/

The annual Franklin County 4-H Fair celebrates farming craft

4 mins read
Abbygail Wheelis with her calves, Buddy and Babe.
Abbygail Wheelis with her calves, Buddy and Babe at the Franklin County 4-H fair on Saturday in Farmington.
Sophia Davis, three years old, displays her expertly decorated cupcake.
Sophia Davis, 3, displays her expertly decorated cupcake at the 4-H Fair on Saturday.

FARMINGTON – The annual Franklin County 4-H Fair brought the Farmington Fairgrounds alive Saturday morning with spectators, participants and potential future 4-H members.

Abbygail Wheelis joined the 4-H club last spring with the hope of someday competing at the Eastern States Exposition. She is almost 10 years old and has more command over her two small calves than most kids have with a pencil.

“This is Babe and this is Buddy. They need names to be in a yoke so that you can command them around,” Wheelis patiently explained. “We’re going to go in the ring and haul stuff back and forth.”

Abbygail Wheelis’ father, Scott Wheelis, stands close by in the ring. He gives her quiet nods of encouragement and occasional gestures to help her out.

“I’ve done a lot of steering in the past and it has never made me nervous. But when I watch her go out there I get butterflies,” he said.

The Killer family, Virginia, Keyshia and Skylar cart Icelandic wool.
The Killer family, Virginia, Keyshia and Skylar, card Icelandic wool at the annual Franklin County 4-H Fair.

The Wheelis’ are not the only family passing on a trade. The Killer family is slowly teaching their kids, Keyshia, 8, and Skylar, 11, how to care for Icelandic sheep.

“This is called carding. It straightens and combs out the wool. Mama showed me how to do it,” said Keyshia Killer as she expertly carded the Icelandic wool as her mother stands over her. Skylar Wheelis helps push the wool through the antique tool and watched his sister closely. The family’s hand spun yarn business, Northern Shepherds, provides the inspiration.

The fair was a day full of expositions, demonstrations and competitions. An entire cow skeleton lay in one area with kids excitedly trying to match the bones together. Another large group of kids gathered around a table learning how to decorate cupcakes. Healthy Community Coalition held a class on healthy eating by making salsa.

“We have lots of new workshops this year. It’s exciting to see so many people,” Judy Smith beamed as she talked about her job with the 4-H Club. Smith is the community education coordinator and has worked with the 4-H club for 20 years.

“We put on this fair every year so that all of the different clubs can get to know each other and so that the public can learn more about what we do. We have a great group of volunteers and beautiful weather,” she said.

The love of tradition is evident in the multiple generations of families in attendance.

Abbygail Wheelis' father, Scott Wheelis demonstrates how to yoke the steer at the 4-H Fair in Farmington on Saturday.
Abbygail Wheelis watches as her father, Scott Wheelis demonstrates how to yoke the steer at the 4-H Fair in Farmington on Saturday.
13 year old Bradley Smith shows a pieced together cow spine
13-year-old Bradley Smith of New Sharon, shows a pieced together cow spine at the 4-H Fair.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

5 Comments

  1. It is great to see that 4H is still going strong and children are learning great things because of 4H. keep up the good work

  2. Growing up in Farmington provided me an opportunity to enjoy 4-H as well. Earning some blue ribbons meant something to me, and 4-H participation taught me to take pride in my responsibilities and my community.
    It’s nice to see some of today’s youth invested in something worthwhile instead of just bending their heads over electronic gadgets and constant media intrusions. Good on the parents for getting their children involved!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.