Manternach wins 57th GJCF blue ribbon

     For the past 30 years or so, Betty Manternach of Monticello has been entering various items in the Great Jones County Fair Open Exhibits. Two full boxes in her spare bedroom contain every blue, red, white, and purple rosette ribbon Manternach has received over the past 30-plus years.

   Betty and her late husband, Melvin, moved off their farm in Castle Grove in 1992 and moved into a home on E. Fifth Street in Monticello, not far from the Jones County Fairgrounds. That’s when she started entering the Open Exhibits at the fair.

   “It was handy to enter because we don’t live far,” she said.

   On Monday of fair week, Manternach can easily drop-off her entries to the Berndes Center for judging, as well as pick them up on Sunday, the final day of the fair.

   In all, she has 57 blue ribbons, six purple rosettes, and an abundant number of red ribbons.

   “Purple are for Best of Show, which is better than a blue,” she said proudly of her rosettes.

   Manternach scored her 57^th blue ribbon two weeks ago during the 2024 GJCF with her hydrangea. She also entered a day lily, a bi-color hosta leaf, a green hosta leaf, a white floribunda (rose), and a pink hybrid tea rose.

   “I always enter hosta leaves, and this year, the deer got my hostas,” Manternach said with disgust.

   With her day lily, Manternach was flustered that the bud didn’t open in time for Open Exhibit judging on Tuesday of fair week.

   Manternach typically enters plants and flowers. In the past, though, she’s entered several homemade clothing items such as a white jean jacket and a purse. She’s also entered and won ribbons for her quilts, one of which, a fan quilt, still adorns her bed.

   “I mostly entered queen-size quilts,” she said. “I’ve entered three or four now. I like to make quilts.”

   As for why she’s kept all of her ribbons over the years, Manternach said she actually forgot about them.

   “I wish there was a way to display them,” she said of reminiscing about all that she’s entered. “For now, they’re just in a box.”

   Manternach said she really doesn’t spend too much time thinking about what she wants to enter.

   “I just wait and see what I have,” she said of her expansive plants and flowers.

   She said when entering the Open Exhibits, especially for plants and flowers, it’s important to know what category you’re entering and that you properly identify the plant/flower.

   Manternach also makes sure that none of her plants have defects on them, such as bugs on the leaves or bug-eaten leaves.

   “It’s disqualified immediately if it has an imperfection,” she said.

   In 2015, she won a blue ribbon for her mandevilla flower. It was entered under “Any Other Flower.”

   “That’s the category you choose if you can’t find a category (to enter),” explained Manternach.

   Open exhibitors are awarded money for their prized items. This year, Manternach won $10.

   “A lot of fairs don’t offer money with their ribbons,” she said of the GJCF. “Some fairs, you just get a ribbon. Some people are surprised that our fair awards money.”

   The last few years, the Open Exhibits have been moved indoors, inside the Berndes Center. Manternach recalled when the Open Exhibits used to be housed under the shelter between the Berndes Center and the Youth Development Center. She said she was always nervous about entering a quilt in the Open Exhibits at that time, worried it might get dirty or wet sitting outside.

   “Now, everything is inside and safe,” she said.

   Manternach has been attending the GJCF for decades, even before she moved to town. When the couple built their home near the fairgrounds, she said people told them they’d regret living so close.

   “People said we’d hate the fair,” she said. “But our first week here, we went every night. We were wiped out by the time it was over. After that, we got smart and didn’t attend every night. But, if you can’t beat ‘em, join in!”

   In 1998, the Manternachs were one of several winners of a free trip, which were awarded during the GJCF. They won a trip to Jamaica that year.