West Liberty History 1838-1938

Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
FRED SHELLABARGER

Fred Shellabarger of West Liberty is one of the oldest judges of poultry in America. He was born at Letts, Iowa, where he spent his youth. Early in life he took a fancy to birds and poultry, and finally specialized in the finer breeds of chickens, particularly Barred Plymouth Rocks.

For more than forty-eight years Mr. Shellabarger has judged domestic fowl over the United States and Canada. He judged poultry in 1887 at Geneseo and Kewanee, Ill. Since then he judged at three world's fairs, Chicago in 1893, St. Louis in 1904, and Seattle in 1910. Starting in 1893 he judged approximately thirty consecutive years at the Iowa state fair and has officiated in thirty-seven different states besides shows and fairs at Nepewau, Winnipeg, and Le Prairie, Canada.

Mr. Shellabarger is the possessor of about one thousand ribbons, and many silver loving cups. One of the loving cups was presented to him by the American Poultry association in 1900 at Cedar Rapids. A bronze medal is among his collections, a gift to the twenty judges at the World's Fair at St. Louis.

---