By Rachel Knight
On a Sunday morning in mid-March, the Tomascik family donned their work boots, grabbed their show sticks, and headed for the barn. As the sun beat down on the family of five, they practiced showing steers for the Robertson County Fair. A black pickup truck rolled into the drive. The Tomascik kids’ aunt and uncle hopped down from the truck and walked into the yard prepared to give second opinions about the show animals. Once advice had been given and hugs exchanged, the family headed into the house for a quick bite of breakfast.
Throughout the spring, this scene can be witnessed all over Robertson County as hundreds of students prepare for the Robertson County Fair.
“We have a fair not just for the livestock show, but as a way for families to get together,” says Justin Tomascik, an ag teacher at Franklin High School. His position as an ag teacher means Tomascik is also a representative on the Robertson County Fair Board.
For 52 years, the Robertson County Fair has provided a way to celebrate and reward grade-school students for their achievements in agriculture. The Robertson County Fair has grown exponentially since it started in 1965. There were more than 1,000 entries in the 2017 Robertson county fair; but in 1971, the first year entry numbers were recorded, there were only 66 entries.
Ken Elliott, son of one of the fair’s original leaders Fred Elliott, has a unique perspective on the growth and success of the fair.
“It’s an honor to do it, and I think everybody wants to be a part of something successful,” Elliott says. “It doesn’t matter what it is; you want to be on a winning team. If you have a good football team or volleyball team, by the time you get to state the whole town is following you. This is the same way.”
The Robertson County Fair has enjoyed strong leadership since its inception.
“This county fair was actually started because there was a school show in Calvert and a school show in Hearne,” Elliott says. “The members of those two groups talked and said, ‘Let’s just have a countywide fair instead of two school shows.’”
The streets of downtown Hearne hosted the first two Robertson County livestock shows, according Brandi Liere, Franklin ag teacher and treasurer for the fair.
“After the first two years, the fair was moved to land used by the Hearne Riding Club not far from where we have the fair now,” Liere says.
Elliott remembers showing steers as a young boy on the land that is now owned by the Robertson County Fair Association. The large, metal show rings and pens used at the fair today were not on the fairgrounds when Elliott was a participant.
“When I showed there was a yellow ski rope that was the show ring under the trees,” Elliott recalls.
Today, the Robertson County Fairgrounds are one of only three fair facilities in Texas that are owned by the local fair association, according to Elliott. Ownership of the fairgrounds is an achievement many Robertson County natives take pride in, and is a direct result of dedication to a greater cause.
“The note they made to purchase this property and building was personally signed by the directors,” Elliott says. “The note was right at half a million dollars during a time when interest rates were high and these men were struggling in their personal lives anyway.”
Almost all leaders in the Robertson County Fair today talk about Fred Elliott’s leadership skills. While Ken Elliott was quick to say his dad did not single-handedly found or run the fair, Elliott says his dad’s leadership abilities helped get the fair through rough times after the note was signed.
“[My dad] wore the hat of a leader and was fair,” Elliott says. “When people were at odds, he could talk to both groups and then they could all walk off with their shirt sleeves rolled up to work together for the same goal. That is a very, very special person that can do that.”
Working together was a must for the men who signed their names on the half-million-dollar loan to purchase the fairgrounds. They all pitched in around the grounds to make it a success. They hand-built the pipe fence that now surrounds the facility, railings on the bleachers, and many of the buildings, Elliott says.
“There were so many people that were instrumental on a very obvious and upfront level, but there were also hundreds of people that you never knew their name; the guys that worked everyday and saw what they needed to do and used their talents,” Elliott says.
The payment on the grounds grew smaller each year thanks to the fundraising efforts of the fair’s leaders. When the note was down to $10,000, an auction was held where local business owners donated items like air compressors, hay bales and oil to the association. It ended up being the last effort they needed to pay for the fair grounds.
“Out of that $10,000 that that auction grossed, I know three men that spent $3,000 apiece,” Elliott says. “The other thousand came from the other people who were there. I think the one thing to take away from that was they believed in it because of the leadership.”
