LA GRANDE — From the excitement of livestock competitions and showmanship events to the simple joy of fresh cotton candy, most everyone in the county carries with them memories from the Union County Fair.

As the fair prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary, it welcomes Jessie Bakker as this year’s grand marshal — a Cove local with a lifetime of memories on the fair’s storied grounds.

For Bakker, summers in La Grande meant 4-H camps, visits to Morgan Lake with friends and Crazy Days on the main street drag.

“It was small-town then, and it’s still small-town,” she said. “Now it’s a little different, but I love that it hasn’t changed a whole bunch.”

The highlights of the summer months, for Bakker, however, were always the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show and the Union County Fair. As a member of the La Grande 4-H program, Bakker’s passion for these bustling yearly events began at an early age.

Early years in 4-H

Bakker joined the 4-H program as soon as she could — at 9 years old — and participated through high school. She got involved with the yearly stock show and fair through her participation in 4-H.

Bakker would stay at fair all week, running the gamut of every activity she could participate in. She competed in sewing, cooking and textile contests in the first few days of the fair and showed horses and other livestock during the last few days.

Her parents, Greg and Chris Barreto, of La Grande’s Barreto Manufacturing, were involved in 4-H as well.

Her mother, who was in 4-H herself, was superintendent for the Mount Emily Exhibit Hall on the fairgrounds for years. She helped with the fair and other 4-H events throughout Bakker’s childhood. She also led her own home economics club.

According to Bakker, Barreto always encouraged her eight children to become active participants in the program, especially the service aspects of 4-H activities.

“We enjoyed helping in the community,” she said. “From an early age, that was one of the ways we participated.”

Now, as president of the Union County 4-H Association — Bakker’s passion for the fair still runs deep.

Leadership and community

For Bakker, her involvement with the fair and with 4-H is still a family endeavor. Three of Bakker’s five children are already actively involved in the program. Her oldest, 17-year-old Gavin, helps the younger program members at the fair when he’s not showing his livestock.

“I honestly can’t think of a better program for kids to get involved with,” she said. “It has a competitive side to it, but is also very family-oriented and is community-oriented.”

Bakker helps oversee the slew of ongoing projects run by the county’s program, including the annual 4-H radio auction, organizing judges for local events and the finances behind the 4-H events that take place during the stock show and the fair.

The association also subsidizes 4-H camps and financially supports participants traveling to state and national events. It provides scholarship programs and other funding for 4-H efforts around the county.

Bakker is also co-leader of the Cove Livestock Club, a club that caters to 4-H young participants from around the valley. She and her husband, Chris, took over the club in 2015 from Tim and Tammi DelCurto and now lead the club with Brendan and Karie Kelley.

“We need leaders,” she said of the volunteer-based 4-H club system. “The more leaders you have, the more kids you can reach and the more involved kids can be.”

According to Bakker, the perception that 4-H clubs simply cover cooking, sewing and livestock fails to encapsulate the versatility of the program. The Union County program has a slew of clubs, ranging from knitting to archery. She hopes to see more art clubs in the program’s future.

In 2017, Bakker began a three-year term as the Union County 4-H secretary. Then, in 2020, she was elected as association president and learned to navigate the position at the height of the pandemic. She just rounded out her second year in this leadership position.

“I am, by far, not the most knowledgeable person about all of these things, but I have found that you don’t have to know it all,” she said. “You just have to be willing to learn and listen.”

A fitting honor

Union County’s Delta Epsilon chapter has been tasked with selecting the yearly grand marshal since the 1960s. Lori Ritter, the organization’s secretary, said that the vote typically goes to someone in the community who is deeply involved in both the fair and 4-H. This year, Bakker fit the bill.

“She puts pretty much all of her energy into the 4-H program and the kids,” she said of Bakker’s connection to 4-H through her presidency and her livestock club.

Ritter also noted Bakker’s strides during the pandemic as another reason she received the honor. In 2020, Bakker helped organize virtual showings for 4-H participants during the stock show. And, alongside fellow leaders from the fair and the 4-H program, she helped plan in-person fair events that adhered to COVID-19 protocols.

“She went outside the box so the kids could still show their animals, practice and interact with other kids,” Ritter said.

By 2021, Bakker was determined to make sure the fair would feel “normal” for young kids in the program. She and other leaders organized as best they could throughout ever-changing regulations — and even prepared contingency plans — to make sure the fair could happen.

“It was really important to us,” she said. “We felt like the kids really needed it. They needed to get out and have a normal summer.”

According to Bakker, it went down to the wire, but OSU finally gave the association clearance to hold last year’s August event.

Ritter reached out about the honor in May, and recalled Bakker’s initial shock and disbelieving laughter.

“It’s second nature to her,” Ritter said of Bakker’s passion for 4-H and the fair. “She didn’t think she deserved it.”

After the shock wore off, Bakker accepted the position, all while maintaining a humble mentality. She credited mentors within the program who she felt should receive the role instead of her.

“You can’t think of anybody else?” Bakker said with a laugh, recalling her conversation with Ritter.

Bakker admitted that she had a bit of trepidation around the public nature of the role, touting herself as a “worker bee” and someone who likes to get things done behind the scenes. Still, as grand marshall, she knows she will take part in one of the fair’s biggest events — the parade.

“It’s a huge, huge honor,” she said. “I feel like there are lots of other people who are more worthy than me and have done so much more than I have. I appreciate it very much.”

Looking forward

Just as when she was young, Bakker plans to be at this year’s fair every day. For her, a highlight of the week is seeing close-knit county youth come together. As a parent, she also appreciates the slower, more relaxed schedule that gives her and other 4-H parents the chance to catch up.

Bakker may not have as much time to relax as she would hope for, as she is usually kept busy throughout the week by her 67 club members. During the fair, she helps her club members look after their animals, practice for events and make their classes on time.

Although Bakker has fond memories of the fair food, the main stage music events and the local vendors, much of her childhood — and now adulthood — revolved around 4-H events at the fair.

“I feel like it rounds out that fair experience,” she said.

Bakker emphasized that the yearly event wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of the fair’s board members, the many volunteers and all those involved in the planning process. She hopes to one day see the fair become a highlight of the summer like it used to be when she was young.

Just as the fair has shown her the power of community throughout her life, she hopes it can do the same for others.

“To see that come back around would be really cool,” she said. “Especially after COVID, we’ve lost a lot of that community, and I think people are hungry for it.”