T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY The late Darla Merwald of Marshalltown was posthumously honored with induction into the Central Iowa Fair Hall of Fame and the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Central Iowa Fairgrounds in Marshalltown on Wednesday night. Accepting the awards on her behalf were her husband Ed Merwald, left, daughter Missy Grothoff, right, and granddaughter Adalee Grothoff, center.

The late Darla Merwald of Marshalltown, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 65 after a difficult battle with Lewy Body Dementia, posthumously received a pair of special honors on the opening night of the Central Iowa Fair Wednesday as she was inducted into both the Central Iowa Fair Hall of Fame and the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in recognition of the 54 years she spent actively involved in 4-H and her longstanding commitment to horse showing and judging.

As Central Iowa Fair Board President Jodi Breniman explained during the awards ceremony, Merwald’s legacy still lives on through the Darla Merwald Passion for Horses 4-H Scholarship Fund, which is funded by her friends and family and has already distributed over $8,000 to Iowa youth. When she was growing up, Merwald belonged to the Linn Grove Hustlerettes 4-H Club in Jasper County, and she was part of the State Fair judging teams showing both horses and swine while also giving numerous presentations.

After she and her husband Ed settled in Marshalltown, their two children, Mike and Missy, were members of the Timber Creek 4-H Champs club. Darla was a leader of that group, served on the youth and development committee, the Central Iowa Fair Board and as horse superintendent and rodeo co-chair.

“Darla judged over 40 different counties in the state for horse shows and finally served on the Iowa State Fair 4-H Horse Advisory Committee and (as) co-chair for their show. She loved her horse friends she met along the way, from her first pony named Penny to Dexter — that was my favorite horse — and finally Earl,” Breniman said. “Darla loved all of her horses and had a passion like none other. I know Darla’s looking down at us right now smiling from up above, and she’s here with us right now.”

Accepting the award on Darla’s behalf were Ed, who now resides in Nebraska, their daughter Missy Grothoff and granddaughter Adalee Grothoff, both of Ankeny. After the ceremony, Ed Merwald reflected on his late wife’s passion for 4-H kids.

“When she passed, that’s what they would talk about. She’d say ‘Take care of the kids,'” he said. “She’s talking about kids, the broader kids, and so we started the scholarship and her friends still contribute.”

Darla built relationships with “horse people” across the state through her judging career, and Ed joked that she essentially knew everyone between 4-H, open shows, American quarter horses and her 16 years as the co-chair of the horse show at the Iowa State Fair.

“One year, I think they had to stall 380 horses at the state fair. She had to take care of all of that, and a lot of the people on the committee didn’t know horses like she did. She forgot more than most people ever know,” he said. “She always had a lot of thoughts when it comes to horses. One of her thoughts was ‘Put your money into your horse, not your trailer.’ And she (said) ‘I don’t care how good of quality your horse is. They can always be clean.'”

Darla Merwald will be recognized for her induction into the Iowa State Fair Hall of Fame on the final day of the fair next month. To continue honoring her legacy, Ed recommended donations to the Iowa 4-H Foundation.