Voice of Half Century show announces activities, stresses safety

RANTOUL, Ill. — Chris Karr is the voice of the Half Century of Progress show.

“My responsibilities are to communicate to the thousands of people one thing — safety,” said Chris Karr, the public address announcer of the show and a member of the I&I Tractor and Gas Engine Club that hosts the biennial show.

“When you gather that many people, you have to be concerned about safety,” Karr noted. “These people have adrenaline flowing way high — they are really excited if they’ve never been there.”

Karr got involved with the I&I Club many years ago after attending its Historic Farm Days show in 1976.

“My son and I farm near Seymour and I’ve got several old tractors and a toy collection,” he said. “And I love the people.”

The farmer also announces during the annual Historic Farm Days event.

“I’ve been the announcer at the Half Century show since 2005 and between the two shows I’ve met thousands of people and it’s really neat the people I’ve met from all over the U.S. and the world,” he noted.

“Today, I met a man from Birmingham, Alabama, who had been to the Half Century show, but not the Historic Farm Days show,” Karr said during the Historic Farm Days event.

Karr communicates the activities for the day and answers numerous questions to keep people informed throughout the four-day gathering.

At one of the Historic Farm Days shows there were from 500 to 600 International tractors on display.

“A man came from southern Illinois said his brother brought the family tractor and he asked me if I knew where it was,” the announcer recalled. “I told him that he had to give me more details.”

Not only does Karr enjoy announcing at the shows, he is also a champion hog caller.

“My son showed hogs at the Illinois State Fair and every year on Sunday, I would call hogs in the swine barn,” he recalled. “The fair and the pork producers wanted to get the public to come in the swine barn so they started husband and hog calling contests.”

Karr developed skits for the hog calling contest and won the contest 10 times in 28 years.

“WAND TV in Decatur did a segment on my hog calling and NBC Studios in Los Angeles called WAND because they wanted a hog caller to do a skit on the Jay Leno show,” the farmer said.

Karr and a lady from Idaho did a skit on the Jay Leno show to determine who would win the 43rd Super Bowl.

“She and I called a Yorkshire gilt across the stage in front of 31.5 million people on TV,” the farmer said. “She had on a #13 shirt and I had a #7 shirt — the pig came to me and the Steelers won on Sunday.”

Calling a pig across a national entertainment stage was an enjoyable experience for Karr.

“I talked to Jay Leno like you and I are talking here,” he said. “As soon as Jay heard my last name, he got excited because he likes cars.”

“I love to do the announcing and I guess I’m doing OK since no one has taken my job away from me yet,” Karr said. “I want to commend the I&I board and Darius Harms, who found talent and put that talent where it would be best used.”

That’s what makes a good club, Karr said, when the volunteers are placed where they can best serve.

“It’s very important for me to thank all the volunteers for both shows,” he said. “It takes so much volunteer work to put both of these shows on in the same year.”