Growing up three miles east of Bennet, he learned all about raising sheep and beef cattle.
At 8 years old Dowding got his start in 4-H showing a rabbit at the Otoe County Fair because he wasn’t old enough to compete in anything else. His dad, Gerald, was one of his 4-H club leaders, and his older brother preceded him in 4-H and FFA.
“And we just kind of followed along,†Dowding said of he and his three other siblings.
Ron Dowding showed just about everything — pigs, calves, horses, beef cattle, dairy cows and sheep.
“Our dad gave us the opportunity to do all of that, I’m guessing to find out which one we liked best,†Dowding said.
The easiest to show were hogs. His favorite was livestock. An FFA Angus heifer project won Dowding a Champion Showmanship award during high school.
“It taught you responsibility,†he said. “It taught you to get along with others.â€
Years later, when Dowding had his own children, he introduced them to 4-H. They were raised on an acreage outside of Bennet, but Dowding didn’t farm. Instead he spent 44 years working at Goodyear in Lincoln.
For more than 20 years Dowding was leader of the Happy Go Lucky club in Bennet. At one point the club had 54 members. Dowding said he doesn’t know if there is anything better than being a 4-H leader.
“Growing up it was a good experience for me, and I wanted to make a good experience for others,†he said. “I always told them if I couldn’t help them with something, I’d find someone who could."
Although his days leading a 4-H club are in the past, the 66-year-old Dowding still enjoys getting involved with his grandkids’ projects. He rents out land to raise shorthorns for them to show and checks in at events.
Last month Dowding helped with the Lancaster County Super Fair as usual, serving dual roles as Lancaster County Agricultural Society Board vice president and grandfather to entrants.
“I just wandered around to help where needed,†he said.
Dowding’s involvement in agriculture extends well beyond his years in 4-H and FFA to serving on the Lancaster County 4-H Extension Board and Ag Society Board.
His longest standing board commitment has been his 21 years with the Ag Society Board, where he served for 10-plus years as president.
“One thing about Ron is a lot of his interest in the Event Center is his grandkids’ and kids’ involvement,†said former Agriculture Society Board member Trudy Pedley. “It’s been a generational thing for that family.â€
Pedley observed Dowding’s kind, easygoing nature while serving with him on the Executive Board.
“If someone was angry about something, he tried to work it out without hurting other people’s feelings,†she said. He is one to think and carefully pick his words, she added.
Dowding is proud of the board’s work to expand the Lancaster County Super Fair to a 10-day event and generate ongoing events to help support the Lancaster Event Center.
“We’re starting to attract bigger events,†he said, like the National High School Finals Rodeo that was scheduled to be held in July and the Family Motor Coach Association RV Club’s 102nd International Convention and RV Expo that was set for Aug. 25-29. Both events had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When there was a proposal to expand the Lancaster County Super Fair from a four-day to a 10-day event, Dowding took the lead and did his homework.
“He was kind of a driving force,†said board member Tom Messick, who has known Dowding since the 1990s.
Dowding’s wife believes all he goes to the fair for is to visit. That’s partly true. Dowding’s made a lot of friends over the years through 4-H, FFA and Lancaster County Extension.
Messick said Dowding fancies the fair exhibits.
“He spends a lot of time walking through the exhibits,†Messick said. “He really enjoys seeing the kids and the projects.â€
Ron Dowding showed sheep, livestock and rabbits at the Otoe County Fair as a youth. Now he fills in where needed at the Lancaster County Super Fair and serves as Lancaster County Agricultural Society Board vice president.
Ron Dowding raises some shorthorn cattle just for his grandchildren to show. Here, he's shown with grandson Dillon Docter at the Lancaster County Super Fair in 2018.
Ron Dowding, past president and current vice president of the Lancaster County Agricultural Society Board, got his start in 4-H showing a rabbit at the Otoe County Fair.