Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the name of the late Anika McCauley’s husband. His name is Jim McCauley. The story has been updated.
Every year, the Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo honors those who played important roles in the fair and in the community. According to Jefferson County Fair Board Chair Terry Minow, “its history is manifested through these people and their lives.”
This year’s fair is dedicated to Anika McCauley and Laurie Vossler. The In-County Rodeo—only members of the county and past contestants can participate—is dedicated to Joe “Big Deal” Archibald, and is called the ‘Big Deal’ In-County Rodeo. Across a variety of categories and events, the fair bestows awards named after community-minded individuals who were involved with the fair.
Memorial awards
The Bernie Franchi Memorial award is given to the winner of the quilt-making competition. Bernie Franchi’s daughter, Kim Franchi, said her mother, who died in 2006, was a “huge participant” in the fair, and submitting her quilts was “one of her favorite things to do, and she won several ribbons for them.
Franchi said that her mother always made a cake for the baked goods auction. The one she remembered “most vividly,” however, was her mother’s “hummingbird cake,” which she said was a heavy cake with “lots of yummy things in it.” She said her mother always “got a kick out of” auctioning her cakes because people would bid “an arm and a leg” for them.
“Someone asked her if there was hummingbirds in her cake. It was kind of a joke that everybody had a lot of fun with,” Franchi said.
Minow said that Bernie Franchi designed the t-shirts for the fair for many years. She would also take care of ordering the shirts and selling them, which would help promote the fair, Kim Franchi said.
One year, the county asked people to take a horse from the carousel, fix it up, paint it, and bring it back to go on the newly refurbished ride, Franchi said. Her mother was “first in line” to get a horse, and painted it red, white and blue, because “she was really quite the patriot,” she said.
Franchi said it made her “proud” to know that her mother is honored through this award every year.
“It makes me have a warm heart, you know, to know she still holds a place there. That just makes you feel good,” she said.
The Margy McCauley memorial vase is awarded to the best of show in the floral department. Margy McCauley, who died in 1994, was also a “faithful fair supporter,” according to Minow. She and her husband, Mick, were square dancers and were part of a square dancing club called Leather and Lace Cowbells who refurbished the red barn and “fixed it up for square dancing.”
Her daughter, Marilyn McCauley, who is also an original member of the Fair Board, said her mother’s square dancing club also organized the fair’s barbecue for “a number of years.”
McCauley said her mother always entered flower arrangements for the fair’s contest and was an expert seamstress, but never entered any of her needlework because she did not think it was “good enough.” She said her mother was “competitive that way.”
Margy McCauley also loved children, her daughter said, and was a “gentle” and “very nice person” who wanted to get younger people involved in the fair.
“She loved to see her grandkids participate in the horse show, the kids rodeo part and the stick horse, when they got brave enough to do the stick horse,” McCauley said.
McCauley said she enjoys finding out who will receive her mother’s award each year.
“It does mean a lot,” she said. “People remember these particular people that kind of made the fair what it is today, in my mind. It was certain instrumental people that kept pushing it along, whatever it took.”
The best of show in the youth/junior division of the food department is named after Marion Kosola, who died during her senior year at Jefferson High School in 1990, according to Minow, who called her a “great community leader.”
Marion Kosola’s older brother, Dave Kosola, said his sister did a lot of sewing, cooking and baking, and would show her rabbits and poultry at the fair. She was a fast learner, he said, and picked up the art of showmanship quickly.
“She was definitely gifted,” he said.
Although she had many interests, he said, entomology—the study of insects—was her “passion.” He said she first learned about entomology in 4-H, and soon she got a 48-inch plexiglass case where she would store bugs. He said her love for bugs kept growing, and so did the box, until it was about the size of a card table.
Kosola said that knowing the award is given in his sister’s honor is a “good feeling,” and brings back memories of when they were young, and how much she enjoyed the fair.
He said she impacted a lot of people, and “even though she passed away young, that award still means something to me, and to her friends.”
The all-around winner of the kids stick horse rodeo in the 4–6 age group is awarded a silver belt buckle in memory of Paula Heide. She died in 1989, when she was 20 years old.
“She was a friend to all. Young people, old people, she got along with everybody,” John Heide, Paula Heide’s father said, adding that she was “very kind.”
Nancy Heide, Paula’s mother, said that her daughter volunteered with kids in the area and “liked the fair a whole lot.” She raised a herd of registered angus cattle, which she showed there, Nancy Heide said. She had a talent for raising animals, her mother said, adding that Paula started with just one cow, and by the time she passed away had more than 100.
“It means a lot to us, still, that they’re giving it out. Some of the neighbor kids have won,” Nancy Heide said, adding that she was grateful to Brud Smith and Terry Minow for continuing the award.
A gift certificate of $25 is awarded to the best nature photograph, in honor of Sue Crispin, who died in 2009. Her life partner, Randi Levin, is on the Fair Board, Minow said. Minow said Crispin would help with setting up the event and was a “great volunteer and friend.”
According to her obituary in the Helena Independent Record, Crispin was passionate about nature and loved birding, rock-hounding and photography. Minow said Crispin was an excellent photographer.
Fair and rodeo dedications
Anika McCauley, to whom the fair is dedicated, died in March 2020. She, along with her husband Mick, started the In-County Rodeo, and was a talented rancher, according to Marilyn McCauley, who is related to Anika McCauley.
“She pretty much ran the In-County Rodeo for a long, long, long time,” McCauley said.
Marilyn McCauley said that Anika McCauley was a 7th and 8th grade science teacher at Jefferson High School for many years before becoming Jefferson County’s superintendent of schools. According to her obituary in The Monitor, she wanted students to “experience” science, and brought them into the Elkhorn Mountains each autumn to conduct science experiments. She was nominated as Montana State Teacher of the Year twice, and earned a master’s degree in education, according to the obituary.
She was also an accomplished painter, often entering her work in the fair’s competitions, McCauley said, and she was a great storyteller. According to her obituary, “it was nearly impossible not to get caught up in her stories.”
“She was a really, really nice person,” McCauley said. “She would see the humor in every little thing.”
The fair is also dedicated to Laurie Vossler, who died last year. Minow said that Vossler was the owner of Boulder’s L&P grocery store and was “very community-minded,” always available to help with the fair. His daughter-in-law Lisa Vossler wrote to The Monitor that he “would do anything to support the community—parade, rodeo, carousel, barn dance, white barn dinner.”
His granddaughter Leah Vossler wrote in The Monitor in Laurie Vossler’s obituary that he was a “tough, hardworking man with a tender and kind heart.” She wrote that once, when a man walked into L&P saying he was cold and needed a jacket, her grandfather literally gave the man the coat off of his back.
“He was helpful for anything to do with the community,” Minow said. “He really embodies the spirit of the fair, which is being a part of the community and having fun contributing.”
Minow said that Laurie Vossler loved the baked goods auction at the fair, and that he would always have a “big smile on his face” while bidding year after year. Leah Vossler wrote in his obituary that he would “always” be at the fair’s bake sale auction, or at the big white barn “dancing the night away.”
The In-County Rodeo is dedicated to Joe “Big Deal” Archibald, who died in December 2020.
In a poem sent to The Monitor after Archibald’s death, Jodi Makela referred to him as “everyone’s brother” and “a man like no other.” She wrote that he never forgot anyone’s birthday, was the best dressed to every event. Archibald would often tow 5-gallon water buckets around in a wagon behind his bicycle so could water plants on Main Street, according to his obituary in The Monitor.
According to the obituary, Archibald “loved being a part of this community,” and “no one told him to do these things, he just took it upon himself.”
