Cookeville boy racks up 60 ribbons at Putnam
fair
PUTNAM COUNTY — It was a
“blue” day for 14-year-old Andrew Gothard.
But not in a sad way.
After collecting a total of 60 ribbons last weekend at the Putnam County Fair — 29 of them blue — he was all smiles.
And a $414 check for his winnings was just icing on the cake for this Avery Trace Middle School eighth grader, who spends the year gearing up for entry day — and then rising early that Saturday morning with family and loading up three vehicles with everything from crops to baked goods to crafts, hoping to impress the judges when they make their rounds at the fairgrounds.
“It’s been a family thing for as long as I can remember,” he said.
And this year’s efforts made Andrew the top winner at the fair, according to fair board president Bill Dyer. Among the ribbons from his prize-winning bounty were 29 for first place, 15 for second, 12 for third and four for fourth.
“Most of them were for vegetables and baked goods,” he said.
The young man has his own garden at his grandparents’ house, where he grows a variety of vegetables and fruits such as watermelons, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and corn.
“We live really close to each other,” he said. “I can just go over there when I need to.”
And as he drops those seeds into the ground come springtime, he has one thing on his mind — all the prize ribbons he hopes to win.
“I guess you’re kind of thinking ‘blue ribbons’ when you plant the garden,” he said. “You plant it and hope you’ll have the right conditions that year for growing that type of food.”
When he’s not busy in his garden, he’s flipping through his fair book, deciding what he needs to work on for a particular category.
“Like with the crafts and stuff, you can make something and then see which category it fits in or you can look through the categories and decide what to make,” he said.
Things like his leather knife holder, license plate dust pan and soccer-theme blanket.
But the real action comes the day or two leading up to entry day.
And, of course, entry day itself.
“It’s kind of a last-minute thing,” Andrew said. “You get everything together and put labels on them so you know where they go and in what category and what building to take them in.”
All the while, he’s also busy baking and collecting vegetables from the garden.
“It’s pretty much all the night before,” he said of the baked goods. “Some of the stuff is maybe the Thursday before, but most of it’s on Friday.”
In the garden, he searches for the best and brightest of his crops.
“Some can be gathered before and put aside and be fine, but some you do have to pick fresh,” he said. “You just want to make sure nothing is eaten off them and that they’ve not been bleached by the sun. You pick a couple and see which ones look better to the eye.”
What makes a prize-winning specimen?
“I’m not sure,” he said with a laugh. “I just try to pick out the ones I think are the brightest and healthiest looking. Other than that, I’m not sure what makes them stand out.”
Once all entries are ready to go, Andrew and his family — including 18-year-old brother Wesley (who also takes his share of entries), parents Tim and Sandra Gothard and grandparents Clarence and JoAnn Groce — rise early for a busy Saturday morning, skipping breakfast in their mad rush to load up and get to the fairgrounds.
“We load the bigger stuff, like watermelons, into a trailer bed,” Andrew said.
Everything else goes into the family’s truck and van or his grandparents’ car.
Once they arrive at the fairgrounds, they have from 8 a.m. to noon to take care of business.
“Everybody is rushing around, trying to get everything entered in the right place and collecting all the tags,” Andrew said. “It takes at least two or three hours to get everything in, depending on how many people are in line.”
And then — they wait.
“We usually go to Shoney’s every year to eat after we get done,” Andrew said. “And sometimes we go back to our grandparents’ house and just relax a little while if they’re not done judging yet.”
Then, if they have enough energy left, they’ll go back to the fairgrounds that afternoon — and hunt for blue ribbons.
“It’s kind of exciting,” Andrew said. “If I see a blue ribbon, I’m thinking, ‘I did good on that, but what’s my next category going to be like?’ I’m kind of going through my head and thinking how I think I did.”
Mentally adding up the dollars, too.
“I see how many ribbons I get and then try to add that up,” he said.
And this year’s winnings of $414 kept Andrew counting for a long time.
Not that he minded, of course.
But what does he plan to do with all that prize money? Buy video games? Spend it on fun?
Nope, none of that.
“I just put it back every year for college,” he said, adding that he’s interested in the engineering department at Tennessee Tech University.
But until that time comes, he’ll keep pursuing more winnings at the fair.
