North Haverhill
So when his wife, Priscilla, gave birth to their first-born daughter just weeks before the fair’s start date, he did what any invested father would do: He brought her along.
Stoddard, the last surviving charter member of the North Haverhill Fair Association, never missed a fair, and neither has his daughter, Jane Oakes, now 73.
“Nothing would stop him,” Oakes said in a recent interview.
Stoddard, a devoted fair leader, a skilled farmer and a horseshoe-pitching aficionado, died at home on July 8 at 97.
As a young man in his 20s, Stoddard had plenty to do on the family dairy farm that his father purchased off Clark Pond Road in the 1930s. He was involved in all facets of it, including the breeding and milking of some 60 Holsteins.
“He knew what he was doing and he went about it well,” his sister, Eloise Nickerson, said.
Stoddard eventually took over Blackmount Farm, and became known for his progressive breeding to improve the production of the herd, his youngest daughter, Edith Regan, said recently. He learned the tricks of the trade from some of the best in the industry, and went on to travel annually to the National Holstein Convention and become the president of the New Hampshire Holstein Association.
Being a successful farmer takes time, and it’s a wonder Stoddard had a spare minute for much else. He found it though, and ultimately became a lifelong “jack of all trades” with the North Haverhill Fair.
Stoddard and other members of the local Grange, many of whom were farmers, first kicked around the idea of starting a fair in 1943, according to an article written by the North Haverhill Fair History Committee.
Having a fair in town would benefit the community, and also the young farmers who had dairy cattle and livestock to show, the members thought.
The 4-H club in North Haverhill was robust at the time, but without a fair, there were times when young farmers had little-to-no showing experience.
The members wanted to change that, so with a vision in mind, Stoddard and the others hit the ground running, calling area businesses and coordinating the fair’s schedule, the article states.
The North Haverhill Fair, complete with a parade, dinner and a dance, was a hit — and the tradition took off from there.
The event — which started off Route 116, moved to the VFW field behind the town offices and now is at the Fred C. Lee Memorial Field off Route 10 — has an annual attendance of more than 20,000 people. Some 300 volunteers make it happen.
Stoddard, who worked year-round for the fair association, helped build the buildings on the current fairground’s footprint in the early 1980s, and throughout the years, did everything from repairing water lines to mowing the entire property.
“It would be quicker to say what he didn’t do,” current fair president David Lackie quipped. “Since his passing, we have more and more found out what he really did.
“Gerald was always the person you could ask if you needed help with something, or if you had a question, he would help you figure it out,” said Hannah Leland, a fair director, who referred to Stoddard as a “second grandfather.”
If you lived in the North Haverhill area and attended the fair, you knew who Stoddard was, Leland said.
And if you didn’t know him personally, you’d at least know his name. It is written in large letters on a sign that hangs on the arts & crafts building, something Oakes said her father was very proud of.
Stoddard would rarely be found sitting still, and instead would be building exhibit tables, rearranging the bleachers, or running products on his golf cart to a far-away food stand.
Stoddard operated the fair’s John Deere tractor, and his duty one year was to swap out the port-a-potties that were most frequently used throughout the four-day fair.
About 10 years ago, Stoddard slid the fork attachment under a portable toilet to move it and when he lifted it up, he realized someone was in it, Lackie said in full laughter.
“Luckily, he had the door against the fork so the person couldn’t come out,” Lackie said. “We have all chuckled over that many times.”
He had rich conversations with people on certain topics, but for the most part, Stoddard was quiet, his family members said.
“He didn’t have a lot to say. He just did things,” Regan, his youngest daughter, said.
Just what Stoddard’s favorite part of the fair was isn’t entirely clear. The Valley News profiled Stoddard in 2015 for a story about his longtime involvement in the fair and even he couldn’t pinpoint it quickly.
“I was a livestock man, so I’m interested in the livestock that comes in,” he said at the time.
His children figured he liked helping out his community, being around people and keeping busy, all things the fair had to offer.
“He kept busy all the time,” his son, Robert Stoddard, said.
The fair’s annual horseshoe pitching contest also piqued his interest.
When he retired from farming in 1975 after winning several awards, including the state Grange Farmer of the Year award in ‘57 and the New Hampshire Green Pastures Award, he took up competitive horseshoes. He played both locally in a league and in Riverview, Fla., where he wintered.
He and his throwing partner, Dale Gregory, also traveled the state to play in tournaments, including sanctioned events.
Stoddard, who threw shoes well into his 90s, averaged “mid-30s,” Gregory said, meaning out of 100 horseshoes he would throw about 35 ringers.
“He was an absolutely amazing man. A gentleman,” Gregory said.
Stoddard, who was vice president of the fair association for many years before the board appointed him director emeritus, got the majority of his family involved in the fair in some manner. His son, Robert Stoddard, is a director; and his oldest daughter, Oakes, is the superintendent of the arts & crafts and 4-H building, to name two.
Stoddard’s brother, Frederick, was the first president of the Grange that presided over the fair, and his brother Stanley, also held various roles.
Stoddard, who was born in Columbia, N.H., and graduated from Haverhill Academy in 1938, was married to Priscilla Phelps in 1943. They later divorced and he married Evelyn Ulery in 1965.
Stoddard died just weeks before the fair started this year.
It was a sad day for many, including those who looked up to him for all things fair-related for 70-plus years.
“It’s been a very different fair without him. Not bad, just different,” Leland said. “It seems to get harder and harder when we lose people who had such an impact.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.