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Pogm 52--Show Medio Group 1981 Fair Guldu People and projects f By Angela Burden Shaw Madia News Service WOODSTOCK -- Thanks to action in 1945 by A.B. McConnell and the McHenry County Board, the*McHenry County Fairgrounds is the permanent home for the county fair and 4-H ac­ tivities. McConnell, as a township supervisor on the county board and also a 4-H leader in the community, made a short speech to the board about 4-H and its programs at about the time the matter of the annual lease of the old fairgrounds property came before the board. The property had been rented for $35 per year as a cow pasture, , and Mc­ Connell suggested that instead of renewing the lease, the property at the east edge of Woodstock be leased to the representative, and has been back on the board for five years. A supporter of agricultural preser­ vation in McHenry County, McConnell says the land in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin "is the best agricultural land in the world. We have great crops. It's just wonderful around here and needs to be preserved." McConnell was born and raised in this area. He and his father were born in the same house on McConnell Road in Woodstock, where his grandfather settled in 1860 after getting married. , McConnell's great-grandfather, William McConnell, was the first settler in Richmond in 1836, where he built the first cheese factory and lived in a log cabin. "We used to go to the original county fair in a horse and surrey. My father A.B. McConnell Burbank Petroleum Equipment SALES & SERVICE 810 W Burbank Harvard, IL Phone 943-3250 'PUMPS f i t the FARM ot INDUSTRY we service & repair IN THE SHOP or ON THE ROAD •HOISTS "LUBE EQUIPMENT TANK TRUCK EQUIPMENT We stock & sell SKID TANKS PUMPS HOSES & NOZZLES, ETC. We design & install pumping systems SERVICE STATION & BULK PLANT CONSTRUCTION it We used to go to the original county fair in a horse and surrey. My father served on the fair board, but the fair came to an end in the '20s and wasn't reac­ tivated because of the Depression and then World War II. -- A.B. McConnoll 4-H Clubs of the county as a central location for their activities. His motion for a 99-year lease at $1 per year was quickly passed by the county board. McHenry County 4-H Town was chartered the following year, and in 1949, the McHenry County Fair was organized. The county fair had been in existence for many years earlier, but had been inactive since about 1924. 'The idea for a 4-H lease of the property came to me when I heard that Walworth County in Wisconsin had bought three acres of land for 4-H shows up there," McConnell says. "We'd been having 4-H shows at the high school football field in Woodstock. They were one-day events and often got rained out. After the $l-a-year lease was approved, Bill Tammeus, then farm advisor, came up with the idea of 4-H Town, which led to the renewal of the county fair," he says. McConnell says he's always sup­ ported children's activities. "The 4-H certainly has helped the youngsters." McConnell led a 4-H Club, Better Goals, up to the 1950s. "I had to give it up when I went to Springfield to serve on the state Legislature," he says. He recently celebrated his 80th birth­ day, but continues to serve the public. McConnell served on the county board for 14 years, prior to 12 years as a state served on the fair board, but the fajr came to an end in the '20s and wasn't reactivated because of the Depression and then World War II," says Mc-. Connell. Because of his interest in 4-H and the fair, McConnell's children and grand­ children have been involved in the organization. ^We have 4-H groups in the city, too. It isn't just for the farm kids. Although the city youngsters can't raise big animals, they can raise and show flowers, fruits and vegetables and raise and show small animals like rabbits," McConnell explains. His children not only followed in his 4- H footsteps, they went to the same schools. He attended the University of Illinois, where his sons and a daughter and sue grandchildren were graduated. The McConnell family evidently is strong on tradition -- fanning and serving the public. Greatgrandfather, William, was a county commissioner between 1845 and 1847, served on the board of supervisors for 14 years and was a state representative from 1870-72. McConnell's father and grandfather were Woodstock farmers and served the county and townships in various capacities. McConnell is an old farming name, long connected with McHenry County and the McHenry County Fair.