Celebrating the life of an ag and 4-H supporter
Jul. 11—GREENSBURG — More than 50 years after his death in an automobile accident, the legacy of Rush County native Tom Swain still looms large at the Decatur County 4-H Fair.
Many local youth compete year after year in the "grand finale" of the Decatur County 4-H Fair for the Tom Swain Showmanship Trophy and in doing so they celebrate a man who did much to help lay the groundwork for the excellence they strive for in their lives.
The only 4-H animal showmanship honor higher than competing in the Tom Swain contest is winning it. This year's competition will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Livestock Pavilion.
Competitors in the contest, after qualifying by earning Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion in one of five different livestock species exhibitions are put to the test in a single contest that requires knowledge and handling abilities of all species.
Students may be proficient with pigs, for instance, but lacking in how to handle the hulks exhibited in the beef show. In order to participate — and most certainly to have a chance to win — 4-H students must practice with each animal and go outside their "comfort zones" in dealing with barnyard dwellers of which they may have little or no knowledge.
One winner is chosen each year, and he or she is then awarded a massive golden trophy bearing Tom Swain's name. That skilled competitor is allowed to add the prize to his or her trophy collection for a full year, surrendering it to the winner of the following year's event.
Tom Swain spent his youth on a farm in the tiny community of Arlington in Rush County.
After jobs working as a Purdue Extension Youth Agent in Johnson County and an extension agent for Shelby County, Tom met his wife Joyce and the pair moved to Decatur County as he took a job as an agricultural representative for Decatur County Bank.
Within two years he found himself elected vice president of the bank after becoming a loan officer, this in spite of having little to no banking experience prior to accepting the position.
Swain's education at Purdue provided a great deal of the knowledge that proved invaluable in his new career, the student having learned much of the economics of agriculture during his tenure in West Lafayette.
A Daily News editorial written at the time of Swain's death summed up the young man's proficiency this way: "He had precisely the type of qualifications which Indiana banks seek."
His career on the fast track and his family life in full bloom with the births of two sons, Swain cemented himself as a community leader by joining the Greensburg Optimist Club and the Elks Lodge, becoming a church elder, and helping manage the Decatur County Fair as a member of its planning board.
The latter task was another for which Swain was uniquely suited; having grown up showing animals in Rush County, but the young banker seemed to turn to gold every effort he touched.
"In all these assignments as well as in his banking duties, he acquitted himself with credit," a 1973 editorial read.
A tragedy
In September of 1973, Swain, his wife Joyce, and their two sons, Michael Thomas and David Brent, were traveling on Highway 47, about a mile south of Crawfordsville headed for a Purdue class reunion of Tom's at Turkey Run State Park.
A Daily News report of the accident published the following Monday said Swain lost control of his car on the rain-slicked highway and collided with another vehicle. Swain and 3-year-old Michael were killed almost instantly.
Joyce and David were transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment where the boy later died from injuries suffered in the crash. Joyce recovered from several fractures sustained in the accident.
The death of the young banker stunned the Decatur County community and left a void in local and area businesses and organizations that could not easily be filled.
"Profound regret is expressed in Greensburg and Decatur County at the tragic accident in which the family was involved," read the Daily News' editorial piece memorializing Swain. "Termination of the life of Thomas D. Swain at the age of 30 has ended a career of high promise, forming a loss to this community."
Shortly after his death, the "Tom Swain Memorial Showmanship Contest" was christened in Swain's honor and has served as the penultimate step in livestock exhibition excellence for local kids each year since.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email [email protected].