Events to Attend:
County Fair Edition
Volume 9 • Edition 33
August 5, 2015
*Aug. 13-16: SE Weld County Fair & Rodeo, Keenesburg *Aug. 15: Sunflower Nationals Car Show, Keenesburg *Aug. 15: Southeast Weld Days, Keenesburg *Sept. 11-13: Trapper Days, Ft. Lupton *Sept. 12-13: Hot Air Balloon Festival, Brush *Sept. 16-18: Fall Harvest Car Show, Ft. Morgan
Delivering over 16,000 papers to rural Adams, Morgan, and Weld Counties
History of the Southeast Weld County Fair
The Southeast Weld County Fair is celebrating its 92nd year this August. From its humble beginnings, it has grown into an annual celebration. Established as a non-profi t organization with the State of Colorado in 1939, the original name of the association was the Keenesburg Fair Association. The founding Board of Directors consisted of Geo. W. Cooper, N.A. Pippin, G.C. Ohmstede, L.I, Barger, and R.L. Martin. The original intent of the founders of the Southeast Weld County Fair Association was to “establish and conduct county and district fairs, exhibits, experimental grounds, facilities for demonstrations in agriculture, displays of agricultural, dairying, livestock, and poultry products, and household arts; to provide places for the exhibition of agricultural and industrial products, machinery, and improvement of agricultural and domestic arts and sciences; to give premiums for displays; generally to encourage better practices and products of farming, industry, and household arts; to provide and assist in the holding of expositions, fairs, and enterprises for improving the quality and yield of farm products, manufactured goods, and merchandise, and the attractiveness of farm life; and to furnish means and facilities for community gatherings, sports, races, contests of skill, and amusements”. In 1952 the name of the association was changed to the Southeast Weld Junior Fair Association. Today the association consists of 31 members, including some ancestors of the original founders. The Southeast Weld County Junior Fair Association is the only independently-operated fair in Colorado, with no monies received from either county or state funding. The association relies on ad sales from the fair book, raffle monies, and generous donations received from the community to put on a 4-day event each August for the community. Their main focus is to provide a venue for the 4-H and FFA youth to show and compete in their respective areas. They also provide the community with rodeos, a parade, and barbecue for their enjoyment. The association could not complete this tremendous task without the hard work put in by the association members and their families. It takes a lot of different skills to put on an event of the magnitude of the SEWCF. Community volunteers also contribute to ensuring that the fair comes off smoothlyfrom the 4-H volunteers who help with weighins and project judging on Thursday to the Chamber of Commerce members who serve the barbecue on Saturday. Without their help, the fair would not be a success each year, So, come on down to Keenesburg, Colorado and join us in “Preserving the Past to Plan for the Future!” We hope to see you there!
Weld County Chambers of Commerce hold Business After Hours at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley
Weld County Chambers of Commerce held at Business After Hours at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley at the Greeley Freight Station. Michelle Kempema, Executive Director for the museum, welcomed everyone and gave a background of the facility, which attendees were able to tour later in the evening. Members had an evening of fun, with good food and drink, and a great opportunity to network. Chambers that were represented included: Berthoud, Brighton, Carbon Valley, Erie, Evans, Fort Lupton, Johnstown, Keenesburg and South East Weld. The museum has over 1,100 railroad artifacts, 20 scale miles of track, and hundreds of miniature building an a virtual forest of miniature trees. The mission of the museum is to provide a model railroading experience that educates, inspires, and brings joy to all ages. It’s vision is to share and expand model railroading experiences as an avenue for human creativity. A great place to visit for folks of all ages, particularly our younger generation. A side story worth sharing. You may notice painted on the southwest corner of the building the figure of a young man. That young man’s name is Chase Kepner. His dad, Bill, brought him down to the museum when it first started to volunteer when he was 8 or 9 and has been doing it ever since. Chase had a passion for railroading which never dimmed. While at the museum one day, volunteering, they needed a model for the picture going up on that southwest back door. So Chase agreed and that is how his picture ended up there. Chase is now a junior at the University of Wyoming where he is majoring in mechanical engineering.
See more pictures on Page 16
What’s In This Issue:
Page 2: The Way of the World Page 3: So God Made a Keenesburg Fair Kid Page 4: Tweedy’s Art Shop Page 8: Upcoming Events Page 9: MCEDC 2nd Annual Oil & Gas Appreciation Outing Page 10: Bethany College Basketball Signs Maesyn Ries Page 11: Morgan County Fair Fashion Revue Champions Page 12: Ft. Lupton’s Food & Clothing Bank Celebrates 31 Years Page 13: Weld County Critical Incident Response Team Created Page 15: Morgan County Fair Air Rifle & Air Pistol Results Page 17: Platte Valley Med Center Receives Chest Pain Accreditation Page 18: Purifoy Car Show in Ft. Lupton Page 21: Weld Re-3J Board Election Notice