By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
“He was absolutely positively in it for the kids,” said Corbett Phipps of his dear friend and colleague, the late Gary McDowell. McDowell is this year’s Adams County Outstanding Fair Supporter.
McDowell was an educator for 35 years, spending 30 of those partnering with Phipps. He began his career at Manchester and went on to teach at the Ohio Valley Career and Technical Center teaching Ag Business.
McDowell and Phipps both graduated from Ohio State a few years apart. In 1977, they came together at the vocational school. Phipps was coming in from Peebles and McDowell from Manchester. Phipps had lost his brother in January of that same year, and he said, “Gary was like a brother to me. We spent more time together than we did with our families.” Together, they built a thriving Production Ag Department. They jumped in, crawled through, and plowed over many obstacles through the years and accumulated 45 State FFA Banners and approximately ten first places at the State and Best National Team runner-up. They also had the most prominent Young Farmer and Wife chapter in Ohio.
McDowell was known for his “sayings” and clever antidotes like, “If in doubt, pound them out,” meaning if you can’t choose – the heaviest one wins. Luke Rhonemus, an Ag Business teacher at the CTC, once presented McDowell with a plaque memorializing his famous quotes.
“He taught every day,” said Phipps, and there were no “Free Fridays.” McDowell and Phipps shared an endearing friendship and a good working relationship. Phipps spoke admirably about McDowell in the classroom, his ongoing fair support, and other contributions. McDowell was active on the Junior Fair Advisory Board and helped start the Small Animal and Baked Goods into the Junior Fair Sale. He served on the Adams County Water Board and Fair Board and was a 4H and FFA advisor, Sunday School teacher, and farmer.
His wife, Shella McDowell, said, “He always used to say “now listen” to everyone, then you knew he was going to tell a big story. He was an amazing husband and my best friend. He is definitely missed.”
Phipps described McDowell as a teacher through and through. Phipps said, “Gary was unique and sneaky about teaching.” McDowell taught kids without the kids realizing they were learning the “boring” stuff they weren’t interested in. And he was creative in the process. Phipps relayed that McDowell was super focused and a “neat freak.” He said, “He didn’t like change. He wasn’t very flexible, but boy, was he good at what he did. He was the best teacher I’ve ever worked with.”