Walt Farlee is very humbled and honored to be the 2021 Parade Marshal. He is very proud of Fredericktown and the entire Fredericktown community.
In keeping with this year’s Tomato Show theme, “The Places You’ll Go,” Farlee is definitely a great example. After he graduated from Fredericktown High School, Farlee had several adventures. He rode a bicycle to California. He put a canoe in the Kokosing River and canoed to New Orleans. He hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. He hitchhiked to Alaska and spent a summer there.
After five or six years, he returned to make Fredericktown his home. Shortly after moving back, he married his wife, Robin. Walt and Robin have two sons, Chad and Curtis. He always wanted a daughter and got the next best thing when Curtis married Erin. Walt and Robin also have three granddaughters: Peyton, Harper and Hope.
Farlee attended Knox County Joint Vocational School and took carpentry classes his junior and senior years. Walt started his construction career early by building Al McDaniel a new barber shop on Mount Vernon Avenue when he was a senior. He thinks highly of the cocational school, which is now Knox County Career Center. He taught adult education for a couple years at KCCC and still serves on the advisory committee for the Careers in Construction Program.
Farlee was in business for himself during his carpentry career, building several new homes and remodeling others, mainly in the Fredericktown area. He has donated countless hours to many construction projects. He helped build the bathhouse at Sockman Lake, the Fredericktown Field House and storage building, the Gazebo on the Square, plus the Fredericktown Community Library. He made the bezel rings on the Ball Clock located on the Square. He also helped with the construction of the hospice building in Mount Vernon.
Farlee has been involved with many organizations, such as the Fredericktown Sportsman’s Club and the Fredericktown 200 Club. For several years, he served on the Tomato Show Board of Directors. Also for many more years, he made and donated 10 plate boxes a year that housed the limited edition plates that are auctioned off every year during the Tomato Show. He served on the Fredericktown Fire Department as a volunteer for many years. He was also on the Fredericktown Park Board for 20 years, serving as chairman for 15 years. Also, he was a big brother with the Big Brother and Big Sister’s organization, having two little brothers over the years.
In 2005, Farlee volunteered with the Red Cross and spent three weeks in Southeast Texas and Louisiana.
Currently, he serves as president of the Friends Cemetery Association. He was recently elected a Berlin Township trustee. He also officiates weddings, marrying several couples in the area. He and Robin own and operate F&F Storage on Salem Avenue Extension in Fredericktown.
Farlee retired in 2014 after being involved in a serious car crash. He now spends his time, along with several other men in the community, cutting firewood for those in need.
He said he has “always been pleased with the Fredericktown community’s willingness to jump in and help.” The Tomato Show Board of Directors is thankful that Walt did just that for our community.
Submitted by Chris Well
President, Tomato Show Board
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