Celebrating the Legacy of Ronnie Yurkaz, Pioneer Village's Skilled Coppersmith

When you walk through Pioneer Village at the Indiana State Fair, you take a step back in time. From antique tractors to woodworking and quilting by hand, you'll see a little bit of everything in this part of the fairgrounds.

This year, one cabin is notably empty: it's where Ronnie Yurkaz, the Pioneer Village coppersmith, spent the last 25 years of his life. His daughter, Cassie Garrett, said, "This is where my dad was for the last 25 years. He was the Pioneer Village coppersmith."

Garrett remembered that her father was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer on April 13, 2025, and passed away two months later. She implored, "Anybody else, that's exactly what I would say, you know, get those screens done, get those scans done, and make sure that you're good."

The State Fair started on August 1, and the Pioneer Village team knew they couldn't try to fill the coppersmith cabin with anything but a memorial to Ronnie. Garrett shared, "He was already getting ready for the State Fair, because he starts that way in advance. He had a lot of stuff that he had ordered and was ready to go in his office. It just kind of looked like he left one day, and just didn't get to come back and finish it."

Yurkaz was a self-taught coppersmith who had been working on this trade for the last 30 years of his life. At the State Fair, visitors, especially kids, could get their hand traced in his cabin and have it made into a cookie cutter.

Garrett described what the cabin was like when her father was volunteering there: "It's pretty magical. They come in, and he worked right here at this station. The kids would just all gather around the table, and he was so good with kids, so he'd have them laughing and smiling."

Pioneer Village is a big part of the family's life; Ronnie's wife Candy also volunteers as the cook who makes all the meals for members of Pioneer Village through the fair.

This year, the coppersmith cabin is filled with photos of Ronnie's work and time at the fair. There is a sign outside the cabin honoring him, and Garrett added a notebook inside the cabin where people can share their memories.

Garrett and her family have read all of the notes from fair-goers: "One in particular that I think is awesome is a family told me about how they've been coming here since their daughter was 6 months old, and she had got her hand traced in the first cookie cutter. Well, last year she had her last one done, and she was 19."

Yurkaz's work as the coppersmith touched countless families through years of visiting the State Fair.

The Indiana State Fair runs until Sunday, August 17. While you're here, Yurkaz's family and the members of Pioneer Village hope you'll take just a minute to pass through the coppersmith cabin and remember Ronnie.