INSIDE
EAST - New Haven
Serving New Haven & East Allen County
5733B S.R. 930 E. Fort Wayne, IN 46803
Classifieds........A16
(260) 444-5542 Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Community Calendar..... A17-18 Grabill Country Discover Downtown..........A8 Fair..................... A7
See Our Ad On Page A14
INfortwayne.com
August 21, 2015
SummerFest welcomes square dancing tractors By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
FILE PHOTO
The baby crawl will take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 in the activities area of the Grabill Country Fair.
Grabill Country Fair fun Festival packs crafts, contests and music into three days By Lucretia Cardenas lcardenas@kpcmedia.com
The roughly 1,000 residents of a “friendly little town” north of Fort Wayne know how to put on a party – it’s been doing so since
1973. The 44th annual Grabill Country Fair will celebrate the area’s Amish heritage with three days of crafts, contests, music and food. This year’s festivities begin Thursday, Sept. 10, and end
Saturday, Sept. 12. The festival draws about 100,000 visitors to Grabill and boasts to be “one of the finest craft fairs” with 130 craft booths, according to the fair’s website. The crafts showcased and sold
FFA chapters team up for Ag Appreciation Day By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO BY GARTH SNOW
Heritage High School FFA President Jarrett Lorte serves breakfast to Larry Clifford at Ag Appreciation Day at Jefferson Township Park. Clifford is president of the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society. Phil Hudson, center, is a board member of that organization.
because we have several of these events throughout the year, so what we don’t use now we use later.” Both chapter presidents said they gain important skills through FFA. “I’ve been in FFA since freshman year and my brother is in it, my dad and aunts and uncles were in it,” Lorte said. “It’s a great
program. I don’t know any other program that will give you the leadership qualities and skills that you will need like this will.” This is Schultz’s fifth year in FFA. “I actually joined FFA in the seventh grade,” she said. “Going into my first ag class I told See DAY, Page A13
3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808
Times Community Publications
FFA members from Heritage and Woodlan high schools stood server by server Aug. 5 for Ag Appreciation Day at Jefferson Township Park. The New Haven Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event as a way of saying thanks to the food industry. Woodlan FFA President Sophie Schultz, a junior, took her turn serving pancakes. “We are cooking pancakes and sausage and providing coffee and drinks for the farmers around the area,” she said. “It’s just a way for us to give back to the community and to give back to the people who provide our food.” Heritage FFA President Jarrett Lorte, a senior, also served pancakes. “We have some great volunteers who help us get the food,” he said. “We buy plenty
include ornate woodworking, pristine glass blowing, intricate needlepoint and detailed ceramic villages. The exhibition hall, See FAIR, Page A7
Skeeter Daugherty makes a personal sacrifice for the good of Lily Pearl’s Square Dancing Tractors. When that Rochester precision tractor team entertains Aug. 29 at the Monroeville SummerFest, eight men will guide their bright red Farmall H tractors through Community Park Arena. Daugherty, however, is green through and through. “I’m a John Deere guy. It doesn’t sit well,” he said. “But we use a John Deere in the show, so I get over it quickly.” Eight drivers follow the caller’s instructions. Four wear men’s clothing; four wear women’s clothing. “The John Deere comes in and shoos away the men,” Daugherty said. In his years with the Fulton County Historical Power Association, Daugherty has favored
SUMMERFEST Saturday, Aug. 29, Monroeville Lily Pearl’s Square Dancing Tractors at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.; admission $5. For a full schedule, visit strosemonroeville.org. the John Deere Model G or the Model A, with its distinctive two-cylinder exhaust rhythm. Antique tractor clubs are divided not only by the trademark John Deere and Farmall colors, but also by the blue, orange and tan of other models. And yes, even other shades of red and green. When Daugherty and friend Carl Overmyer persuaded enough tractor buffs to start a square dance team, a decision had to be made. Overmyer said he first proposed a square dancing tractor traveling troupe six years ago, but couldn’t sell it. “So the plan was See FEST, Page A12