WEST LIBERTY, IA- Gary Daufeldt was a lifetime resident of West Liberty and passed away in November of 2023. One of his last wishes was to gift $5,000 to the Muscatine County Event Center. He was so excited and happy to see the project kicked off and wanted to be a part of it from the beginning. Gary was the son of Clarence and Francis Daufeldt. Gary has three children, Tammy (Chad) Dietz, Matt (Michelle) Daufeldt, and Tracy (Jim) Kaucher. Gary also has eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

The fair was a huge part of Gary’s life since he was a child, he was in Goshen Gladiators 4-H Club growing up, and attended the fair every year. Gary served on the fair board for 22 years. After retiring from the board he still volunteered in the Midway Pavilion and helped with other maintenance projects on the grounds. Gary also parked cars on Saturdays with the Jaycee’s for the races for many years. All three of Gary’s children were in 4-H and had projects in the 4-H building growing up. Matt and Tracy also showed hogs. Tammy, Matt, and Tracy also all entered open-class exhibits.

To this day Gary’s children are still involved in the fair. Tammy is the head superintendent for the floral hall and has been a superintendent for over 30 years. Tammy has also judged the open baked goods division and was the superintendent for the Sew and Show Class. Matt followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the fair board in 2010, where he was on the fair board for 14 years. Matt has worked hard on the grounds with several of the capital improvement projects, building projects, and cement projects, moved snow, prepped the track for different grandstand events during the fair, and brought in equipment multiple times to help accomplish tasks. Tracy during her high school years helped keep the fairgrounds mowed and looking nice. After high school Tracy moved to attend college, but still comes back to visit.

Gary felt the fair helped mold youth into responsible adults and gave them a sense of togetherness as a community. The fair was where people could come together and see people they hadn’t seen since the last fair. One thing Gary loved, was watching the youth with their projects and seeing how proud they were of their projects. Gary felt the new event center would benefit the whole community and county, as there isn’t another building of this size in a 50-mile radius.

The new event center will be able to seat 500 people, will have robust kitchen facilities, and will also have a meeting room and board room in it as well. All things that the current Activity Center doesn’t have. The new modern facility will be aesthetically pleasing and match the other buildings on the fairgrounds.

“Getting this donation from a former fair board member is really special.  It is our pleasure to honor these memorials and this new event center is a great way to recognize individuals who support the fair and a great way to keep their memory alive,” Said Kelsey Meyers, Muscatine County Fair Manager.

To make a donation to the project, contact Kelsey Meyers at the Muscatine County Fair Office at 319-627-2414 or at [email protected].