Every year, like clockwork, Edith Jordan and her now 83-year-old mom, Betty, are one of the first to be perched outside the small grandstand area at The Great Geauga County Fair in wait for another chance to win the Chicken Flying Contest.
Every year, like clockwork, Edith Jordan and her now 83-year-old mom, Betty, are one of the first to be perched outside the small grandstand area at The Great Geauga County Fair in wait for another chance to win the Chicken Flying Contest.
Little did they know, their perseverance and patience would be rewarded in a 1-and-a-half-year-old rooster affectionately named Chewbacca.
“It’s been so many years,” said Edith, of Burton Lakes. “I’ve been wanting for this for so long. It’s a dream come true.”
Chewbacca flew 15 feet 4 inches, garnering the grand champion rooster award. The
grand champion hen, Bandit, owned by 8-year-old Amelia Shively, of East Claridon, flew 43 feet 3 inches.
The popular competition helped usher in the first day of the fair Sept. 2 — back in all its glory after being reduced to a junior fair last year due to COVID-19.
Bandit also won the champion fly-off, taking the title of overall grand champion with a second flight of 15 feet 10 inches.
“It’s fun,” fair board President David Parker said. “Kids love it. When you take a year off, you don’t know how much you miss it.”
This year’s contest comeback proved to be a family affair.
Shively’s brother, Jacob, won the chicken flying contest in 2019 with his rooster named Fred.
The Shively family live on a small property with chickens and rabbits, and grow a good size family garden.
“The chickens free range and can fly up into the trees in the yard,” Amelia’s mom, Caroline Shively, said. “I suppose they get practice from having a wide open space to roam.”
Amelia picked her winning chicken’s name, Bandit, from watching old cowboy movies.
“Amelia named a stuffed horse Bandit a few years ago,” Caroline said. “When we got the chickens, it made sense to her to name hers Bandit.
Amelia said Bandit is her favorite because of her coloring, which is black with green with blue in her feathers. She also doesn’t try to run away when Amelia holds her.
“I was really surprised when my mom told me I had won,” Amelia said.
Her mother said they couldn’t hear the lengths of what the other chickens had flown, so they were surprised.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Amelia said. “I was really excited when I won grand champion.
I waited until my dad got home to tell him because I wanted it to be a surprise for his birthday.”
Soon it was time for the returning battle between Kenston and West Geauga school districts.
West Geauga Schools’ entry in the 2021 chicken flying contest was Dorothy, a silver gray Dorking hen owned by Superintendent Richard Markwardt’s family.
Dorothy also has a life of free ranging on the farm and is a consistent producer of cream-colored eggs.
She rewarded the cheering West Geauga Middle School students with a winning flight of 26 feet, bringing the coveted chicken flying trophy back to West Geauga from Kenston Middle School.
Kenston’s Rooster was named Xavier, a Polish Bantam rooster raised by the Maloney family with sixth-grader Noah Maloney assisting.
“The Chicken Flying Contest and our sixth-graders going to the Geauga fair as part of (the) Geauga Learn (program) is a back-to-school tradition that we look forward to every year,” Kenston Superintendent Nancy Santilli said. “It is also a wonderful time to see our agricultural roots recognized as we see our students participating in 4-H. I am proud of the accomplishments of our students as they participate in hands-on 4-H projects and take active leadership roles in our community.”
Markwardt said the Geauga Learn program and day at the fair is a nice way to acquaint students with the part of the fair that is separate from the amusement park rides and games.
“Kids like mine, who showed horses at the Geauga County fair for years, learn about livestock and the fair’s connection to agriculture through their 4-H and equestrian activities, but for a lot of kids, days like today might be their first introduction to Geauga County’s agricultural roots,” Markwardt said. “The kids have a lot of fun.”
Caroline said the fair next year sounds like it’s going to be very special and their family looks forward to participating.
“It’s not too early to start thinking of what to enter since it takes time to make something really competitive,” Caroline said, adding she loves to see what other people enter, too.
“The variety is great,” Caroline said.
They’ve been competing in the fair for about 12 years.
“We’ve participated in the fine arts, vegetable, flowers and domestic arts buildings,” Caroline said. “We’ve won lots of ribbons over the years.”
The family had four projects go to the Ohio State Fair in August.
“What a banner summer for us,” she said.
They didn’t win any trophies, but her daughter, Bethany, did get “Outstanding” for her “Salamander and Newts” poster.
Edith Jordan plans on retiring a winner from the chicken flying competition.
Her trophy is prominently displayed on the mantel inside her home.
“I got ready to cry when I found out we’d won,” Edith said. “My mom was crying, too. This was my dream.”
