Doughty Valley 4-H Club honors Cochran
The Doughty Valley 4-H Club joined several other members from the Clark community to plant a tree in memory and honor of Gail Cochran, a longtime supporter of the Holmes County 4-H and the Holmes County Fair.
A tree grows in Clark in honor of Gail Cochran, thanks to the concerted effort of the Doughty Valley 4-H Club.
The Doughty Valley 4-H Club members gathered with friends and family of Cochran at the Clark Community Center on Sunday, June 27 to plant a ruby sunset maple tree in honor of Cochran, who played an instrumental role in both the 4-H program and the Holmes County Fair.
Taking a lead role in the tree-planting ceremony was her husband Cary, to whom she was married for 52 years.
Cochran passed away Oct. 14, 2020, at the age of 71 and was a member and served as treasurer of the Holmes County Fair Board for more than two decades.
“She was a big part of all of our lives and was always there for the kids,” said Marcia Troyer, advisor for Doughty Valley 4-H Club and longtime friend of the Cochrans. “She was a special person with a huge heart, and it was very meaningful to be able to honor her with this tree planting in her memory. She was an absolutely delightful lady to be around.”
In addition to family and the 4-H club members, Troyer also reached out to members of the Shepler Church, where Cochran attended.
The ceremony included a poem read by Troyer, and her husband Cary Cochran spoke glowingly of his wife of more than five decades and what she meant to him and to the community.
According to Clark Community Center President Cheryl Seabright, this tree will be among the first in a row of maple trees that will adorn the property along state Route 83 and be reserved for honoring others on such occasions. This new tree is the second, the first being planted in honor of another longtime fair and 4-H icon, Deb Schafer.
Eventually, the CCC will create plaques that will be placed at the base of each tree, recognizing those for whom they were planted.
Troyer said seeing the 4-Hers taking on such an active role in the tree-planting ceremony was encouraging and nice to see. Troyer said Cochran touched the lives of so many people, especially the young people of Holmes County.
“These types of events are special and meaningful, and I think they are character builders for the kids,” Troyer said. “It was also nice for me to see former club members returning for this because that shows what kind of an impact Gail had on their lives at the time.”
The Doughty Valley 4-H Club will not stop there in honoring others. They are ready to donate a bench in honor of Schafer that will be placed somewhere at Harvest Ridge Holmes County Fairgrounds.
Troyer said since Schafer was heavily involved with llamas, the hope is the bench will be placed somewhere near the llama pens.
“The kids really wanted to do something special for her on the fairgrounds,” Troyer said.
The club members also will be on the go in the county in other directions, taking a petting zoo to the Holmes County Home to share with the residents there.