2004 State Fair Masters booklet (pdf file)

Profiles of 2001 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2002 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2003 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2005 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2006 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2007 State Fair Masters

THE FARRAR FAMILY, MARION COUNTY
...It's just something we do in the family every year...

Mike Farrar and his son, Bradley.  Photo by Ilze Akerbergs

Harold Farrar taught his four sons to garden, in part so they would learn about hard work and managing money. As children, John, Stephen, Mike, and Richard would rototill, hoe, weed, and pick the crops on their father's five acres of rented land. They sold their harvested tomatoes on the neighborhood streets, dividing up the profits among themselves.

Mike Farrar planting tomato seedlings.  Photo by Ilze Akerbergs

In 1954, Harold Farrar participated in the Indiana State Fair for the first time, entering tomatoes in six-year-old Mike's name. Mike laughs as he remembers how his father headed for the fair with ten-pound baskets of tomatoes balanced on the handlebars of his bicycle. The Farrar family has been entering the State Fair every year since, even after their father's death in 1983. Mike and his brothers are also teaching the next generation to garden. Mike's son, Bradley, loves the competition among family members.

Mike gardens mostly because he "just loves to watch things grow." He specializes in tomatoes, but also grows flat-head cabbage, carrots, radishes, and even walnuts. It's a challenge growing vegetables so that they're all equally ripe for the fair.

WILMA JEAN SWANN AND MARTHA MILLER, DAVIESS AND POSEY COUNTIES
...The garment is just as good as the inside...

Wilma Jean Swann showing off her work.  Photo by Ilze Akerbergs

A native of the Washington area, Jean Swann learned to sew on a treadle machine as she moved through the 4-H program in the 1930s. The local home economics teacher was the 4-H leader, but Jean remembers that she learned to sew pretty much on her own. After WWII service, she returned home and became a 4-H leader herself, guiding her younger sister through several state competitions.

In time, Jean taught her two daughters to sew and, as committed 4-H participants, they earned many county awards. Her older daughter, Martha Miller, won the state Fashion Revue in 1972 with a wool pantsuit and coat ensemble, and went on to represent Indiana in national competition.

Jean Swann looking through a chest-full of materials.  Photo by Ilze Akerbergs

Jean and her daughter Martha work closely together, choosing fabrics and patterns, matching plaids, tailoring garments, and selecting coordinating accessory pieces. Sewing quality clothing from choice fabrics is an exciting challenge, explains Martha. "There's a creativity thing there, too. What can I do with this uninteresting piece of material? What can I do with this to make something that really looks good? People are artists in different ways."