Elmer’s Corner honors beloved farm show board member
Until 2017, you could commonly find Elmer Colteryahn Jr., a past member of the board of directors of the Butler Farm Show, at his usual corner next to the horse barn, sipping on ice tea outside his camper.
The corner was named ‘Elmer’s Corner’ in January 2018, shortly before the farmer and dairyman died.
“Everyone went to Elmer’s Corner to sit, get something to eat, drink an ice tea and visit Elmer,” said Ken Metrick, secretary of the farm show board of directors.
Among many other contributions, like creating the horse department, Colteryahn was instrumental in establishing the junior board at the farm show in 2013.
“Without Elmer, I’m not sure we would have a junior board,” Metrick said. “Elmer was very adamant about getting young people involved in the farm show.”
Ben Patton, vice president of the farm show board, said Colteryahn believed getting young people involved was vital to keeping the farm show tradition going.
“He understood the importance of youth,” Patton said. “He knew it was going to take getting young people interested in the farm show to want to continue doing it as an adult.”
The junior board primarily consists of participants from 18 to 21 years old. The senior board of directors also partners a member to mentor each junior member.
“These young people on the junior board are learning from the senior board the ropes on how to put a show on,” farm show board President Ken Laughlin said.
The building at Elmer’s Corner, titled the same, is the office space of the junior board and includes a shop selling farm show souvenirs and merchandise, such as T-shirts, hats, mugs and even history books related to the farm show, Laughlin said. The shop helps with fundraising for the junior board.
“By naming it after him, it’s a reminder of how the junior board got started at the farm show,” Patton said.
Colteryahn did much of the research and work to get the junior board off the ground.
“That’s why it was appropriate to put the junior board building down there,” Laughlin said.
Among Colteryahn’s biggest interests was horses. During his roughly 30-year tenure as a board member, Colteryahn was also in charge of the horse department. Elmer’s Corner is right next to the horse barn.
“He always took care of the horses down there,” Laughlin said. “It’s where they commemorate Elmer for all the years of hard work he put in out there.”
Colteryahn also conceived the initial plans for the new beef barn in 2010. The building will be introduced at this year’s show, Metrick said.
Colteryahn’s health began to deteriorate in 2017, Metrick said. He had already moved into a nursing home when he visited the farm show for the last time.
“He was a real asset to the farm show,” Laughlin said. “He did a very good job taking care of the grounds.”
“He was a good man,” Metrick said. “He didn’t sit around. He was always thinking, coming up with ideas.”
Patton said Colteryahn wanted to see the people around him succeed, especially younger people, and helped where he could. When Patton, who doesn’t have an agricultural background, was working on his 4-H project, Colteryahn let him temporarily keep his cows on his farm.
“He devoted a lot of his life to the Butler Farm Show,” Patton said. “I’m not a family member, but he was like a grandfather to me. There’s no doubt that without his influence, I don’t think I would be as involved in the farm show as I am.”
