The Northwest Georgia Regional Fair had more than a “fair” showing in the poultry divi-sion.

Bob Bridges, show chairman for the Northwest Georgia Poultry Club and master breeder, organized the event including an unexpected showing of 26 rescued Wyandotte chickens. The birds were added to the division when the truck they were traveling in broke down in Calhoun.

Jesse Paul, poultry breeder and enthusiast was returning to Florida after attending a Na-tional Poultry Show in Illinois when his truck broke down in Calhoun. “The show birds were nestled in shipping boxes for the trip but it was going to take a couple of days for the truck to be repaired,” Paul said in a telephone interview from his home in Dade City, Fla.

“Without proper care, food, water and fresh air, my Wyandottes wouldn’t survive the two days needed to get back on the road. I was stressed. I had my 11 year old son with me and we couldn’t find anyone to help us care for the Wyandottes,” he said.

Bob and Lucie Bridges answered Paul’s distress call less than 24 hours after the emer-gency began. They carried the chickens to the Fairgrounds for safekeeping and put them on display Monday night.

“When my son and I got things squared away we went to the fair and the first thing I saw was Lucie feeding my chickens. It was awesome. It is just so cool the way they took care of them. If it weren’t for Bob I don’t know how I would have kept those birds alive,” he said.

“Paul’s chickens were quite a hit with people viewing the exhibits,” said Bridges. “They were large fowl but still quite young so we were able to kept them in Bantam cages,” said Bridges. “They are a very beautiful bird, known as Silver-laced Wyandottes.”

Bridges said Paul contacted him after several failed attempts to have the Wyandottes housed at local veterinarian facilities.

“We were happy to accommodate him. He was in a bind I can identify with. I have trav-eled a lot and a situation like his can be disastrous if you don’t have help,” Bridges said.

“Even though he’s a large fowl enthusiast and I am a Bantam enthusiast, I enjoyed meet-ing him and taking care of his birds. We love our chickens and everybody else’s,” he said.

Paul was able to continue home with his show birds on Tuesday.

“Bob really puts his heart and soul into the poultry profession. I am so thankful for his help,” said Paul.

For the remainder of the week, Bridges along with his wife Lucie, assisted fair exhibitors with more than 25 varieties representing 12 breeds of large fowl and Bantam.