A legacy for Ty
This family photo shows Ty McCloskey in the beef barn at Washington County Fairgrounds.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The beef barn at Washington County Fairgrounds
Even though Ty McCloskey won’t be towering over steer and heifer prospects in the Washington County Fair’s show ring this summer, his presence will continue to loom large at the fairgrounds.
McCloskey’s parents, Joe and Judy McCloskey of Scenery Hill, are raising money to tear down the aging cattle barn and build a new one in the name of their “gentle giant.”
“He didn’t have a chance to leave a legacy of his own, so this is us doing that for him,” Judy said, as Joe wiped away tears and nodded.
Last October, Ty was killed in an accident while working with a drilling company in Jackson Township, Cambria County. He was 23 and just three classes shy of graduating from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in energy and resource management.
Since his death, Joe and Judy have been overwhelmed by the generosity of friends, family members and Ty’s coworkers as donations have poured in to fund their project. Judy was especially moved by the contribution of a class at Jackson Elementary School, who wanted to help despite never having met anyone in the McCloskey family.
The Washington County Fair Board also jumped at the chance to support the McCloskey family’s “labor of love.” With a leaky roof and poor ventilation, the 40-year-old cattle barn is in need of a makeover, fair board president Todd Richards said.
Thanks to the garage doors planned to line the new facility, ventilation won’t be a problem anymore, Richards said. White, reflective fabric roofing also will allow for plenty of natural lighting during the day and will require the installation of fewer LED lights to keep activities illuminated at night.
Down the road, the fair board has played with the idea of also renovating the sheep barn that sits behind the cattle barn and combining the two buildings with a show ring in the middle. But for now, their sights are set on finishing the project at hand by the time fair week rolls around this year.
“We’re happy to help Ty’s legacy keep going,” Richards said. “Whether you’re an exhibitor or show livestock, we’re all basically one family at the fair.”
Judy and Joe agreed. Ever since Ty and his brother, Zack, started showing animals at the fair in 2013, they’ve parked a trailer in the RV village at the back of the fairgrounds and were neighbors for a week with the other agriculturists and exhibitors.
Long before 2013, the McCloskeys had made a yearly trek to the fair. And Ty had loved every second of it – especially seeing the furry, four-legged attendees.
Ty was an animal lover, though and through. Growing up, he had wanted to be a zoologist. And before his beloved dog was put down, Ty had driven home from college and lowered his 6 foot, 7 inch, 300-pound frame to the floor to lie down beside her and say a teary goodbye.
Ty was a good kid, Judy said. But that didn’t stop him and his brother from getting up to their fair share of hijinks on the family’s 50-acre farm. She remembered the time Ty wedged himself into a trough and Zack pulled him all across the yard on a golf cart.
“They were hootin’ and hollerin’ like two fools,” she said.
The day of Ty’s funeral was the last really warm day of October. Still, despite the 87-degree weather, people waited for hours in a line that stretched out the funeral home’s door for the chance to pay their respects.
There was no denying it: Ty was very loved. His parents recounted a conversation they had with the owner of his company shortly after his death. While the owner hadn’t known Ty personally, he had been speaking with folks who did and had noticed a pattern.
Usually, the owner told Joe and Judy, when someone says something good about somebody else, they follow it up with a ‘but’: some moral failing or bad habit the person had.
“With Ty, not one person had a but,” the owner said.
Over the spring or summer, when the weather warms up, Ty’s parents will travel to Colorado to sprinkle his ashes over the mountains he fell in love with when he made the trip two years ago.
But for long after they return home, the cattle barn on the Washington County Fairgrounds will keep Ty’s memory alive.
“Maybe one day, a kid will ask, why does that barn have Ty’s name on it? And someone will say, ‘Because the parents loved their son. And they lost him too early,” Judy said.
Those who wish to contribute to the barn’s construction can mail donations to the Ty McCloskey Memorial Fund, Community Bank, Care of Diane Hirko, 4139 Washington Road, McMurray. Joe and Judy will also be hosting a golf outing on May 17 to raise money for the cause. To learn more about the outing, contact Judy at mcclojjtz@gmail.com.