Smoke trails and parachute landings dotted the shimmering blue sky, Saturday, at the Stafford County Fair, but it wasn’t fireworks or invading paratroopers, it was the work of the 4H club’s rocket builders.
Stafford County does not have a rocket club, but for over 20 years, Rozanne Holmes has helped 4H members build sleek projectiles for awards and entertainment.
“We had a few (members) that built some rockets, but they won’t be launching them today,” she said. “They are saving them for the state fair, but I always bring others to launch.”
Holmes’s husband Gary digs through a box of rocket bodies while their son Anthony looks for launch engines for the next rocket going up.
“Last year we had two of three that qualified for state place in the top three,” Holmes said. “This year I wasn’t able to help as much with my arm surgery so we had a couple that didn’t get theirs done.”
Andrew Wendland was one of the two that placed at last year’s state fair, but didn’t finish his rocket this year.
“It was all her,” he said referring to Holmes. “She helped a lot. This year I just didn’t have time to finish it.”
Even though it was good enough for a ribbon, nine-year-old Matt Kirkendall wasn’t worried about cracking his rocket up before the state fair as he placed it on the launch pad.
“He is only nine and his birthday wasn’t soon enough for him to be able to compete at the state fair,” his mother Donna said.
The rockets go up varying heights generally between 300-1500 feet depending on the engines used, size of rocket and flyers certifications, but some can reaching a few thousand feet.
“My son is 34,” Holmes said. “I got into it when he did, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
