CANFIELD — An educator, a butcher, an inventor and a couple with a deep love for each other and farming were enshrined into the Mahoning County Agriculture Hall of Fame at the 178th annual Canfield Fair, which ends today.

They were Roger Greenawalt, Paul Myers, Harvey Firestone and Francis and Jane Less.

Family members of Firestone, Francis and Jane Less, and Myers were on hand as the class was inducted, as was Greenawalt, who used his time at the podium to pay homage to the farming leaders who already have a place in the hall.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with people who have been on the stage before me,” a humble and emotional Greenawalt said. “And everytime time I left, I felt smarter and also felt like a better person because of it.”

Greenawalt, of Beloit, was recognized for his time as a devoted educator teaching vocational agriculture from 1972 to 1999. After growing up on the family dairy farm, he later graduated from The Ohio State University with a dual major in agricultural education and agricultural finance in 1972 and earned his master’s degree in 1976. He initiated the annual “Food for America” field trip for district elementary students, served as the Young Farmer’s adviser, and developed an agricultural education model curriculum for The Ohio State University. Greenawalt now farms 650 acres and runs a farm drainage business.

Myers was born Jan. 19, 1897, and grew up in Smith Township on a grain, dairy and livestock farm. He traveled throughout Mahoning and Columbiana counties purchasing cattle, hogs, turkeys and chickens to butcher these animals at his slaughterhouse — planting the seeds for the local livestock to grow. Myers would later co-found the Damascus Livestock Auction.

Firestone is known for tires and it was through tires that Firestone made his biggest impact on agriculture. A fourth-generation farmer, Firestone solved the problem of early 1900s farm machinery moving slowly and being rough on steel wheels. In 1932, he invented and developed the pneumatic farm tire. The “ground grip tire,” as it was known, offered a smoother ride and much better traction.

Farm machinery could now travel faster and smoother to extend their reach to cover more acreage more efficiently. While he eventually would go into a career in industry as a tire tycoon, his love of farming never waned. He went on to develop a relationship with the Future Farmers of America and established a scholarship program that still carries on today.

The Less’ farm in Green Township earned a reputation for its top-quality sweet corn and apples — which produced 200 bushels per acre for five consecutive years from 1969 to 1973 — and the couple earned a reputation as the “go to” source for other local growers seeking advice or answers. Francis was appointed to the Ohio Agricultural Finance Commission in 1973. He also served as a director of the Mahoning County Agricultural Society, the Farm Bureau Co-op board where he was a past president, and the Salem Fruit Growers Association (Greenstar). Jane played a crucial role, supporting her husband in all his endeavors and as a partner in farming, family and life.

The class is just the third as the Mahoning County Agricultural Hall of Fame was formed in 2022. But what the hall of fame lacks in established years, it makes up for in ambition. Longtime fair board member Elwood Woolman closed this year’s enshrinement ceremony by announcing the hall of fame now has a permanent home at the fairgrounds. The Michael J. Kusalaba Event Center now will house the hall while banners with the name and photo of each member will be displayed throughout the grounds.

“We kind of live by the rule ‘go big or don’t go at all’ and we went big in this hall of fame. We went big in the new home in the junior fair event center and we went really big in our banners,” Woolman said. “If you take the opportunity to go down to Springfield Drive where machinery row is, there are banners of each recipient of this highest honor in agriculture that we have here at the Canfield Fair and in Mahoning County. And it’s a testimony to let 300,000 people know what we are about. We are about agriculture.”

George Houk, the Hall of Fame committee chairman, emceed this year’s ceremonies and encouraged those who crowded around the Concourse Stage on Wednesday to nominate future members.

“I have a homework assignment and that is to nominate someone to the Hall of Fame next year,” he said. “So please put on your thinking caps. You have a whole year, but please don’t put it off. Do it while it’s fresh in your mind.”

The nomination deadline for Mahoning County Agricultural Hall of Fame is the first Friday in June. Nomination forms can be accessed on the Canfield Fair website or picked up at the fair offices at the fairgrounds.

selverd@mojonews.com