Strongs Selected as Settlers Day Honored Citizens For Legacy of Service

For more than three decades, Jan and Dwayne Strong have dedicated themselves to preserving traditions, supporting local youth, and strengthening the Deer Park community. This year, those decades of service have earned them recognition as the Deer Park Settlers Day Honored Citizens. Many may know the couple for their civic leadership and more than 25 years of service on the Clayton Community Fair Board.

Through their volunteer work with the Deer Park Fair Association, they have helped organize the Clayton Community Fair and its annual rodeo while supporting local vendors, raising funds for regional service groups, and preserving the area's agricultural heritage. Although the fairgrounds are now located in Clayton, the organization has never forgotten its beginnings. "The organization is still The Deer Park Fair Association," Dwayne said. "We haven't changed the 501(c)3," Jan added. "We haven't forgotten where our roots come from."

For Dwayne, those roots run especially deep, with seven generations of the Strong family connected to the community. He said his great-grandfather homesteaded in the area in 1884. Dwayne graduated from Deer Park High School in 1970, then worked at Deer Park Auto Freight, Swinyards Service, Lowel/Orvik Chevrolet, and eventually Napa, where he retired after 36 years. "My whole working career was in Deer Park," Dwayne said. Jan moved to Springdale when she was 2 years old.

She said she and Dwayne first met when she stopped into Napa to buy auto parts while he was working there. She later spent 24 years working at Deer Park Elementary and drove school buses for both the Loon Lake and Deer Park school districts for 19 years, often balancing both jobs during the same day. The couple will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary this September.

When asked what they enjoy doing outside of volunteering, both laughed. "When is that?" Dwayne said. "We call the fairgrounds our home. We take care of the fairgrounds, our horses, our place." Jan reflected on hobbies that have taken a back seat. "We used to go horseback riding, but we haven't had time for that," she said. "We pretty much stay home and do stuff around here."

Their partnership is one of the reasons they've accomplished so much together. "We make a good team," Dwayne said. "We do different parts of the same thing." For the annual rodeo, Jan said she coordinates sponsorships, advertising, and promotions while Dwayne handles contractors, judges, timers, and the logistics of preparing the grounds. "We just have our stuff and we work together on it," Jan said. When asked about each other's greatest strength, both gave the same answer: dedication.

That dedication extends beyond the fair. Over the years, the Strongs have volunteered with the Fair Association for more than 30 years. Jan led the area's largest 4-H club, Bits & Spurs, for 18 years, and taught youth basketball, while Dwayne volunteered with the Boy Scouts and served on the volunteer fire department and ambulance shortly after graduating from high school.

Their involvement with the fair began because of their daughter, Malina. The Strongs said she wanted to compete in the Pee Wee Rodeo, and before long, they found themselves volunteering. "We were willing to do things," Dwayne said. Looking back, one accomplishment stands above all the others: relocating the fairgrounds and ensuring the fair and rodeo survived.

When discussing what continues to motivate them after all these years, Jan answered without hesitation, "Kids." Their own parents inspired that commitment to service. "My mom and dad were part of the group that helped start the Springdale Frontier Days," Jan said. Dwayne’s parents were always involved in the Deer Park community and his activities. That example shaped the way they approached volunteering. "We have the heart to see the community have a place for those kids and adults to show," Jan said.

"If we didn't do what we did, there would have been no more fair and rodeo." The Strongs said they have watched Deer Park change dramatically over the years. They remembered when Winterfest stretched throughout downtown, with the chili cook-off inside Yoke's, broom ball in the parking lot, and tractor rides carrying families from one event to another. Jan smiled, recalling a little girl who arrived at the fair in her pajamas. "She climbed out the window. Her mom didn't even know she was missing. She wanted to go to the fair."

Describing Deer Park today in three words, Dwayne answered simply, "Not the same." One legacy both hope future generations will continue enjoying is community traditions. "Seeing the fair keep thriving and the rodeo keep going," Jan said. "Community events," Dwayne added. Finding enough volunteers has become increasingly difficult. "Volunteers nowadays are far and few," Jan said. The duo said being named Settlers Day Honored Citizens came unexpectedly "Surprised," Dwayne said.

"We don't do it for the notoriety. We do it because we want to see the kids have a place." Both were quick to credit the many volunteers who have worked beside them through the years. The move to the new fairgrounds remains both their proudest accomplishment and their greatest challenge. "Being able to move the grounds and not lose the fair and rodeo," Jan said.

"If we hadn't moved, that would have been it." The relocation came with uncertainty and significant expense. "That was a big undertaking and we had no idea how that was going to go," Jan said, adding, "We didn't know what was going to happen. It was the unknown." Dwayne noted that one of the largest costs was bringing Public Utilities District (PUD) water to the new fairgrounds. "It was across the highway and across the railroad tracks. And that was on us." As they reflected on receiving this year's honor, both remained focused less on recognition and more on the future of their community. Their message to others was simple. "Volunteer. We're always looking for more volunteers. Every organization needs volunteers," Jan said.

Dwayne encouraged people not to feel overwhelmed by the commitment. "Pick your passion and go for it," he said. "It doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment. There's lots of little things that need to be done."