Every year we get some of the best feel-good stories from county fairs across the country, but these two are a little bittersweet.
Pig Raises Over $17,000 in Honor of Deceased
18-year-old Madison Lee from Michigan spent the summer preparing her animals for the Monroe County Fair but was unexpectedly killed in a car accident less than a week before the fair. Madison’s twin sister Macie decided that even after the tragic loss of her sibling, she was still going to show her sister’s animals this year.
During the livestock auction, Macie brought her sister’s hog into the ring and the bids instantly started, one after another. At the end of the bidding, the pig was sold to three local businesses and brought in $17,500.
That wasn’t the end of it though, Madison also had her pens of chickens and turkeys she raised for the fair and those were sold as well. The money from all of her animals will now be used to start “Madie’s Clovers,” a foundation that’ll help 4-H members purchase and house animals for future county fairs.
Ham Sells for Thousands for Teen Who Passed in July
At the Moniteau County Fair in California, Missouri, a ham raised $25,000 during the junior ham auction. The ham was sold in memory of 16-year-old Lucas Oswald who passed away earlier this summer from a brain abnormality called brain arteriovenous malformation, or AVM.
Before Oswald passed at the beginning of July, he cured a ham so he could bring it to the fair for the big contest. After his passing, the fair board asked the family for permission to enter his ham in the fair and they agreed to let them.
His ham was then sold a total of six times over and altogether brought in over $40,000 that will go toward a memorial fund.
Even after tragedy hit these two counties, it’s nice to see those within the community come together to support the grieving families and raise money for two great causes. That’s what the county fair is all about.
