Past Board Members

Bremer County Fair Board members gratefully celebrated the life of long time board member, John Droste, on September 16th, 2013. It is unlikely that any fair goer of the last decade has - knowingly or not - attended without benefiting from John's passion for our Fair. John served in whatever capacity he could - from pouring concrete for sidewalks or starting the park bench memorial program to serving as Secretary/Manager for many, many years. John has the disctinct honor of having a fair building named in his honor, a city building named in his honor and a building at Cattle Congress named in his honor just this year for his long involvement in the Dairy Hall of Breeds. John's long association with the Fair and his memory of the history will leave us with a void that just won't be filled. We will honor his memory by continuing his passion for the youth of Bremer County.

John F. Droste, 89 of Waverly, Iowa, died Tuesday, September 10, 2013, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, in Iowa City.

John was born on Jan 24, 1924 in Waverly, Iowa, the son of Arthur Frederick William and Charlotte Anna Carolina (Wilkens) Droste. He grew up in Waverly and graduated from Waverly High School. On April 1, 1945, he was united in marriage to Wynona "Connie" Concannon, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waverly. John was a busy man working as a dairy farmer, carpenter, and a mail carrier for the United States Post Office.

John was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waverly. He enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. His other passion was his Ayrshire cattle. He was a national cattle judge for over 70 years. He was a lifetime supporter of the Bremer County Fair, the Iowa State Fair and the National Cattle Congress. Since 1935, he only missed attending the Iowa State Fair three different years!

John is survived by five children and their spouses, Nancy Kay (Richard M.) Fischer of Clear Lake, IA, Mary Jo (William F.) Hennings of Frankfort, IL, James Paul (Shelley L.) Droste of Worthington, IA, Robert John (Debra S.) Droste of Waverly, and Sherry Rae (Jeffrey D.) Lehman of Denver, IA; 13 grandchildren; 30 great grandchildren; and two sisters, Dorothy Boeckmann and Charlotte (James) Menzel. John was preceded in death by his wife, Connie, in 2004; his parents; and three children, John Frederick Jr., Terry Jane, and Kathy Lynn.

We're missing a bit of the bounce in our step heading into the 2013 fair. It is the bounce, energy and pure Joy that we have all received over the years from Janice Mueller. Janice died Saturday, June 8th, at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo. We know with absolute certainty that Janice would expect every single one of us to make this fair the best we know how - because that's what she inspired in everyone all the years she was involved. We're going to miss your smile, Janice, but we'll carry on. We sure can't disappoint you now!

Janice was born November 2,1945, on the family century farm outside of Waverly, Iowa, the daughter of Paul and Norma (Tegtmeier) Kappmeyer. She was baptized November 25, 1945 at her parents' home in Tripoti. she was confirmed March 22, 1959, at St. John Evangelical and Reformed Church-Siegel. She graduated from Tripoli High School with the class of 1963. on September 29, 1963, she was united in marriage to Charles Mueller at St. John Evangelical and Reformed Church-Siegel. She worked alongside Charles on the family farm and was employed by the Bremer County Extension Office and volunteered countless hours at the Waverly Hospital.

Janice was a longtime member of St. John Lutheran Church-Crane Creek where she served as a Luther League Sponsor, choir member, Sunday School teacher and was an active quilter. she has been associated with 4-H her entire life. As a youngster, she spent 7 years in the Biz-E-Bees 4-H club. she was a 4-H leader for many years and served on the County Council as an advisor. In 2006, she was inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame and in 2009 was presented the 4-H Alumni Award. she served as Superintendent of Bremer County Fair-Home Economics Division for 12 years and was Fair Youth Coordinator. At the lowa State Fair in 2006, she received the Outstanding Leadership Award for 50 years of service to the Bremer county Fair. In 2012, she was named Bremer County Dairy promoters Cream of the Crop.

She enjoyed gardening, feeding and watching birds, watching and performing at the Tripoli Community Variety Show, and attending all of her grandchildren's activities. She cherished the time spent with all of her family and friends.

