Chickens, Rabbits and Goats, Oh My!

As a local resident for over 20 years, I real­ized this weekend that I'd been missing out by not attending one of Waits­burg's most longstanding traditions: the annual live­stock show. As a "townie" who isn't involved in FFA or 4-H, I hadn't bothered to check out the show that takes place at the fairgrounds each June. That was my loss.

Originally known as the Waitsburg Junior Livestock Show, the event formally changed its name to the Waitsburg Livestock Show and Fair several years ago in order to be more inclusive. Once open only to FFA and 4-H members, the show now offers open classes and welcomes younger children who compete in Pee-Wee classes, adults, and even ap­plied art entries.

The first thing I noticed, upon arrival, was the pleas­ant and relaxed atmosphere. The event showcased small- town life at its finest. There were plenty of warm smiles, friendly greetings and, most importantly, hay bales and benches available for ob­servers to settle in and ab­sorb the sights and sounds.

A group of pre-teens chatted quietly in a circle of camp chairs and looked al­most typical, aside from the fact that one girl was holding an intriguing-looking Turk­ish Naked Neck chicken and a boy had a colorful rooster perched on his shoulder. Both kindly offered to let me pet their pets.

I meandered my way through the animal barn, casually admiring the ducks, bunnies, goats and swine (which I erroneously re­ferred to as 'pigs'). I enjoyed watching WHS graduate Seth Deal offer advice and a helpful hand to two young goat wranglers. Kate Kuyk­endall provided amusement by repeatedly giving Amy Farley's goat a shove from behind in an attempt to get it out of the barn. I didn't bother suppressing a grin as a nearby adult instructed her to "give the tail a yank." She gave it a try, but he came over to demonstrate how it was done. It appeared to be an effective strategy as the goat motored right along.

I ran into Christy House and Tracy Barron and asked what they felt their kids gained by participating in the Livestock Show. "They learn responsibility by tak­ing care of animals, they learn how to budget by keeping a record book and tracking food, medicine and equipment depreciation, they learn about meat qual­ity, they gain self-assurance and they learn public speak­ing skills," said Christy.

Not to be outdone, Tracy chimed in as well. "They also learn poise, appearance, and how to handle them­selves with adults. There is great camaraderie among the group. They help one another and share with each other and develop lifelong friendships. It's also one of the few groups where older kids help teach the younger kids."

Leaving the animals be­hind, I headed for the ap­plied arts building, only to be sidetracked by the tractor- driving competition. In this truly impressive event, com­petitors maneuver a tractor and trailer through a series of cones before backing into a cone "stall". I was really glad it was them out there and not me!

As I entered the applied arts building, I was assured by young Kyle Krutsch, of Prescott, that the caged kitty cat in the lovely pink sweat­er, shown by his younger sister, was actually a boy. I'm OK with that.

I continued on to enjoy the art, craft, cooking and photography displays that filled the building, but the homeschooling mom in me was especially drawn to the display board presentations. One depicted, in pictures and text, the proper way to butcher a swine, com­plete with a detailed photo displaying the various in­nards (you don't see that ev­erywhere!). Another demonstrated how to determine meat quality. Both were impressive, but not quite as extraordinary as what I consider the show stopper of the applied arts room - a taller-than-me Mars Rover built by Tom House. Now that was unex­pected.

Before heading out, I spoke briefly with San­dra Farley, president of the Waitsburg Livestock Show and Fair, to ask about their funding. While the group does receive minimal as­sistance from the state, the majority of the premium money is donated by in­dividuals, service groups and businesses. The awards for this specific event were gift certificates donated by Northwest Farm Supply.

"The premiums are deter­mined by how many spon­sorships we get," said Farley. "We have to adjust them to make it work. And the club is growing so we need more equipment, like new pens, as well. Right now we're just trying to make do."

Farley shared that one of the club's current fundrais­ing efforts is a hog raffle, to be awarded on July fourth. Tickets are a dollar and buy you a shot at winning half a hog, cut and wrapped. They can be purchased at Waitsburg Hardware and McGregor in Waitsburg, or Northwest Farm Supply in Walla Walla.

If, like me, you haven't previously attended the Livestock show, I highly suggest you mark your cal­endar for next year. It's a great way to spend a morn­ing or afternoon. And I didn't even mention the goodies available at the cook shack.