Profiles of 2002 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2003 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2004 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2005 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2006 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2007 State Fair Masters

GEORGE HARRELL, JOHNSON COUNTY
...to some people that just looks like a bunch of sheep but to me it looks like 25 different individuals...

George Harrell demonstrating wool grading. Photo by Erin Roth.

George Harrell lives on the same farm in Johnson County where he was born and grew up. The same farm that his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather worked since the 1850s.

For as long as George can remember, there have always been sheep on the farm. And from a very early age it was his job to take care of them. From farm chores, to 4-H, to his career as farmer and wool grader, George has been immersed in the sheep business. He is a sheep shearer. He is a sought-after contest judge and has presided at every county fair in Indiana, at fairs from coast to coast, and even in England. He is also a leader in wool and sheep organizations across Indiana.

George Harrell on his family farm in Johnson County. Photo by Erin Roth.

George's gift - his occupational art - is in the way he distinguishes minute differences among grades or qualities of wool fleece.George is a master wool grader. Of the twenty-four grades between Coarse and Fine, George can identify each one with just a glance and a pass of his hand.

George hasn't missed a state fair since his first in 1946. "I've always been a competitive person," he says. At the age of twelve, he won the Supreme Sheep Showmanship at the State Fair. He quit showing once he started judging regularly. During the past thirty-eight years, George has shared his knowledge of sheep and wool with young people in 4-H.

KEITH RUBLE, VIGO COUNTY
...a whole "family" of talented demonstrators returns each year...

Keith Ruble hews a bowl of cherry on the front porch of one of the cabins he restored at Fowler Park in Vigo County. Photo by Erin Roth.

For the past thirty years, Keith Ruble has dedicated two weeks of his annual vacation to the Indiana State Fair. When not at the fair, Keith is likely in the woods or on a lake or stream. He oversees thirteen employees and over 1,000 acres of park land as superintendent of Vigo County Parks. In his spare time he makes wooden buckets and hews bowls in his living room

As a child growing up along the banks of the Ohio River in Dearborn County, Keith learned to love the outdoors, spending his summers baling hay and milking cows. He taught himself how to hew a log by hand, reconstruct log cabins, and split rails while working for Vigo County Parks. Like the early pioneers, Keith has had to be resourceful, often consulting the masters in his community on everything from stone masonry to engineering a gristmill.

Close-up of one of Keith's adzes. Photo by Erin Roth.

In the early 1970s, already well known for his log cabin building skills, Keith was invited to build a log cabin inside the Pioneer Building at the state fair. Keith has returned every year since to help build the log smokehouse, the pen-frame building, and furniture for the log cabin.

A whole "family" of talented demonstrators returns each year to Pioneer Village, Keith says. In fact, it was in the Pioneer Building, working beside Bill Day, master bowl hewer from West Lebanon, that Keith learned to hew bowls. Over the years they shared bits of wisdom with each other and together taught many their craft. His intimate knowledge and love for wood are apparent with every expert chop of his adz.

Terre Haute Tribune-Star article featuring State Fair Master Keith Ruble (August 29, 2001)

SCHUMAN SISTERS, JOHNSON AND MARION COUNTIES
...food brings people together...

L-R Mary and Nancy pose for a photo. Mary holds a platter full of her prize-winning Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookies, while her sister Nancy, six-time Archway Cookie Contest winner holds the champion ribbon. Mary won the silver platter in the SOFTASILK Championship Cake Contest. Photo by Erin Roth.

Mary and Nancy Schuman were born and raised on a farm in Whitley County. They remember farm life well. Livestock, chores, gardens, canning - and the smells of their mother's kitchen. Food was an important part of their family life not only because it provided physical strength but also because sharing food was part of being neighborly. Food brought people together.

Raised with their mother's appreciation for the kitchen and a deep respect for the art of neighborliness, Nancy and Mary were naturals when it came to baking. They got their basics from helping their mother and being active in 4-H. Both remember their 4-H experience well. Indeed, it shaped their youth and became the basis for their careers as Purdue Cooperative Extension Educators. They've devoted much of their professional lives to 4-H youth.

Nancy and Mary have been exhibiting at the State Fair for almost thirty years. Such dedication to the fair is a family tradition. Their father, who served on the State Fair Board for many years, missed Nancy's birth because she arrived during fair time. The sisters grew up at the fair and today plan their travels around it.

The Schuman sisters are famous for their cookies and cakes and have won dozens of contests, including the Nestlé's Chocobake Contest and the Land-o-Lakes Sour Cream Contest. Mary has demonstrated her champion cake baking on local television shows. Archway's bestseller derives from Nancy's 1975 prize-winning Rocky Road cookie recipe. According to Mary, however, Nancy's version is much better than Archway's.



Mary's Recipe | Nancy's Recipe

Mary's Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups un-sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (4 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
2 eggs
6 ounces chocolate chips
6 ounces peanut butter chips
1 cup raisins

**Mix flour with baking soda.
**Combine butter, sugars, vanilla and pudding mix in large mixer bowl; beat until smooth and creamy; beat in eggs.
**Gradually add flour mixture; stir in chips and raisins. Batter will be stiff.
**Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto ungreased baking sheets.
**Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
(Makes about 7 dozen)

Nancy won the 2001 State Fair Clabbergirl contest with her pumpkin date coffee cake recipe. Photo by Erin Roth.

Nancy's Prize-winning Clabber Girl Contest Cake Recipe
Pumpkin Date Coffee Cake

Topping

1/4 cup flour	1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon	3 Tablespoons margarine

Cake

2 cups flour	2 eggs
1 cup sugar	1 cup canned pumpkin
3 teaspoons baking powder	1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon	1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg	1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon cloves	1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda	3/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 - 2 tablespoons orange juice


**In small bowl, combine all topping ingredients except margarine; mix well. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
**Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 10 inch tube pan.
**Sift together flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl.

**Beat eggs in a smaller bowl. Stir in pumpkin, orange juice, margarine and orange peel.
**Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
**Stir in nuts and dates. Spoon batter into greased pan; sprinkle with topping. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes in pan; remove from pan.

**In a small bowl, blend all of glaze ingredients adding enough orange juice for desired consistency. Drizzle over cake.