10-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 7, 2003
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Chester County 4-H Dairy Camp
Weaves Together Fun, Education, Awards
NOTTINGHAM (Chester Co.)
In spite of the rainy weather,
Memorial Day Weekend turned
out to be a fun time for the
Chester County Dairy 4-H Clubs.
More than 25 dairy 4-H partici
pants between the ages of eight
and 18 gathered at Brian and
Patty Huffs farm in Nottingham
for a two-day 4-H camp.
The camp had been established
three years ago when the Huffs
saw a need to strengthen and
nurture 4-H kids throughout
Chester County.
“The event is intended to
spark interest in the dairy indus
try, boost enthusiasm about
showing calves, and provide time
with friends,” said Patty. “We
just give them the setting and op
portunity.”
Given the prior year’s success,
this year’s occasion proved to be
nothing less.
Four Chester County Dairy
Clubs participated in the two-day
event: Manor, Tri-County, Chest
er Valley and Southern Chester
County.
The 4-H kids were divided into
three groups: seniors, juniors, and
first- and second-year partici
pants. Work sessions were pre
pared to accommodate the three
levels. Saturday’s sessions were
one hour in length and covered
topics such as showmanship,
judging, giving reasons, clipping,
calf selection, show classes and
preparing a calf for a show.
After a rain-filled afternoon,
the kids needed some fun and
exercise and even though the
game was played in the rain, the
4H-ers enjoyed a competitive
game of football at the nearby
park. Tri-County Dairy Club
provided a delicious barbecue
and it was back to Huffs for more
sessions.
Saturday evening’s mini ses
sions covered parliamentary pro
cedure, troubleshooting show sce
narios, how to properly register a
show animal, knot tying, bedding
packs, and the anatomy of a cow.
The 4-H kids topped off the eve-,
ning perfectly with an ice cream
social.
After breakfast on Sunday, the
Award winners, from left, are Paul Harrop, junior divi
sion; Julia Mills, first and second-year division; and Han
nah Wentworth, senior division.
kids divided into three relay
teams and participated in a very
competitive relay race. To com
plete the race, the 4-Hers had to
achieve the following: knot a
show halter, straddle straw bales,
pitch manure and wheelbarrow a
load through cones, fill feed
buckets, wrap up an electric cord,
and squirt a picture of their team
captain with a water gun.
“I had fun,” said Randy Mill
er, Tri-County 4-H participant.
“It was great running the relay
races and learning about cows.”
Patty Huff, left, and Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Rachel Kilgore, right, stand with
4-H’ers participating in the Chester County Camp.
With the race over, the week
end took a more serious turn and
the kids were ready for their test
ing. The 4-Hers were not only
quizzed with a written test but
were also tested one-on-one in
the barn.
Divided into age groups, the
kids were quizzed on cow anat
omy and asked to analyze and
compare animals (giving reasons
as to why cow A should stand
over cow B). Seniors took their
test one step further and were
asked to clip the top line of a
heifer, just like they would for a
show.
While the test scores were tal
lied, the 4-H kids and their fami
lies enjoyed a pot luck lunch. A
, Korner,
special addition to this year’s
program was a visit from the
State Dairy Princess, Rachael
Kilgore. She assisted in the bam
testing and gave a small presen
tation over the lunch hour on the
importance and value of a strong
4-H community.
The long-anticipated awards
ceremony is the last event on the
program. Everyone goes home a
winner and feels important. The
higher test scores get larger
prizes with the grand prize for
the overall senior being a show
box, show halter, and blow dryer.
The junior winner goes home
with an equipment box and show
halter, the first- and second-year
winners take home a clipper
sized box and show halter.
This year’s distinguished win
ners are as follows: Best Overall
Senior: Hannah Wentworth,
Quarryville; Most Improved Top
line: Pat Jenkins, Toughkenna
man; Best Topline: Abby He
drick, Pottstown; First Place
Junior: Paul Harrop, Lionville;
First and Second Year Member:
Julia Mills, Pocopson.
“4-H is about developing life
skills, building friendships and
hands on learning,” said Jane
Pebble, state the Penn
sylvania Holstein Association.
Jane and her husband Bob are
big supporters of the weekend in
leading workshops and planning
activities.
She said, “This is the best
thing that happened to Chester
County Dairy Clubs in a long
time. These young people are de
veloping friendships, participat
ing in competitive games, under
standing teamwork and learning
by doing.”
Club leaders start planning
next year’s event months in ad
vance and brainstorm about new
sessions and activities throughout
the year. There are also many
farm companies and businesses
that keep this event going by do
nating prizes and monies. This
year, just to prove how much
they loved the weekend, the Tri-
County Club donated their entire
fundraiser profits toward the oc
casion.
The vision that Patty and
Brian Huff have for the Chester
County Dairy Clubs is weaved
with education, fun, and awards.
Patty summed up the weekend
Josh Spangler, left, racing Bradley Guest to the finish
~ne’ Le Ann Rimes
Sings To Milk
by saying, “Dairy is important to
Chester County. We hope that
through this weekend, our 4-H
kids understand and continue
that importance with a lot of en
thusiasm.”
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
Double Grammy award-win
ning artist LeAnn Rimes is the
latest musician to sing a melody
to Mom in praise of milk. The
“Celebrity Ode to Mom” radio
spot, which is part of the National
Milk Mustache/“got milk?” cam
paign, features famous recording
artists trading in their usual lyrics
for a tribute to America’s favorite
wholesome beverage: milk.
Rimes’s song goes like this:
Mom, it’s your Baby
it’s you I adore
for your loving ways
and the milk you poured
You’d pour me milk
at the start of each day
I’d gulp it all down
and head on my way
Milk’s nine vitamins,
minerals, too
helped give me strong teeth and
bones
now I’m singing to you
Mom, thanks for milk
three times a day
Made me so strong
in a million of ways