SMALL REWARDS FOR BIG THINGS

In going through my memory box today, I found something so small that is worth keeping.  These are (almost all) my "year" pins from 4-H.

Today, it seems that a prize like this would be of little consequence for the modern child.  But these were hard earned and something to be proud of, especially the older you got.  Each year pin represented a year's worth of club meetings, meetings with the teacher of your specialty, record-keeping, giving a demonstration speech, and working on small projects and large.  It also meant you took the final project to the local 4-H fair.

I began 4-H in the state of Indiana (Marshall County) where the clubs played a big role.  I sewed a scarf and an apron in the first year and worked up to a dress with a collar in the fourth.

One of my embroidery projects won the privilege of going to the state fair--I saw it there, because all the kids got free tickets and a school bus ride to the fair in Indianapolis each year.

In the end, I was most devoted to entering a barrow pig every year, which brought in a little money.  I had to keep track of feed expenses, cost analysis, and profit.  I gave them exercise every day by making them walk down the lane and back (which they did not like, let me tell you).  For fair week, they had a nice hair trim (oh, the screaming!), a good bath, and a thorough oil and talcum powder shine for judging day.  I became so attached to them.

These memories are filled with extreme detail, some of which are embarrassing or disappointing, but many with a lot of good thoughts.  Mom made me re-do the white collar on that dress five times before she decided it was good enough.  And even though we had pre-washed the beautiful maroon fabric of the dress body, the first time we washed the dress after wearing, the maroon bled onto that white collar and I never wore the dress again.

One of my favorite memories was the last year I took a pig (named Burt).  The judging took place in heats (with pigs of comparable weights), and then the first place animal of each heat competed for the Grand Champion.  But the judge spent a very long time making his decision in our heat--he couldn't decide between Burt and another.  In the end, he chose the other pig, and later we learned why the judge felt the decision was so important:  this pig became the Grand Champion.  Because our heat consisted of heavier pigs, he felt the Reserve Champion should be lighter, so Burt remained with a second place ribbon in his heat.

BUT WE KNOW--and it was enough.