Locally owned since 1867
Monday, July 27, 2020
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One for the history books Goats: Stubborn but loveable
Unusual auction wraps up Fair Week
By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The 127th annual Allen County Fair proved one final time how unique this year has been, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual livestock auction wrapped up the 2020 Fair, with only a fraction of the animals — all lambs and goats — available for purchase. That was because the cattle and hogs that normally would have gone to the highest bidder already had been sold prior to Sunday. “The kids sold the animals themselves,” Southwind Extension agent Carla Nemecek explained. “Every one of them went to family, friends or neighbors.” The steers and hogs were in high demand well before Sunday’s sale because the Fair Board had set up appointments with area meat lockers to have the animals processed in short order. That means the meat would be available without waiting for several months, Nemecek noted.
Above, Shelby Sprague shows off her reserve champion second-year bucket calf during the Allen County Fair Premium Livestock Auction Sunday night at the fairgrounds. She earned a premium of $2,000. At lower left, Moira Springer talks about her chicken at the poultry show Saturday. At lower right, 4-H’ers pose their goats in the show ring Friday. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS AND TREVOR HOAG
BUT even though many See AUCTION | Page A2
Undaunted by the threat of COVID-19, the 2020 4-H goat show was a rousing success, with young people across multiple age groups excitedly showing off all the hard work they’d put into their animals. Shelby Sprague is a member of Prairie Rose, and has been showing for the last four years. “I don’t mind the work,” she said. “It’s also really good family time.” “We raise our own goats. We don’t buy them,” which makes the labor involved even greater. “It’s awesome to see what you get out of working with your animal,” Sprague added, as she prepared her goats Louise, Highlander and Hereford for the show ring. When asked about the most challenging part of raising goats, she noted how “they get sick all the time. People starting out don’t really know that.” Goats also require a lot of personalized attention. “Some don’t like their back legs touched, or their faces See GOATS | Page A2
Little Oscars: It’s never too late to celebrate By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Iola High School students kick off “The Theory of Relativity” Friday at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. The spring musical was delayed by four months because of the coronavirus pandemic. From left, Lexie Vega, River Hess (partially hidden), Haley Carlin, Hannah Andersen (hidden), Jonathan Poffenbarger, Austin Morris, Isabella Duke, Adryan Nading, Kaylin Klubek, Dalton Muntzert. Not pictured are Macie Hoag, Gabriella Lampe and Michael Price. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
River Hess said he would have been happy winning a prize for “Best Puppet Design” at the long-delayed and scaled down Little Oscars event Friday evening. Spoiler alert: He didn’t win that category. But he did win some of the night’s biggest prizes: Don Bain Showman of the Year and Best Actor for his role in the fall play, “Puffs.”
“Throughout my career in high school theater, it was always about having fun and I looked up to all the students who came before me. This year, I’m one of those people,” Hess said in his acceptance speech. “You never think you’re going to grow up until you’re there.” LITTLE OSCARS has a reputation for lasting even longer than its namesake, See OSCARS | Page A4
Making connections during pandemic By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Perhaps it’s fitting that a high school musical delayed four months by a global pandemic should focus on the paradoxical nature of life and love: how we find the balance between what’s safe and what’s scary, between taking chances or going with the known, and searching for
something more versus staying still. Iola High School drama students performed a musical, “The Theory of Relativity,” in front of a small, socially distanced crowd of family at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center Friday evening. The play originally had been scheduled for early April, but was postponed when schools were closed because of the corona-
virus. The play is college-level material, with themes you don’t often find in a high school play: homosexuality, pregnancy and abortion, grief and sacrifice. It tells of the transition between childhood and adulthood, as young people leave the safety of home and venture into the See THEORY | Page A4
An emotional River Hess accepts the Don Bain Showman of the Year award during a scaled-down version of the Little Oscars drama award ceremony Friday night. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
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