the regular participants.

My perspective of the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association changed again in 1992 when my husband, Russell, was voted on the board of directors. He served as a director for 21 years, and our two children, Kelsey and Alyssa, grew up at the fairgrounds. We were welcomed into the family and formed lasting friendships.

While I didn’t put in near as many volunteer hours as many of the wives and significant others, I did try to help out when I could. We shared many laughs and some good information while working our bar shifts, and these ladies were kind enough to share their teepee with me on the rare occasions when I was able to participate in the Easter Fires. I was usually the one crouched down on my hands and knees in front of that low fence trying to avoid the spotlight and the stickers while getting the best shots possible.

Now that I’m retired, I won’t be out there with my camera and notepad, but I plan to continue supporting the GCFFA, its activities and events. I am proud to have been a small part of the rich history of the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association and to help share its story for the past 39 years.