Belief in the leadership of the fair is something today’s association still enjoys. According to Charles Frieda, a fair leader who has held many titles and was a close friend of the late Fred Elliott, some of the qualities exhibited in the fair’s founding leaders have been passed down to the county’s youth.
“Some of the things that continue on are the fellowship and the working together for that common goal,” Frieda says. “So many of the kids continue to be competitive and supportive of each other and you still see the same old characteristics that you’ve always seen in the work ethics.”
Leadership and work ethics are not the only traditions carried on at the fair today. A scholarship program was started in 1984 by the Board of Directors. Originally one scholarship was to be given that year, but the board felt they had two overly qualified candidates. To make a second scholarship, each board member reached into their pocket and pulled out $30 to make a second scholarship.
Today’s directors carry on the tradition of donating to the scholarship fund each year, according to Stacy Ely, a fair board director.
“Now of course we all pay the $30, but there’s also fundraising,” Ely says. “Since 1984, we have given 478 scholarships to the kids of Robertson County for a total of $809,500.”
Each spring after the fair, high school seniors have the opportunity to apply for Robertson County Fair scholarships. Giving scholarships to students to further their education fits the purpose of the fair, according to Tomascik.
“Our whole mission is to develop youth and help them get their future started to come back and continue the cycle to help somebody else,” Tomascik says. “Part of youth development is getting that education and that continued education.”
Jeb Hogan, a 2014 Robertson County Fair scholarship recipient, says he gained more than a financial springboard for college while participating in the fair.
“Growing up in the show industry, you’re told to focus on one thing and do it 100 percent,” Hogan says. “Don’t spread yourself too thin. That really helps me in my academics because it keeps me focused.”
Jessica Lutz, Robertson County Fair steer show superintendent, says she has seen first-hand the effects showing livestock has on youth. Life skills were among the benefits of showing Lutz listed.
“They make good decisions about what to eat because they have had to make good decisions about what to feed their steer,” Lutz says. “Raising an animal teaches them how to take care of themselves whenever their parents are no longer raising them.”
As an ag teacher, Liere says it is important for students to get involved in the fair.
“You need to get involved, but involvement in the fair is different from involvement in your school,” Liere says. “It is making a difference in your community.”
Melanie Stellbauer serves as the fair’s secretary, and says she highly values the time she spent with her kids in the barn.
“I love the time we’d spend in the barn together and our conversations that we would not have if we weren’t cleaning the barn or shavings or mixing feed for the next few days,” Stellbauer says. “The time spent in the barn with my children, just us, that’s what I get excited about. I know they do, too.”
Since the fair’s humble beginnings, volunteers have been the driving force of the fair, according to Elliott. Fred Elliott’s background in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the reasons the Robertson County Fair is run by volunteers.
Several fair leaders say the future of the Robertson County Fair rests in the hands of today’s participants and scholarship recipients.
“We invest in the kids from third grade all the way up,” Elliott says. “All we ask is they go make their mark in the world and come back or give back.”
Cowboy Up at the 2018 Robertson County Fair Don your pearl snap shirts, jump into your blue jeans, and kick on your boots. You don’t have to travel to Amarillo by morning to attend this county fair taking place from March 17-26.
Come rain, hail, sleet, or snow the 2018 Robertson County Fair will kick off on March 17 at 6 p.m. with the Queen’s Coronation followed by a dance at the Fireman’s Hall on the Robertson County Fairgrounds. Entry to the coronation and dance are free.
Robertson County Fair fun returns to the fairgrounds on March 22 with the Creative Arts Gala-Fundraiser and Creative Arts Winners and Open House taking place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Multi-Use Building.
With livestock shows, children’s activities, pig scrambles, art and homemaking exhibits, a carnival, and more, there is something for everyone at the Robertson County Fair. Day passes are $8 per day. Armbands permit access to the Robertson County Fair for the duration of the weekend and are $15. Children in second grade or younger get into the fair for free. For a full schedule of events, visit www.rcfa.org.
