July 29, 2004

4-H Club 143 ‘Husky Hustler’ member Laurel Amstutz works with her calf, Kate. The club has been in existence for over 50 years.

Husky Hustlers going to the fair

By Bill Felker

In the rolling hills down Hyde Road, surrounded by 160 acres of pasture, corn and soybeans, Drew, Levi and Laurel Amstutz are getting ready for the Greene County Fair.

“I’ll be showing two peacocks,” said Drew. “One is a male. The hen we’ve still got to catch.”

By day, the peacocks wander loose, and “at night, you can’t get ’em. They’re up in the trees — up in that tree,” explained Drew’s golden-haired sister, Laurel.

Half a century ago, Yellow Springs and the Amstutz farm were located far from urban sprawl. Even as Dayton now moves east, however, the village and neighboring townships keep healthy ties to their rural heritage, thanks in part to 4-H Club 143, the Husky Hustlers.

“Our club has been in existence for over 50 years,” said Jan Amstutz, the current club advisor. “I was in the Husky Hustlers, and some of the parents say they were, too.”

Heirs of this local tradition, eighteen Yellow Springs students will be showing off their projects at the fair during the first week of August.

Livestock is by far the most popular choice. Market beef is the category selected by Drew, Laurel and Levi Amstutz, Austin Bailey and Austin Pence. Dairy cows, dairy calves or feeder calves are featured by Kristen and Heather Semler as well as by Danielle Fulton and the Amstutz family. Nicole, Danielle, Jake, Zach and Keturah Fulton will show hogs, while Heather Semler and Laurel Amstutz are bringing horses. Delois Rouch and Megan Hammond have rabbits to put on display. Mary Lewis and Drew Amstutz will compete in poultry, and Jaimie Paul will enter the bird and reptile divisions.

Of course, 4-H is not only about animals. Mary Lewis, Laurel Amstutz and Liza Partee have been preparing sewing projects, and Jeremy Paul will be a contender in the archery and radio-controlled vehicle areas. Kristen Semler is even submitting her creative writing.

Many of the students have been getting ready for months.

“Some of the livestock projects began as long ago as last December,” said Roberta Semler, one of the Husky Hustler advisors.

But, she added, the work doesn’t take away from their school activities, “As far as training and halter breaking, the kids don’t work 24/7 until school’s out.”

Levi Amstutz qualified that time estimate, stating he works on his dairy cows only about an hour a day.

“That’s an hour twice a day,” noted his mother, Jan. “Plus you walk them,” and Levi agreed with a nod.

Fourth grader Mary Lewis travels to Xenia to manage her 4-H project, the raising of white and black Polish hens.

“I put them in a pen at my grandma’s house, and my grandpa helps me feed them,” she said. “I like the Polish chickens ’cause they have like big puffy pom-poms on their heads.”

Tradition was a part of Mary’s decision to work with poultry.

“My grandma raises chickens, and my dad and my aunt take them to fairs, so I just wanted to start off and take them to fairs, too,” she said.

Thanks to the support of Mary’s neighbor, Hilda Rahn, Mary is also entering her sewing in the fair.

“I’m doing a skirt,” she said. “It’s a purple print with Chinese dragons all over it. I’ve been sewing since I was five, and the lady across the street — she’s a really good friend — gave me her sewing machine, so I’ve been making a lot of other stuff — like pillows and blankets.”

Practical skills can pay off in many ways for 4-H members. Jake Fulton — this year’s Husky Hustlers president and a prospective senior at Yellow Springs High School — has been in 4-H since he was in third grade. His longevity in the club, his persistence and good planning have provided him a dividend not available to all teens.

“I’ve taken photography, gun safety and model airplane projects,” Jake said, but his favorite and most lucrative project has been raising hogs. “And, well, to be honest, it’s nice when you can sell them.”

The real importance of after-fair sales struck Jake eight years ago after he showed some of his first 4-H hogs, sold them and counted his proceeds. He had seven more years, he realized until he’d turn 16.

He began to put away the money he earned from the hog sales.

“I was saving and saving,” he said, “and I finally got it, I bought a car last summer. I bought it with my hog money.”

* * *

The Greene County Fair runs Aug. 1– Aug. 7 at the fairgrounds in Xenia.