His appetite for blue ribbons has yet to be satisfied.
But not in a sad way.
After collecting a total of 60 ribbons last weekend at the Putnam County Fair — 29 of them blue — he was all smiles.
And a $414 check for his winnings was just icing on the cake for this Avery Trace Middle School eighth grader, who spends the year gearing up for entry day — and then rising early that Saturday morning with family and loading up three vehicles with everything from crops to baked goods to crafts, hoping to impress the judges when they make their rounds at the fairgrounds.
“It’s been a family thing for as long as I can remember,” he said.
And this year’s efforts made Andrew the top winner at the fair, according to fair board president Bill Dyer. Among the ribbons from his prize-winning bounty were 29 for first place, 15 for second, 12 for third and four for fourth.
“Most of them were for vegetables and baked goods,” he said.
The young man has his own garden at his grandparents’ house, where he grows a variety of vegetables and fruits such as watermelons, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and corn.
“We live really close to each other,” he said. “I can just go over there when I need to.”
And as he drops those seeds into the ground come springtime, he has one thing on his mind — all the prize ribbons he hopes to win.
“I guess you’re kind of thinking ‘blue ribbons’ when you plant the garden,” he said. “You plant it and hope you’ll have the right conditions that year for growing that type of food.”
When he’s not busy in his garden, he’s flipping through his fair book, deciding what he needs to work on for a particular category.
“Like with the crafts and stuff, you can make something and then see which category it fits in or you can look through the categories and decide what to make,” he said.
Things like his leather knife holder, license plate dust pan and soccer-theme blanket.
But the real action comes the day or two leading up to entry day.
And, of course, entry day itself.
“It’s kind of a last-minute thing,” Andrew said. “You get everything together and put labels on them so you know where they go and in what category and what building to take them in.”
All the while, he’s also busy baking and collecting vegetables from the garden.
“It’s pretty much all the night before,” he said of the baked goods. “Some of the stuff is maybe the Thursday before, but most of it’s on Friday.”
In the garden, he searches for the best and brightest of his crops.
“Some can be gathered before and put aside and be fine, but some you do have to pick fresh,” he said. “You just want to make sure nothing is eaten off them and that they’ve not been bleached by the sun. You pick a couple and see which ones look better to the eye.”
What makes a prize-winning specimen?
“I’m not sure,” he said with a laugh. “I just try to pick out the ones I think are the brightest and healthiest looking. Other than that, I’m not sure what makes them stand out.”
Once all entries are ready to go, Andrew and his family — including 18-year-old brother Wesley (who also takes his share of entries), parents Tim and Sandra Gothard and grandparents Clarence and JoAnn Groce — rise early for a busy Saturday morning, skipping breakfast in their mad rush to load up and get to the fairgrounds.
“We load the bigger stuff, like watermelons, into a trailer bed,” Andrew said.
Everything else goes into the family’s truck and van or his grandparents’ car.
Once they arrive at the fairgrounds, they have from 8 a.m. to noon to take care of business.
“Everybody is rushing around, trying to get everything entered in the right place and collecting all the tags,” Andrew said. “It takes at least two or three hours to get everything in, depending on how many people are in line.”
And then — they wait.
“We usually go to Shoney’s every year to eat after we get done,” Andrew said. “And sometimes we go back to our grandparents’ house and just relax a little while if they’re not done judging yet.”
Then, if they have enough energy left, they’ll go back to the fairgrounds that afternoon — and hunt for blue ribbons.
“It’s kind of exciting,” Andrew said. “If I see a blue ribbon, I’m thinking, ‘I did good on that, but what’s my next category going to be like?’ I’m kind of going through my head and thinking how I think I did.”
Mentally adding up the dollars, too.
“I see how many ribbons I get and then try to add that up,” he said.
And this year’s winnings of $414 kept Andrew counting for a long time.
Not that he minded, of course.
But what does he plan to do with all that prize money? Buy video games? Spend it on fun?
Nope, none of that.
“I just put it back every year for college,” he said, adding that he’s interested in the engineering department at Tennessee Tech University.
But until that time comes, he’ll keep pursuing more winnings at the fair.
His appetite for blue ribbons has yet to be satisfied.
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