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Determination & Perseverance Weybridge Willing Workers 4-H Preps For Field Days

photo by Photo Provided Matthew Ouellette and Michael Jewett create a mock show ring with their cows Julie and Kim.

photo by Photo Provided Katy Waterman preparing her calf, Goldy, for the fair.

photo by Photo Provided Luna and Laci shortly after the birth!

Tuesday July 29, 2014

Weybridge Willing Workers 4-H has members ranging from 8-17, and a few younger kids that show as “pee-wees” (children ages 3-8) at the county fair.  During the summer the club does something quite unique and moves all of the 4-H animals to their host family, Lance and Kimberly Waterman’s, barn in Weybridge.  All the 4-H families take turns doing chores during the week, where they clean, water, feed, and love the animals.  Each member works with their animal(s) throughout the summer; and they walk, wash, and clip them.  During the summer the kids create a bond with their cows and other club members; creating a 4-H farm family. They also learn all about hard work and responsibility.  The kids’ efforts are all in preparation for the Addison County Fair and Field Days in August, where the kids show their projects off.
    Addison County Field Days is more than a showplace and a competition. It represents the culmination of hours and hours of hard work and the joy on the youths’ faces shows as each takes their turn for judges, family and friends. 4- H programs not only develop an understanding and a partnership with animals and kids, but the qualities of perseverance and determination. When the kids train together, meet together and work with their animals they see how to accomplish goals together. Frequently the group is awarded the Herdsmanship Award, for these qualities and for the cleanliness, friendly knowledge and interaction with the public. “Our team is like one big family,” shared a group member. “We share in the excitement for both individuals and group accomplishments. Most recently our group held a Meet the Calf fun day and our fundraiser for our club. We were also celebrating the birth of a new calf, Laci, to club member Alexis’s Ouellette’s beloved cow Luna.”
    So stop on by Field Days this year and ask any member of the Weybridge Willing Workers what is so special about this time of year and you will get an enthusiastic and diverse set of responses. Yet, mixed around love of animals, love of nature and love of the fair, you will hear family, work, diligence and perseverance. These qualities help build not only a strong program, but help raise the next generation who will steward the land, love the animals and  continue the way of life Vermonters in the Champlain Valley have come to cherish and call their own.

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