Solanco Fair Celebrates 60th Birthday, Posts Sale Results

Fair Holds True to Its Ag Roots

Michelle Kunjappu
Reporter

QUARRYVILLE, Pa. — The Solanco Fair celebrated its 60th birthday in fine style this year, doing what it does best — putting on a rural celebration that draws the community out to celebrate and learn about agriculture.

From the beginning, the officers and directors decided, and included in the bylaws, that no gambling or concessionaires would be allowed nor would carnival-type activities be permitted so that the fair would always maintain its agricultural and family roots.

The three-day fair boasts a celebrity milking contest, parade, and a double tractor pull track for antique and classic pulls. A 2003 addition was a 20’x40’ building for selling and promoting dairy products.

In 2000 the fair added another large building to house the dairy, sheep, goat, beef, and rabbit entries, which culminates in the annual sale on Friday night.

This year, Josh Bledsoe’s 1,160-pound steer “Mojo” topped the lightweight classes before being named grand champion. Mojo was purchased by Tanglewood Golf Course, represented by Dwight Wagner, president, for $5 a pound.

Bledsoe does not have an agricultural background but “saw it (exhibiting cattle) and thought it looked like fun,” before he began showing three years ago. The first year he went into the ring, he came home with a grand champion title, last year the reserve, and this year brought home the grand champion title again. He houses the steers on his uncle’s nearby farm.

Freddy Frey’s homebred “Mario,” the 1,396-pound champion heavyweight, took reserve champion honors and was sold to Quarryville Family Restaurant, owned by Vivian Petropoulos, for $3.60. Frey hails from Frey Family Angus, Quarryville, which hosts a 250-head herd of registered and commercial Angus cattle. He has six years of showing both cattle and sheep. “Mario” was out of his cow and by his sister Katrina’s bull.

Frey’s lamb, “Jed” won the Top Solanco School District lamb title and was sold to Ferguson & Hassler for $4.00 per pound.

This year Frey also brought a goat to the fair, and came home with the grand champion goat title. “Theodore,” who has a personality “like a dog,” according to Frey, weighed in at 95 pounds and was sold for $2.70 to Weaver Insurance.

The reserve champion goat, exhibited by Joshua Burton, was purchased by Stonemill Place Subway, represented by Melanie Scheid.

Cameron Long’s 260-pound “Mighty” took grand champion hog honors and was purchased by Hostettler and Hostettler Accounting, Quarryville, for $2.90.

Long, a freshman at Penn Manor High School, is involved in FFA and has six years of experience showing hogs. The grand champion title marks his best finish.

In her fourth year exhibiting livestock, Katrina Reiff, a freshman at Penn Manor, exhibited 268-pound “Taylor” and received this year’s reserve grand champion title in the hog ring, also her highest placing yet. Reiff, from a farmette in Pequea, also shows lambs. Her hog was purchased by National Penn Bank, Oxford, represented by Robin Perry, ag lender, for $2.65 per pound.

Kelsey Binkley’s 140-pound grand champion lamb was sold for $3.10 per pound to NBRS Financial Bank, represented by Teresa Greider, CFO.

Amber Winters, a seven-year veteran in the ring and a sophomore at Lampeter Strasburg, exhibits both sheep and pigs but his year had the most luck with her lamb, which received the reserve champion lamb title and brought $3.00 per pound when it was sold to Weaver Seed/Dekalb.

Doug Harnish’s grand champion Holstein Dairy Beef calf brought $2.30 per pound and was purchased by Harnish Custom Corn Planting, represented by Mark Harnish, owner.

In his first year showing dairy beef, Bradlee Wagner’s reserve champion brought $.75 and was sold to Roadstar. Wagner is a freshman and FFA student at Solanco High School.