Parade Grand Marshal Alice Keirn waves during the 2024 Kosciusko County Community Fair parade. InkFreeNews photo by Deb Patterson.

News Release

WARSAW — During the Kosciusko County Fair Parade on July 7, Parade Grand Marshal Alice Keirn had the opportunity to ride in the parade with four generations of her family.

Her son, daughter-in law, granddaughter and great-grandson rode with Keirn in a 1968 red Chevy Impala.

Keirn has many connections to the fair, from serving on the swine committee for several years, to her great-grandkids showing cattle in pigs for 4-H. Keirn also broadcasts on the radio at the fair twice a day, letting people know what is going on in the Home and Family Arts building.

In May of this year, Keirn was awarded the Extension Homemaker’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her 44 years of service.

Keirn joined the M & M’S Extension Homemakers in 1980 and has held every office in her local club, some more than once. She was treasurer of the Kosciusko County Extension Homemakers for three years and now is the voice of the Extension Homemakers, submitting articles to the news and posting events on the Kosciusko County Extension Homemaker’s Facebook page. Beginning in 2018, she has been responsible for the Extension Homemaker’s raffle fundraiser, which helps raise funds for the three scholarships given each year to students going to college or a trade school, fair expenses and community service projects.

She is also involved with the following organizations: Harrison Center Church, member; Mentone High School Alumni, president since 2019; Lawrence D. Bell Aircraft Museum/Mentone Historical Museum, board member; and Kosciusko County Historical Society, member. Additionally, Keirn spends Thursdays in the genealogy department of the Old Jail Museum, looking through old newspapers to find obituaries for the cemetery project.

She and her husband, Hubert, were the first employees of the Creighton Brothers Farrow to Finish Hog Farm. Alice worked at Creighton Brothers for 45.5 years. She retired in 2015, but she is still Santa’s Helper at Creighton Brothers’ annual Christmas party.