Idaho County Fair traditions have come full circle for a Greencreek couple.
Lindy and Patty Hinkelman are the 2024 Idaho County Fair grand marshals.
“It’s quite an honor to be chosen — I’m not sure we can outdo the Vopat family from last year,” Lindy joked about his friends, 2023 grand marshals Jim and Kathleen Vopat.
The Hinkelman family has a rich fair history in their own right, and it started many years ago close to where Lindy and Patty sat recently to tell their story.
“I was raised just a few hundred yards from here,” Lindy smiled, pointing from his living room to the house next door. “That was my parents’ home and that’s where we all lived and worked.”
A small grey cat — aptly named Grey — sat atop the chair near Lindy’s shoulders as he spoke, looking adoringly at her human.
“That cat loves him,” Patty said.
Lindy Hinkelman was one of seven children born to Clark and Eleanor Hinkleman on the family farm on Crea Road. Fun fact: Lindy has a twin sister, Cindy.
Their father raised pigs and crops, and Lindy said he knew as a child he wanted to raise pigs. During his school years, he played basketball, participated in 4-H, and played baseball for one year.
Following graduation at St. Gertrude’s Academy in Cottonwood (“Our class of 1970 was the last class to graduate from there before they closed,” Lindy said), he went on to the University of Idaho where he studied animal science for four years.
“I attended, but I didn’t graduate,” he said. “But I needed that taste of independence, of being out and away, on my own for a while.”
Patty was born in Seattle and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Following graduation, she went on to attend Gonzaga University where she was roommates with Lindy’s sister.
“At first she didn’t like me much, and we didn’t think we were going to remain roommates, but then three years went by,” Patty smiled.
Not only did they like each other, but Patty also found that she liked her roommate's brother.
“My parents were a little surprised I married her,” Lindy laughed.
Patty rolled her eyes lovingly.
“My mother loved this man,” she pointed to her husband. “She always took his side.”
The Hinkelmans settled in Greencreek where they built their own home on the farm. There, they raised four children: sons Zach, Jake and Gabe, and daughter, Tracy.
“This is our little piece of heaven,” Patty said. “It was a wonderful place to raise our family.”
Lindy set about doing what he grew up doing and knew best — raising pigs.
“I had about 200 sows and was raising them for market,” he said. Each sow would have an average-size litter of 10-12 pigs. Later, he went down to a herd of 100.
Throughout the years, Lindy began selling pigs locally to kids in 4-H.
“I really liked seeing those families and kids coming to pick out their pigs each year,” he said. “I would follow them through 4-H and school and sports and it’s been fun to see them grow up.”
As he became a well-known breeder, he was selling 4-H pigs to people from throughout Idaho, as well as Montana, Washington, California and Oregon.
In the meantime, as her children reached school age, Patty went back to college to finish her degree and graduated from the University of Idaho. She went on to teach a variety of courses at Prairie High School in Cottonwood for the next 26 years, including English, French and world history. She guided students on tours of Europe every other year for about eight years. After she earned her master’s degree, she began teaching dual credit courses: psychology, economics, English, and speech.
Lindy spent about four years as a Greencreek Active Workers 4-H Club leader, partnered with friend Judy Arnzen, when his children were young.
“It was a great experience — Judy did all the work, and I got half the credit,” he joked.
A few years ago, Patty retired, and then Lindy retired the following year. Since, he has rented the farrowing barns to Danielle Scott of Nezperce, who has about 20 pigs. He still helps her if he is needed, but said he enjoys not having to be on call 24-7.
Since retirement, the couple has gone on two cruises and will check an item off the bucket list this year: a trip to Hawaii with their daughter and family.
The Hinkelmans have four grandchildren, and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this summer.
“It’s been a good life of doing what I have wanted to do and being my own boss,” Lindy said.
Patty said she sometimes misses the trees and mountains of Alaska, but she has grown to love the prairie and gets her water fix swimming and kayaking in the farm pond.
She loves jigsaw puzzles, and he is a member of the Cottonwood Lions Club.
A lover of numbers, Lindy is a Fantasy Baseball enthusiast and he and son, Gabe, travel to Vegas and draft their teams, then sit back and watch the games. In 2011, Lindy was so successful in his Fantasy Baseball endeavors he won several thousand in prize money.
“I cannot watch games with him — he’s clicking through them, watching many at a time,” Patty shook her head, smiling.
The Hinkelmans share their grand marshal honor with his parents, who served as the fair marshals in 2004.
“I’ve basically been involved with the fair all my life,” Lindy said. “It’s a well-run event and though I’m not sure what our duties will be, I’m sure it will be fun.”
“Maybe I will get out of my four-hour stint cooking burgers in the Lions booth this year,” he laughed, shrugging. “Maybe not.”