NEWARK, Ohio – Two new inductees were recently recognized as members of the Licking County Agricultural Hall of Fame.
The Licking County Hall of Fame was initiated in 1994 by the Licking County Extension Agronomy Committee with assistance from the local agricultural community.
2001 inductees.
The two new inductees are the late Clayton Oyler of Union Township and Henry Whitehead from the Granville area. Each was nominated by community leaders for this distinction.
Oyler, a lifelong resident of Union Township, died in 2000. His family hosted the National Corn Husking Contest in Licking County in 1937. The event attracted more than 100,000 individuals to Licking County from across the nation.
Ag activities.
Oyler was devoted to agriculture, having been president of the Licking County Farm Bureau, a supervisor for the Licking Soil and Water Conservation District, and a member of the local extension advisory committee.
He was a charter member of the Licking County Agrarian Club.
Before his death, Oyler established an endowment fund with the Licking County Foundation in cooperation with the Professional Agrarians club to provide scholarship funds for deserving high school students who were pursing a higher education in natural resources or agriculture.
Lifelong beef producer.
Whitehead has been a lifelong resident of Licking County. He resides on a fourth-generation farm in northern Union Township.
He had a lifelong pursuit of being a producer and promoter of top quality beef animals. Whitehead exhibited the first Angus beef animal at the Hartford Fair in the late 1930s.
His animals have been show and fair champions at the Ohio State Fair and the Ohio Feeder Calf Roundup.
Whitehead served for 20 years on the Hartford Senior Fairboard. He helped start the first Licking County junior livestock show and sale and served for more than 20 years as a 4-H adviser.
He was a charter member of the Licking County Agrology Club in 1950.
Award-winning career.
Whitehead has received many recognitions, including the Industry Excellence Award of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, the award of merit from the Ohio Angus Association, the historic award from the American Angus Association for 50 years of exemplary service.
Each inductee’s portrait will join others of the Hall of Fame for local agriculture in the Licking County Agricultural Center.
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