82-UncMter Farming, Saturday, September 20, 1997
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
HAVRE de GRACE, Md.
Like many young farmers, Ben
Keyes had often dreamed of hav
ing his very own tractor.
“Anything that has wheels, I
like,” says Ben, with a wide grin.
Ben’s parents, David and Kelly
Keyes, operate Mt. Felix dairy
farm, high on a hill above the
town of Havre de Grace, where
the Susquehanna River flows into
the Chesapeake Bay. Working
around the farm and the equip
ment has always been a favorite
way for 12-year-old Ben to spend
his time.
Nearly two years ago, Ben was
diagnosed with cancer in his left
leg. Chemotherapy and surgery
Megan Keyes’ 4-H heifer, Sue, which she recently ex
hibited at the Harford County Fair, was a blrthday-Easter
gift from her brother Ben. He bought the calf with money
earned from his last year's 4-H pr
4
Ben Keyes, left, was one of three Baltimore-area ai , annui
dren’s Miracle Network telethon, which raised over % million for Johfs Hopkins
Children’s Center. With Ben are ambassadors Vinnie lullano, center, Lafeelsha Ojo,
and BaKlmo re-area television newscasters Mary Beth Marsden artd Stan Siavall.
Ben’s Wish For A Tractor Comes True
did not stop the cancer’s spread
and in July 19%. Ben’s leg was
amputated above his knee. He
quickly adapted to crutches and a
prosthetic, more commonly
known as an artificial leg. But his
favorite method of transportation
to the bam, which is rather a long
distance from the house, became
the family’s six-wheeled, John
Deere Gator, a sort of cross be
tween a golf cart and a mini-pick
up truck.
Even more than the Gator,
though, Ben enjoyed the occasion
al chance his dad gave him to
drive one of the farm tractors. It
became Ben’s dream to have his
own tractor.
Ben had some extra time to
think about that dream in the last
Ben Keyes on his Make-A-Wlsh dream come true: a Model 1925 Ford New Holland
Boomer tractor.
year, while recuperating from
several more surgeries at Johns
Hopkins Children’s Center for
cancer nodules in his lungs. So.
when the Make-A-Wish founda
tion asked him early in January of
this year if he had a special wish,
Ben knew exactly what it would
be.
“I’d like to have a tractor,” Ben
told Grace Ann Moore of the
Make-A-Wish organization.
That was a wish that took a
while to accomplish. But in early
June, the Keyes family received a
letter telling them that Make-A-
Wish had found Ben his tractor.
He even visited the New Holland
plant in Lancaster County, for a
hands-on introduction to die kind
of tractor he had in mind. He had
no idea, though, when his wish
would come true.
Meanwhile, Ben was busy help
ing other kids with health prob
lems. He was invited to be one of
three area ambassadors for the
Children’s Miracle Network and
take part in its annual telethon to
raise funds for the Hopkins Chil
dren’s Center. Part of that job was
to attend public events, like sport
ing activities, and tell the audi
ences and spectators about the
Children’s Miracle Network.
Another pan of the ambassador
responsibility was to appear on
television during the telethon.
Ben shows his mother, Kelly, some of thl features of his
safety-emphasized tractor, Including a built-in, 15-mile
per-hour speed limitation.
held the first weekend of June, and
help to accept the contributions
sent in by supporters. When the
21-hour telethon was over, the
group had raised more than $2
million for the Center.
In April Ben attended the East
ern Shore Showcase Sale of Hol
stein cattle. One October-born
heifer calf came through the sale
that he particularly liked, so he bid
on and purchased her, using some
of the money he had earned from
the sale of his 4-H pigs last sum
mer. After the sale, Ben decided
that the heifer would wmkt a good
combined birthday and Easter gift
for his 10-year-old aiMer, Megan,
so he transferred "Sue” to Me
gan’s name for her to show in her
third year of 4-H.
On July 4, Ben got a preview of
driving the tractor he dreamed
about when the 4-H Dairy Club
put a float in the Havre de Grace
Independence Day parade. Ben
got to drive the tractor pulling the
wagon through the streets of town.
He figured the blue tractor pulling
a red wagon was appropriate for a
parade’s salute to the nation’s
birthday. On the tractor were post
ers from the Keyes family, thank
ing the community for its support
for Ben and for fundraising efforts
toward his medical needs. The
float won first place.
Megan showed her Sue, at the
Harford County Fair’s dairy show
in early August, while Ben had
Homestead
NOTES
raised two pigs for projects. He
had named his pigs Ron and Lin
da, after two of the staff members
at Johns Hopkins Children’s Cen
ter. But at the weigh in, Ron was a
few pounds over the pig class limit
and did not qualify to show.
One Of the classes Ben showed
Linda in was for swine showman
ship. When the judge had him
switch pigs with another 4-H me
ber, the other pig accidentally ran
into Ben and knocked him down.
Despite the accident, Ben still won
a fourth place ribbon in a large
class of showman.
The day of the fair’s livestock
sale, Ben was puzzled when he
was called into die ting before the
start of the sale. Then he spied a
bright, shiny blue tractor his
Make-A-Wish dream. Ben was so
surprised and touched that he
broke into tears. So did everyone
else around the auction arena who
watched as Ben climbed up onto
the seat of his wish-come-true. In
addition to many friends, neigh
bors, and relatives of the Keyes
family, several of the Johns. Hop
kins Children’s Center doctors
and nurses came to help surprise
Ben.
During the 4-H sale which fol
lowed, Ben sold his pig, Linda.
She weighed 244 pounds and
brought a final bid of $7.75 per
pound. The buyer was Richard
Crouse, Crouse Construction.
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