A Noblesville resident honored during the Indiana State Fair for his 40 years as a volunteer for Hamilton County’s 4-H program got his start working at the State Fair by driving his team of horses to haul manure 68 years ago.

Alton Hinshaw, 83, Noblesville, a leader in rabbits and poultry, has judged at least one time in every Indiana county 4-H exhibit. He served on Purdue University Extension Service’s rabbit advisory, helping to prepare the current project workbooks.

Hinshaw was superintendent of the Indiana State Fair 4-H and open rabbit show for 10 years, and in 1996 he received an award for 55 years of dedicated service at the State Fair.

He started working at the State Fair in 1941, at age 15, when the fairgrounds wanted to rent his family’s mules to move manure.

When Alton brought the mules, fair officials told him he would have to stay and handle them.

For the next 55 years, he worked during the State Fair in almost every building on the fairgrounds, from hauling manure to manning information booths. He was first assistant for two different rabbit and poultry building directors, and was the first assistant director for the fair’s cat shows, which he said started in the mid-1990s.

He was involved at the State Fair since he was a child, exhibiting animals in 4-H. “Then my children, and my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren exhibited . . .” he said.

Alton received a gold letter opener bearing his name and years of service during a State Fair leadership recognition ceremony Aug. 15.

This year, the fair honored 324 people as Indiana 4-H volunteers who have completed 20 years of service or more, representing a total 8,550 years of service.