Sarah Bates smiles after winning the Grand Champion title for her Feeder Steer, Bambino, weighing in at 652 pounds.
PARSONS, W.Va. — A county fair is Americana at its best. It embodies all the goodness of rural America and the rural American way of life – the moral fabric of farming, the homespun goodness of cooking, the wholesome exercise of gardening and, most importantly, weaves into its basket a holding place for traditions to be passed on from one generation to the next.
The 2016 Tucker County Fair heated up Wednesday as quickly as the day’s temperatures under the late August afternoon sun.
Wednesday showcased young 4-H enthusiasts and Future Farmers of America, who had doted on animals ranging from cute, furry rabbits to colossal 1,500-pound steers. The livestock barn teemed with goats, sheep and pigs that had been “babied” for six months to more than a year just for this event. The animals have no idea that on Saturday they will be bought and sold to the highest bidder!
Ben Kisamore and his wife, Sandy, busied themselves cleaning and watering down the sawdust around their prize-winning purebred Poled Hereford steers.
Three generations of Kisamores have been supporting the Tucker County Fair for nearly 40 years. A full-time farmer and retired coal miner, Ben Kisamore has been bringing his steers to the fair since the late 1970s, and he even helped build the barn that now houses the livestock shows. He introduced his daughter to farming years ago, and now mentors his two granddaughters, who were showing steers later Wednesday evening.
Daughter Stephanie Fitzwater, mother to Kateland and Sara Bates, grew up on the 198-acre Kisamore Farm on Limestone Mountain near St. George. She, with brother Benny Kisamore, won many awards during their tenure as 4-Hers, she said. Fitzwater even remembers a year when she and her brother won Grand and Reserve Champion both in the same fair.
Kisamore laid the groundwork for the evening, explaining the ins and outs of the feeder and finished markets as it pertained to beef cattle, particularly his Poled Herefords.
“These animals are grain-fed and not pastured,” he explained. “If they are for market during the fair, they are weighed in November and fed out through the winter until showtime.”
He explained the county fair livestock show was for “the kids,” the younger people learning farming as a way of life.
“These kids here in the barn have made these animals their life. They have taught them to lead, curried them and tamed them, fed them and trained them to perform for the show. The youngsters learn to look at their animals as consumer products, not pets,” he explained. “It’s even up to the kids to find their own buyers.”
Granddaughter Kateland Bates, a senior at Tucker County High School, has loved her seven years with 4-H and has won several awards through the years. Her “finished for market” steer, Grand, is a whopping 1,393 pounds at 16 months of age, and she hopes to get at least $2.50 on the pound to break even.
Ben Kisamore said Grand has eaten approximately two tons of feed from November to August to prepare for the show.
Sarah Bates will be showing her “feeder calf,” Bambino. At 625 pounds he’ll have another year to eat and grow before sale to market.
“I get close to my animals. That’s what I like best. I don’t like the thought of butchering them, but I always sell them anyway,” Sarah said.
Grandma Sandy Kisamore added both girls cry when their animals are sold at the Saturday market during the fair.
The 4-H and FFA Livestock Show opened at 6:30 p.m. just after the Little Miss Tucker County Pageant.
As it turned out, Sarah received the Grand Champion title for her feeder steer, Bambino, and a Reserve Champion title in the Laying Hens division. Sister Kateland walked away with first place in Laying Hens and third place in the Market Steer division with Grand.
