“We were surprised,” John Lamb said.
“It’s an honor,” added Lucile Lamb.
The Grangeville couple will serve as the 2025 Idaho County Fair grand marshals.
The distinction is an appropriate one, as John and Lucile Lamb have been invested in 4-H and the Idaho County Fair their whole lives.
∙John was born and raised in Grangeville and graduated from Grangeville High School (GHS). He grew up helping his dad on the family farm and ranch.
“My grandad supposedly brought the first Black Angus cows to the area,” John said. “and had the first cattle permit on the Nez Perce Forest.”
His grandfather had property in Winona and Hungry Ridge and later moved to Grangeville.
As a youth, John took steer projects through the Lively Livestock 4-H Club.
“There wasn’t enough of a farm or ranch for another person to live off of, so I had to get another job at 18, continuing to help on the home grounds as I could,” he said.
He logged, mined and was a Hot Shot Fire Crew member, a gold miner on the Salmon River, before beginning at CHS-Primeland where he worked as the farm store manager for 35 years.
Lucile was born in Cottonwood and resided there until the age of 6 when her family moved to Grangeville.
Her father ran the kitchen for the Imperial Hotel and her mother waitressed. When the hotel burned, her father went to work for the Grange Supplies, which later became Union Warehouse, now CHS Primeland.
“I took 4-H projects in knitting, crocheting and sewing,” she recalled.
She graduated from GHS, as well, and met John a few years after.
The rest is history. John and Lucile celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary June 6.
Last year, Lucile retired after a 33-year career with Solberg Agency.
A side job of John’s during those early years was that of a rodeo Bull fighter.
“I tried bareback riding a few years, but I just wasn’t too good at it,” he smiled.
He had the chance to work as a Bull fighter for the Little Britches Rodeo put on by the Grangeville Loins Club in Grangeville, and it stuck. He was part of the ICA (Idaho Cowboy Association) as a rodeo Bull fighter for 13 years.
“When we got married, he had to consult his rodeo schedule,” Lucile recalled. “He forgot about the Kamiah rodeo, and we scheduled that same weekend.”
For years, the Lambs knew exactly where they would be celebrating their anniversary: at the rodeo in Kamiah.
John said he enjoyed the excitement and fun of being a rodeo Bull fighter.
Then he realized he had 2 nine year olds and a 6 year old, going to rodeos every weekend maybe I should get a little more responsible! (Injuries)
The Lambs have three daughters: twins Darbie Duclos and Tiffany Forsmann, and youngest daughter, Rachel Rehder. Darbie and Rachel and their families live in Cottonwood and Tiffany and her family in Greencreek.
Darbie teaches math at Prairie Junior-Senior High School, Tiffany runs the Prairie Mountain Senior Nutrition Program (for Cottonwood and Winchester) and Rachel does some social media work for local businesses as well as helps on the family farm.
All three of the Lamb’s daughters were involved in 4-H, taking sheep as projects.
“This was something they could handle and were set up for,” John said. The girls spent a lot of time with their projects, something the Lambs see as telling at the fair.
“Yes, you know by watching who spends time with their animal,” Lucile said.
“I understand quality is very important, but I’ve always thought showmanship is equally important, because it shows more than breeding, it shows the time invested in the animal,” John added.
The Lamb girls were also involved in the 4-H Ambassador program. Rachel also served as Border Days queen, barrel raced and competed in goat-tying.
“4-H is a wonderful program that taught them so much, including in the area of public speaking and presentations,” Lucile said.
John echoed that the program teaches responsibility, as well as budgeting and financial readiness.
“And for our girls, it put them through college. I don’t just mean the money earned at the livestock sale, but the different grants and scholarships they were eligible for because of their involvement in 4-H.”
The Lambs have 15 grandchildren; the oldest is 21 and the youngest is 2.
They spend a lot of their time attending Prairie Pirate athletic events.
“We have a Pirates sign out front, and I get a little harassment over that,” laughed John. Although he, Lucile and their three daughters all graduated from GHS, all the grandkids are at or will be at Prairie schools. “We know the road to Cottonwood very well.”
The grandchildren are also involved in 4-H, so the Lambs continue their family history with the youth development program.
Although the Lambs have “retired,” they are not sitting idle.
John retired from CHS Primeland on a Friday and went to work for Camas Gravel the following Monday.
“I grew up with the Kaschmitters, and I said when I retired, I wanted to work for them,” John said.
“Tim [Kaschmitter] called and told me, ‘You can work half days.’ I guess 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. is technically half a day,” he laughed. He said summer work is more full-time and winter goes down to part-time.
“He loves it — he gets to play with front loaders, trucks and dozers in the big sandbox,” teased Lucile.
John’s smile showed he didn’t disagree.
Lucile works one day a week cooking for the Winchester senior meal site and spends much of her extra time quilting.
John has enjoyed skiing throughout the years, and the couple has spent a lot of time rafting. They now have a side-by-side they hope to utilize more.
The Lambs’ fair involvement this year as grand marshals won’t be much different than in past years.
John has been part of the Fair board and fair sale committee for more than 20 years. He contacts potential buyers and coordinates their bids at the Saturday livestock sale. Lucile spends as much time as possible watching he grandchildren with all their projects they take, from rabbits to goats and dog to pigs, sheep and steers.
“This will be my first retired year, so I will be able to be there even more,” she said.
Years ago, when the Lamb daughters were in 4-H, John and Lucile encouraged their girls to sit in their sheep pens and read to their lambs.
“This served two purposes,” John said. “The newly purchased lambs were terrified at first, so this got the lambs used to them, and the girls learned to read!”
This approach to parenting, paired with the responsibilities learned through 4-H, are just two ways that have helped form the Lamb girls into productive, hardworking, community-minded citizens who are in turn, raising like-minded individuals.
“We’ve come full circle,” the Lambs smiled.