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Charles of Tripoli; two daughters, Dawn (Jeff) Klein of Tripoli and Amy (Kelby) Bergmann of Tripoli; one son, Bruce (Allyson) Mueller of Tripoli; 8 grandchildren, Taylor and Tanner Klein, Conner, Cameron and Cade Mueller and Faith, Paige, and Dawson Bergmann; two sisters, Phyllis (Bill) Zwanzinger of Janesville and Audrey (Lavern) Busse of Cedar Rapids. she is preceded in death by her parents.

Bremer County Fair Board Association sadly shares the loss of one of our long-time board members. Roger White served the youth of Bremer County throughout his whole life. At Roger's funeral, members of his 4-H club shared wonderful memories of life lessons learned. Roger’s sparkle, sense of humor and his handy carpentry skills are going to be greatly missed. His legacy, however, will live for a long, long time.

Roger Howard White was born on July 24, 1934, on an acreage northeast of Plainfield, son of Glen and Mildred Zwanziger White. He attended country school and graduated from Nashua High School in 1953. He was united in marriage to his high school sweetheart, Jeannette Graeser, on June 6, 1954, at United Methodist Church in Nashua.

RogerRoger and Jeannette farmed in Bremer County until he was drafted into the Army, serving 14 months in Germany as a mechanic in the 373rd Armed Infantry Battalion. Following his discharge in 1956, he and Jeannette returned to the farm where they lived for 40 years and raised their two children, Larry and Lori.

In addition to farming and raising registered Angus cattle, Roger drove school bus for Plainfield Community School for 25 years and owned his own carpentry business. In 1994, due to health problems, Roger and his wife sold the farm and moved to Plainfield, and later retired in Waverly.

Roger was a member of the Nashua United Methodist Church and served on many committees. For more than 30 years he had many roles at the Bremer County Fair, including 25 year 4-H leader, assistant beef superintendent, Bremer County Fair Board member and Extension 4-H and Youth Committee member. He served on the Northeast Iowa Angus Association Board of Directors and was the Advisor to the Junior Association. Roger was a charter member of the Iowa Cattleman’s Association and served many years on Bremer County Extension Council. He received the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame Award from Governor Terry Branstad, was inducted into the Iowa 4H Hall of Fame, and was selected as an Iowan of the Day at the Iowa State Fair.

Roger is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jeannette; one son, Larry (Michelle) of Clarksville, IA; one daughter, Lori (Eric) Chappell of Pleasant Hill, IA; five granddaughters, Brooke White of Greene, IA, Brittany White of Clarksville, IA, Breanna White of Morton, IL, Lindsay Chappell and Hayley Chappell of Pleasant Hill, IA; one great granddaughter, Eliska White; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Leonard White, infant sister Donna, sister and brother-in-law Amy Lou and Delbert Lantz, and nephew Steven Lantz.

At Roger’s request, his body has been donated to the University of Iowa for medical research. The family wishes to thank the many nurses and doctors who have cared for Roger during the past 29 years.

We have lost a very special person. Dave loved the fair and he was always there to help in whatever was needed. RIP Dave Wescott. Our sympathies to the families. You will be greatly missed.
David Dean Wescott, 55, of Waverly, Iowa, died on Friday, September 21, 2018, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Dave was born on July 17, 1963, in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Harley G. and Marjorie F. (Jellings) Wescott. He was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Waverly and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waverly. He graduated from Waverly-Shell Rock High School in 1982 and continued his education at Iowa State and later Hawkeye Institute of Technology.

Dave enjoyed trucking and farming. He had previously worked for Schneider Milling and most recently Jensen’s Transport Inc. He had volunteered with the Bremer County Fair since the 1980’s where he served as the General Manager for four years and served on the fair board for over thirty years. He was a member of the FFA and continued to be active with the local chapter. He was a founding member of the Blue Ribbon Foundation at the Iowa State Fair where he volunteered his time for the past twenty years.

Dave is survived by his sister, Andrea (Dan) Callan of North Liberty, Iowa; his nephew, Zach Wilharm; two nieces, Kailee (Mike) Dostal and their daughter, Piper and Kelly Callan. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harley and Marjorie Wescott; his maternal and paternal grandparents; his aunt Betty and two uncles, Bill Gordon and Dean Jellings.