Dean Morehouse of New Paris has been selected as the grand marshal for the 2017 Elkhart County 4-H Fair parade. The announcement was made last Wednesday during the fair board meeting in Goshen.
Morehouse was chosen for the honor by Jill Garris, 2017 fair board president. She pointed out that Morehouse has served as a 4-H fair board member for 31 years and led the fair as president in 1995 and 2005. He has been inducted into the Indiana Assn. of Fairs Hall of Fame.
The longtime Jackson Twp. farmer and his late wife Eleanor began farming more than 60 years ago, starting out on a dairy farm near Leesburg before moving to New Paris in 1969. Dean is the fourth generation from his family to farm the land, located along U.S. 6 in New Paris.
The family has been honored with a farm beautification award in 2008 and Dean and Eleanor were named "Friends of Extension" in 2008. Also that same year, Dean received the "Uncle Elmer" award from the Elkhart County Agricultural Society in 2008. Eleanor received the "Uncle Elmer" award posthumously in 2014.