When the Jackson County Fair rolled around each year, there was no horsing around for Jim Browning.

That’s because he spent 35 years as chairman of the horse show, making sure everything was set up and arranged to ensure it went off without a hitch.

He also was the 4-H horse and pony leader for 30 years and is among the founding members of the Spurs and Wheels Saddle Club.

The rural Brownstown resident also served on the Jackson County Fair Association grounds committee and Antique Building committee, helping line up entertainment on the stage during the fair for the latter group.

Plus, he helped with building projects and oversaw the tomahawk and knife throw.

During Monday night’s fair board meeting at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1925 in Seymour, Browning was presented a clock as a gift for his 40 years of service. That’s appropriate as his time on the board is up.

Asked why he decided to retire from the board, he smiled and said, “40 years.”

“I’m 80 years old,” Browning said. “They tell me I’m still an honorary member. I probably will (come to the meetings) every now and then just to be interested.”

Fair board member John Schafstall presented the clock to Browning.

“He has done a lot of things at the fair, from the horse shows to the antique building — about anything you ask him to do,” Schafstall said. “Thank you for 40 years of love and service to the Jackson County Fair. You bring honor to the fair, your family and yourself. Thanks for all you’ve done, Jim.”

Browning still lives on the farm where he was raised northwest of Brownstown.

Growing up, the family had grain, cattle and hogs on the farm. He didn’t have a horse until he was 9.

“I was only in 4-H one year, and that was because I wanted to go to the fair,” he said. “They used to take our horses there, and there was a time there that they wouldn’t let horses on the grounds, so I joined 4-H to get a calf so I could go to the fair.”

Browning said he has a box full of ribbons he won from horse shows. A red ribbon from the county fair in 1952 stands out among them all.

“That’s worth more than all of the rest of them because that was my first one from the county fair,” he said.

His love for horses and helping with various tasks at the fairgrounds in Brownstown resulted in Harold Pottschmidt asking him about joining the fair board in 1980.

The horse shows became his big role. They used to be conducted near the grandstand until an arena was built west of the racetrack in the 1970s.

Building 3 is among the projects Browning assisted with since he was working for Goecker Construction of Seymour at the time.

“I was on the crew that built that building,” he said.

In 1993 while serving on the Antique Building committee, Browning started the tomahawk and knife throw, which was staged behind that building.

“The Antique Building that year was a tribute to the Native Americans, so I asked, ‘What about a tomahawk throw?’ They said, ‘Well, OK,’ so that’s how it got started, and it has kept growing,” he said.

“Between there and Vallonia (Fort Vallonia Days in October), we put a lot of bodies on the ground just because of that,” he said. “I’ve had one family that I know of that has grown up coming that would never be on our grounds if it wasn’t for that. They are from Bartholomew County.”

Outside of serving on the fair board and staying busy during fair week, Browning worked on the farm until switching to construction.

“In ’89, I had gotten to the place my dad told me years ago that the small farmer will be done, and I figured I was there, so I started working construction,” he said.

After nearly 20 years in that field, he retired.

“I watch a lot of ‘Gunsmoke,'” he said, smiling, of what he now does in retirement.

He also helps take care of three grandchildren and enjoys going to their sporting events and other activities.

Of being recognized Monday night, Browning said it meant a lot to him.

“Well, that just about got to me,” he said, smiling.

He still plans to stay in tune with the fair board and attend the fair, which falls on the last week of July each year.

“Oh Lord yes. As long as I’m able, I’ll probably be there every day,” he said of fair week. “Being a part of the fair and then being on the board for 40 years, I won’t be able to just quit.”

Over the years, Browning said he has been asked multiple times what makes the Jackson County Fair special.

“I’ve gone to some of the county fairs around, and it ain’t nothing to what we’ve got,” he said. “One of the big things is just like the people here (fair board), for some reason, they are more interested, I reckon, and volunteered.”

Browning said every time he drives into Brownstown, he always goes by the fairgrounds along State Road 250. It makes him proud to see how it has progressed and the many purposes it serves.

“Just to see what’s happening, that would be something to see,” he said.