Grandview's grand dame

4-H leader hasn't missed a fair in 80 years

For Jeanne Warner, nothing beats the smell of fresh sawdust on the opening day of the Northwest Montana Fair.

Warner, 86, started coming to the fair as a small child with her father.

"It was pretty rugged then - not nifty," she said with a laugh. "That must have been 80 years ago."

As the leader of the Grandview Supreme 4-H Club for five decades, Warner spent countless hours perched at ringside as she was Wednesday morning, watching the hog showmanship competition.

She liked what she saw on opening day.

"Aren't those pigs clean and nice," Warner said. "That's really something to see right there. The kids have them all polished up."

Warner said she couldn't estimate how many children, including her own four, she had watched progress through 4-H. She said it had to reach into the hundreds.

She said they grew up to be good citizens with careers such as teachers, attorneys and farmers. Former club members often come running up to her at the fair and other places about town.

"They say 'Oh Mrs. Warner come and see my baby,'" she said. "The kids are so interesting - every kid is different."

Warner didn't grow up in 4-H. She said she got interested after reading an article in the Daily Inter Lake about a neighbor child's 4-H work.

It sounded like just the thing for her oldest daughter Judy.

"She was in about the eighth-grade when she got in 4-H and boy did she love it," Warner recalled.

She still remembers when Judy's steer took reserve grand champion. Two Creek Benefactor, named after their farm, and other 4-H market animals proved a boon to her daughter's future as a public defender in Florida.

"That's how Judy got through college - 4-H money," Warner said.

She recalled one very sad cow when her daughter left for college in Bozeman after years of 4-H participation. Judy's breeder cow would come into the yard, bellowing at fair time.

"Two Creek Madeline wanted to have her bath and go to the fair," she said with a laugh. "They love the attention they get and they love the kids."

Her other three children Joe, Kay and Dawn, also grew up in 4-H with their mother as the organization leader. That's the person who keeps the club together and recruits leaders to teach various activities such as cooking and woodworking.

Warner said the key to getting leaders was to get their children in the club first. As they become interested, they volunteer to help out.

"If you don't have parental involvement, you don't have a club," Warner said.

She managed to keep the club rolling, raise four children and run Two Creek Farm while her husband Russell worked as a logger. Through the club, she found her personal passion.

"I have a way with kids," Warner said. "I have a good rapport with them."

She said her secret was she loved them all and they knew it. By believing in their ability to achieve any goal, Warner motivated them to work hard toward the high bar she set for them and the Grandview Supreme Club.

"In 4-H, you have an obligation to the club as well as yourself," Warner said.

THE ARRIVAL of August thrust her family and the other club members into high gear as the reward for their year of hard work on projects and months of caring for livestock.

In the early days of the fair, Warner remembered the show ring and animal accommodations were far short of four star. The ring was set up outside in the often blistering sun.

"It was terrible. Someone loaned us a deal from a gas station as a shelter," she said. "We sat under that."

According to Warner, she and Florence Borgen, founder of the Golden Spurs 4-H Club, worked for 20 years to try to get a better building for the animal events at the fair. She couldn't say enough good things about the recently built Trade Building at the fairgrounds.

Warner gives a lot of credit to fair manager Jay Scott.

"My old aunt used to say 'A is good and No. 1 is good, but when it's really good, it's A No.1,'" she said. "He is A No. 1. He understands kids and he understands animals both."

Although she cut back her 4-H involvement about five years ago, Warner remains listed as a leader in the Grandview Supreme 4-H Club. She glowed as members, including her great-grandchildren, made a good showing of themselves and their hogs on Wednesday.

She and granddaughter Tara Norick took delight in reviewing their members' victories like hopping ahead of all the other clubs in the rabbit competition.

Norick took over the organizational reins, but said she still relies heavily on Grandma for advice. She emulates Warner's approach of setting high expectations for her members.

She said that Grandma also knows best when it comes to the nitty gritty of 4-H classic events.

"She knows how a pie auction and a Valentine dance should be," Norick said with a laugh.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com