While the number of exhibitors was down slightly, the winter chill could not dampen the excitement of the 2015 Montague County Youth Fair competition this past week.

There were 315 exhibitors from all the schools across Montague County taking to the show ring and community center to showcase their projects.

Animals of all breeds, smokers, hay buggies, jams, jellies, photos and aprons were just a few of the many items judged across 1,042 entries. This compares to 318 exhibitors and 1,005 exhibits for the 2014 fair.

Judging began the morning of Jan. 8 and continued through Saturday morning’s huge swine show. The fair closed with the Clover Kids Parade, followed by the premium sale.

Youth fair committee treasurer Kenton Holloway said early calculations show the sale raised $118,650 for the 145 projects sold, which is slightly above last year. In the competition, Macie McCollum make it a hat trick as she won grand champion steer for the third year in a row. Read the full story in the Wednesday News.

Pictured:

Former Bowie High School Agriculture Science Teacher Monty Moeller (left) and retired Nocona teacher Jay Womack received the Cecil Ward Memorial Award Saturday night honoring their longtime service to the fair. The plaques were presented by two of Ward’s children, Milton Ward and Linda Ellender. (News photo by Barbara Green)