Auction helps raise funds in memory of 4Her

There are always tears shed at the annual livestock auction at the Venango County Fair. The young 4Hers raise their animals and, though they know why, it doesn't stop them from getting attached.

But the tears Friday night were also for the memory of Maddie Johnson, who passed away in an accident in December. The auction organizers decided to have a couple animals auctioned for a fund in Maddie's name that will help with the future of the fair and its participants.
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Maddie Johnson loved her brown Swiss dairy cows, her friend Madison Doyle said. She showed Maddie's cows this year and the benefits from the cheese yield auction from one of her cows went to the fund. 

Maddie had also begun raising a beef cow named Lucky. Her brother Kyle took over the project and showed Lucky all spring and summer up to the auction.

The proceeds from Lucky's sale as well as others Friday night will go to the Maddie Johnson Memorial Fund to be used on improvements to the fairgrounds, sponsorship awards and scholarships.

Maddie's mom Holly said that around $40,000 was raised in Maddie's memory.

This is a photograph I took of Maddie on the first day of the Venango County Fair in 2016 for The Derrick and The News-Herald. 

"Our community is so supportive," Holly Johnson said after the auction.

The will be an ongoing fund to be used for years to come to benefit the fair that Maddie loved, according to the family. Johnson said that donations will be accepted at the fairgrounds and checks made out to the Maddie Johnson Memorial Fund can be mailed to 867 Mercer Road, Franklin, PA, 16323.

Below are more photos from the early part of Friday's auction.

​The fair continues Saturday with a full day of fun activities beginning with antique tractor pulls in the morning and ending with the demo derby and fireworks at night.