TORRINGTON – There are some events at the Goshen County Fair where finding an empty seat is a rarity and parking is nonexistent.
The big sale on Saturday is one of those events. In previous years, the Rubber Check Race was a key night, and just about everyone in the county packs in after the parade on Thursday to see the animals, the exhibits and to talk with their neighbors. We celebrate the hard work by the kids, and we look forward to the future of our county while simultaneously keeping a reverent eye on the past.
It’s near unanimous that Goshen County Fair is a staple in the community – and Dr. Rich Johnson loved it.
Johnson, who lost his life last year in a tragic accident on his farm, was memorialized on Thursday at the Goshen County Fairgrounds. The grandstands by the main show ring were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people who came to pay tribute to the veterinarian and rancher who had an immense impact on his community.
“It’s a very difficult thing to do, to just put in a few words, all that Rich Johnson has meant to us over the years,” Hugh Hageman, who hosted the memorial, said. “It’s just impossible to do.”
Hageman told the crowd he had known Johnson since he came to Goshen County in the 1970s.
“They came out, they helped us a lot on the ranch, working cattle, doing whatever needed to be done,” Hageman said. “Rich had kind of an effect on about everybody in Goshen County. I would bet that anyone with any kind of an animal, who is from Goshen County, Rich had a profound effect on their lives.”
“In all the work that I did with Rich, I never once saw him say a cross word. I never saw him lose his temper. I never saw him even get upset about anything, no matter how hard and long the day was. There is no way to replace a guy like Rich Johnson. He instilled that in any of the young people and the adults that he worked with, so I think we’re going to see a lot of Rich Johnson, probably for the rest of our lives to the next generation.”
Johnson will be remembered at the fairgrounds by an expertly constructed and finished steel announcement board, adorned by a silhouette of a pair of team ropers at the top. It sits just outside the large show ring, just feet from where Hagemen spoke on Thursday. For generations to come, it will inform fair contestants and guests of all they need to know about the fair and its schedule.
At the bottom, it simply reads ‘A friend of fair, youth and livestock.’
According to Hageman, it’s a perfect description of the man.
“We all relied on him for so many things,” Hageman said. “And we appreciate all the work that he did. He was always so willing to help. I know for our family, Rich was proud that he wanted to be able to say that he had done work for four generations of Hagemans – and he did make it.
“As far as dedicating this memorial to Rich, what he did for the fair, what he did for the youth – you just couldn’t even put it all in words.”
And one spectator couldn’t put it into words.
Rich’s son, Guy Johnson, sat with his family and listened to Hageman’s words, and watched the crowd of well over 100 people trickle in. In the moment, in the shadow of his father’s memorial, he didn’t have the words.
“It’s an overwhelming tribute to my father and what he meant to the community,” Guy Johnson said. “It’s just great, seeing the support of the community and how much he supported them. “I’m just overwhelmed with appreciation.”
