Editors Note:
As many of you know My Journey has been on a short break while I have worked to recapture some energy and finish out a school year. Tonight, in honor of the Mother Lode Fair, I am taking a quick trip back to my childhood and recapturing some of the fine moments that I enjoyed in my life. I hope you can sit back and enjoy a bit of 4-H/FFA history as I take a stroll back in time when life seemed a little simpler.
When I walked in that meeting room in 1974 I never dreamed that the new group my parents had signed me up for would become a family for the next 43 years. There were familiar faces from school like Peggy Hecht and there were also many new faces and names to get to know. Little did I realize that those faces and names would be forever etched in my memory and would travel a life time with me as I made My Journey.
It is a hot July day in the mid 1970's I am standing in the show ring and this year I will not be taking my pig to the auction a sad event that will repeat itself for several more years to come. But there are still so many things to do. I watch sheep showmanship, adult showmanship the beef show and of course there is barn duty. While I am sad that my pig will not go to auction a buyer is found so not all is lost. The best part is I have made so many friends and I have seen showman in other species that I have heard are legends in their own time. Names like Sonka, Fitch, Woods and Fraguero.
What amazes me to this day is the number of friends that I make....LIFELONG FRIENDS! These friends to this day carry me during difficult times, love me when I am unlovable and support my crazy activities that I do in the community.
Through the years the faces change at the fair as members age out and new members come along but the story is the same. A story of kids working together to help each other learn a project, raise an animal and possibly win a ribbon. There are nights sitting on the lawn giggling with Mary Macon, playing cards with the Gritz's and of course there is always time for a visit with RA our loving FFA Adviser from Sonora High. Even though I am a 4-H member I am part of his family.
Our leaders teach us the importance of animal care and always being responsible for the care and feeding of the stock we are raising. They must be fed, watered, kept warm in the winter , cool in the summer and of course you cant help but to sneak them little treats here and there.
Life is like that isn't it? I mean God does the same for us. The bible says:
Proverbs 27:23
Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds;
God takes care of us and we are to tend to many flocks. Flocks of animals, flocks of people and of course our families and communities. That is what 4-H teaches us too. That we must use our Head, Heart, Hands and Health to take care of us, our community, our country and our world.
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| Kendra White Thompson |
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| Christy Woods Schauffel |
Christy
Here is my picture form 1976. The fair was a magical wonderful time of year. The smell of maure still brings a smile to my face. I used to beg my parents to let me spend the night but they never agreed. Thank you for reminding me of the happy care free days.
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| Brenda Farguero. |
While my sisters and I enjoyed the fair is was a lot of work and a lot of work for our parents too. They had to keep us clean fed and ready for the show. There were a lot of long hot days and so many worked so hard. The auctioneers Dave and Tom Fraser saw that our animals sold for top dollar. No one ever got the bidder higher then those tow brothers. Gerald Engler was always there to cheer us kids on.
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| Kathy Thompson Stegall 1985-1986 |
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| Gary Stegall 1985-1986 |
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| Melanie Brisco Hamilton |
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| George Hamilton |
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| Jackie Kirk Martinez and Melanie Hamilton in costume showmanship. |
I can still hear the auctioneers and smell the straw. I have so many great memories of great times.
Judy Wilson
I remember washing my lamb with woolite. We would bring the camper trailer down and stay the week at the fairgrounds.
All too soon my days as a member ended and my days as a Daddy started. My wife Krishna would join me as we worked with names like Smales, Moore, Hines, Leslie, Wittman and Kirkwood. There would be years of laughter and tears with my own little 4H members and my kids. As a leader I have washed away many tears and cut hands. At the end of each fair at 5:00 there are first year members crying as they say good bye to the animal for one last time. I give them the same old speech. The speech about how they are doing something many can't do and that is providing food for families. Then at 6:00 there are the good bye to my senior tears. As my members graduate I walk them out of the barn one last time. I thank them for their hard work and tell them how proud I am that I live in a community that they have worked so hard to bless.
These kids give food to the hungry, chop wood for the cold and clean the homes of the elderly. They have raised money to fight childhood disease, raised money for the homeless and they have cried as cancer has taken the life of their leaders. They use their Head to learn about life, their Hands to serve their community, their Health to learn how to help the ill and they give their Hearts fully.
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| Faith Hamilton |
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| Emily Hamilton, Faith Hamilton and Sara Merick |
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| Faith Hamilton |
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| Danny Hamilton |
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| Emily Hamilton |
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| Cindy Ingraham - Wozney |
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| Driving to the judge |
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| I would miss it all if I did not mention this great friend. We met through 4-H and some 40 years later she is one of my most special friend in the world and I love her friendship. |
Then one day when my body has slowed and my mind is weak and forgetful all those memories will be safe in my heart and will travel with me wherever God takes me on My Journey.
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