COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you walked through the poultry barn at this year’s Ohio State Fair, you likely ran into Rose and Carl Stough. If you were around 60 years ago and frequented that same barn, chances are good you might have met them then, as well.

 

The Stoughs met at the Ohio State Fair when both were showing chickens in 1953, got married four years later and still work side by side in the poultry barn at the fair.

“I remember well my first visit to the fair in the summer of 1953,” Carl said.

As a youngster he raised chickens and showed them at the Hancock County Fair. At age 16 he wanted to take his chickens to the state fair, but his father wouldn’t let him drive alone. So, he drove Carl (with a suitcase and 15 chickens in hand) to the fair and dropped them off.

Growing up, Rose found the fair to be the highlight of her summer. Her parents took her there each year. “I was fortunate enough to cross paths with a farm boy with the same passion,” she recalled.

The couple, both from Findlay, met when Carl was attending college and Rose was still in high school.

Not only did they share a love for chickens, they were both educators – Carl was a high school principal for 23 years and Rose was an elementary school librarian.

He began working at the Ohio State Fair in the 1960s;

as the poultry superintendent for five years. He went to school to obtain his master’s degree but returned to the poultry superintendent post in the early 1990s, a position he has held for the past 25 years.

To this day, Rose is in charge of office responsibilities  at the fair, while Carl can be found preparing the barn for the roughly 2,000 birds. “We still raise chickens, so not only do we work in the barn but we show our birds,” he explained.

Companionship of others is what has lured the couple to the state fair all these years. “The group of people that work there have been together for many years,” Carl said. “We’re like a fraternity, with similar backgrounds and a common cause.”

Looking back over the years,  the couple talk about changes to the state fair, how the landscape has improved, how buildings have been erected  and how attendance has increased with time. One thing that hasn’t changed is their love for the poultry.

They’re passionate about the fair, but quite exhausted when the 14-day event comes to an end. “It’s like Christmas, I guess, something to look forward to,” Carl said. “The Ohio State Fair is so well-rounded. We have education programs, national wildlife center, arts and crafts, entertainers and the All-Ohio State Fair Band.”

The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in May. Rose celebrated her 80th birthday at this year’s fair. And both celebrated with a little party in the chicken barn.