Profiles of 2001 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

WILLIAM AND ARLENE CANARY FAMILY, JOHNSON COUNTY
...it's in our blood...

The Canary family Photo by Jeremy Hogan

At any time during the run of the Indiana State Fair, you can expect to find at least two and as many as a dozen members of Johnson County's Canary family at the Dairy Barn or Pioneer Village.

Long time dairy farmers, the Canarys have taken on the challenge of interpreting historic agricultural practices to a modern audience. From running cream separators and milking machines to pitching wheat into a thresher and churning butter by hand, the Canary family re-enacts the practices of their family's past, keeping contemporary Hoosiers in touch with our state's long and deep agricultural roots.

Bill's grandson John, hooks up the milking machine to the first Jersey he showed in 4-H. Photo by Jeremy Hogan

Both Bill and Arlene Canary have been involved with the Indiana State Fair since they were children. After they married they continued their involvement, showing livestock and helping with what would become the Pioneer Village back when it was just a small, one-room antiques exhibit in the old Grandstand. Bill and Arlene raised their children at the Pioneer Village and their children have done the same. Now, on any given day, you can expect to see three generations of Canarys, side-by-side, hard at work, at the State Fair.

LEE AND CRAE ELLER, HAMILTON COUNTY
...I love a good horse...

Lee and Crae Eller Photo by Beth Campbell

The Eller family has always had winning horses on their farm. They bought their first registered Belgian Draft Horse in 1927 and won their first Grand Championship less than a decade later. Since then, the Ellers and their Belgian Draft Horses have accumulated Champion and Grand Champion ribbons from across the country. According to Crae Eller, they also farm a thousand acres in Hamilton County, but "try not to let farming interfere with the horse business."

The Ellers are as dedicated to the State Fair as they are to their horses. Since 1947, an unbroken line of Ellers has guided, shaped, and served the Indiana State Fair. Clifford Eller became the Draft Horse Barn's First Assistant Director in 1947. When Clifford passed away in 1971, his son Lee became First Assistant Director. This year, Lee's son Crae will take the reins from his father, marking the third generation of Ellers to serve in that capacity.

Crae Eller with a mare in the "rough" and her colt on their farm in Hamilton County early spring. Photo by Beth Campbell

One of the greatest talents any horseman can have is the ability to recognize a good horse in the "rough," ungroomed, untrimmed, running free and wild in a field. Lee's great-grandfather was known for this ability; his father also was recognized as a master. "I've heard guys tell me he could look through a horse in a minute. I mean, he had the eye," Lee said. Modest men, neither Lee nor Crae will claim "the eye" for themselves, but their long string of Champion and Grand Champion Belgians seems to say otherwise.