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Booth gives glimpse of farm life
Published 7/31/2009 in Local News
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
Brother and sister Ethan, 4, and Tristyn Euliss, 2, both like the movie "Old Yeller" and its sequel, "Savage Sam."
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Stephanie Farley/Telegram — Tristyn Euliss, 2, milks a wooden cow named Nellie Bell as her family looks on at the Farm Fun booth Thursday at the Finney County Fair. The booth is open 2 to 4 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
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Brad Nading/Telegram — Emma Mangels, left, and Elizabeth Mangels turn their pigs back toward the judge Thursday while competing in the finals of the junior swine showmanship during the Finney County Fair Swine Show.
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Brad Nading/Telegram — Micaila Lock moves her pig around the ring Thursday during one of the classes in the Finney County Fair Swine Show. Lock won grand champion in the junior showmanship.
Since seeing the movies, Tristyn has been interested in milking a cow, which occurs in the films, Tristyn's mom, Alison Euliss, said.
So when Euliss found out there was going to be a cow the kids could milk at the Finney County Fair, she thought it was the natural thing to go.
During Thursday's Farmer for a Day or Farm Fun booth, sponsored and organized by the fair board and Finney County 4-H, Ethan milked the cow twice and Tristyn got to go for a third time milking the wooden cow that has a hidden panel in its back containing water that runs through the cow's udders when participants squeeze them just right.
Alison Euliss switched between her camera and video camera, periodically telling both Ethan and Tristyn to look at her for a photo while the two milked.
After going through the activity booth, both walked away with cups of wheat seed that eventually will grow into wheat heads.
And the experience of milking a cow went well overall, according to Tristyn.
"It didn't bite me," she said of the cow.
"They love to milk the cow," Connie Gross, a community leader for the Finney Flyers 4-H Club, said of the wooden cow both kids and adults can milk today and Saturday during the fair. "She's the favorite. She's traveled all over the state."
"Nellie Bell," the name Gross has given the cow, comes on loan from a man in Lyons. Aside from the ability to be milked, Nellie Bell also comes equipped with extra layers. Her front can be opened up to show kids a painted version of the cow's internal organs and bone structure, and a second compartment is opened to reveal a baby calf inside Nellie Bell.
Gross uses the same bucket for the activity that she used when she milked cows. And kids can opt to sit on the homemade milking stool Gross' father built for her. The stool involves two pieces of wood nailed together to form a half cross, and individuals must position themselves just right to balance on the stool while milking.
Other activities Thursday included children gathering eggs from a chicken nest, searching for potatoes in sand, and learning how to grow a wheat seed in a cup.
There are some distinct differences between the booth and the farm. The eggs are wooden, and the chickens aren't real and don't peck as the kids try to remove the eggs — a seamstress made the chickens from cloth for the booth.
Nellie Bell is made of wood, too, and dispenses water, not milk, into a bucket. And growing wheat in a nylon stocking and clear plastic cup is a little different than in a field full of wheat.
But Gross hopes the kids who come through the 4-H booth take away the basic gist: that with some hard work, they can grow up to do anything they want and be whatever they want. And 4-H has a lot to do with that success, Gross said.
According to Gross, the Farm Fun booth started after the group put together the activities based on an activity packet they'd received from a company. The packet laid out different agricultural activities and how to teach them to kids.
As demographics change and fewer kids live on a farm or are exposed to agriculture, Gross has tried to expand the activities.
A lot of people think 4-H only includes showing cows, horses and pigs. Gross has a display up at the booth also showing rabbits and chickens — smaller animals that might be more manageable for kids starting out in 4-H.
She also has photos taken by 4-H'ers on display. Photography is a 4-H project, Gross said, and the photos also show some of the activities 4-H'ers are able to do.
Part of the idea behind the booth is to promote 4-H, she said.
"It's fun," Gross said of 4-H. "You get to try new things."
Gross was a 4-H'er; her children were in 4-H; her grandchildren are in 4-H.
Gross grew up on a farm in Hodgeman County and participated in clothing, livestock, speaking and other activities for 4-H. There also were the lessons she took away from 4-H, including that it's OK for the older kids to help the younger ones and vice versa; if you can give help, give it; and if you need help, ask for it.
On the Web:
Finney County Fair: http://www.finneycountyfair.org/
Download a copy of the Finney County Fair book.
Talk about your experiences at the fair at SWKTalk.com.
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