Note: This story has been edited with a name correction from the print version. 

MONROE — The eyes of Larry Eakins seemingly can’t help but fill with tears as he reflects on his farm, the Green County Fair, his time on the Green County Pork Producers board and mostly, losing his wife Linda in recent months.

After more than three decades of being a part of the Pork Producers board with Linda by his side, Eakins said after she lost her battle with cancer in February, things aren’t the same and he’s decided that it is time for him to move on. 

“It’s time for someone else to do it,” said Eakins, who has served as the board’s president just as long.

He feels lucky to have watched the group grow and flourish through the years. He was first drawn to get involved with the Pork Producers group about 35 years ago with other couples including John and Joan Salesman and Evan and Anna Zettle. They were the core group of the board for years and started slowly, when at the time the group’s treasury was almost nothing.

But they came up with ideas, began fundraising and were proud to begin purchasing equipment to help out the local fair — adding show pens and other necessities. They even made enough to donate $5,000 for Farm Technology Days in Albany. 

They became increasingly active for a small group, Eakins said, and could always find people to help out at their fundraisers — something he’s been grateful for. 

“It’s hard to say we had a specific goal. We wanted to promote pork. We had a joke — we said we should be called ‘Pork Promoters,’” Eakins said, noting that very few of them continued their own pig farm as the years passed. 

Membership is hard to gauge since Pork Producers don’t require dues and consider anyone who raises or shows pigs to be a member. This year, about 90 people showed pigs at the Green County Fair, which was down a little but has stayed fairly steady in recent years.

Eakins said his departure is, at least in part, due to Linda’s passing. She became sick about seven years ago and died Feb. 12. She was his “persistent” helper and was a large part of his success as president, he said.

“She was a big part of planning, rounding up workers for events and making phone calls,” Eakins said. 

He said he and Linda enjoyed and continued serving on the board because of the people. They found lasting friendships through the years. Eakins also said he finds the county fair to be an important part of the culture and community in Green County. 

“If you can influence a kid — or even an adult — on how things are on the farm, it’s worth it,” Eakins said. “It just kinda grows on you.”

His accomplishments are appreciated and that was made clear on the opening day of the fair Wednesday, July 17 when he was surprised with a bench honoring both he and Linda for their commitment and years of service to the Pork Producers. It was covered in a blanket and unveiled that day in front of a crowd of supportive people.

“It’s pretty cool,” Eakins said. “I couldn’t properly thank them — the tears came instead.”

But he is grateful for the bench, he said, and can’t wait to see it sitting on the front porch of Linda’s dream home they built in 2015 on their farm. 

The fair is a special place for Eakins — and it just so happens that he met Linda at a county fair in Illinois when they were teenagers in Kane County, Illinois. After they married in 1967, they knew they wanted a hog farm instead of a dairy, Eakins said. They found what they were looking for not too far from home in Green County. 

Now 40 years later, Eakins said he’s proud to have spent his livelihood with Linda on their pig farm with their two children. They fared 1,200 pigs each year until 1992 when disease in the herd caused them to liquidate. 

Outside of large commercial hog operations, Eakins said it’s more common now to see people raising pigs to show at the fair and he’s happy there is a group to support them. 

 He kept on with feeder pigs for a couple of years, he said, but got out of that eventually too. He still farms corn and soy bean crops, and said he enjoys his time outside in the tractor and combine with irregular hours and the nature surrounding him.

Eakins has served on the board for the Green County Fair for about five years, and hopes to continue his role there for a while. 

He said Green County has been the perfect place for he and Linda — and that was apparent after she became ill when they received comforting care at Monroe Clinic and the support from so many family and friends. 

He enjoys spending time with his two children, Matt and Vicki and his four grandchildren. 

“I wouldn’t call myself an icon by a longshot,” he said with a smile. “But I’ve been here a long time.”