In the barn: 4-H members show projects at annual St. Joseph County 4-H Fair

SOUTH BEND — When the last bell rings to signal the end of the school year and the start of summer break, rising Laville High School senior Emma Mears immediately turns her focus to preparing her swine and dairy beef cows for the annual St. Joseph County 4-H Fair.

"You have to walk all the animals nightly, feed them, wash them, and then do stuff inside the barns and then do the projects," Emma, a 9-year 4-H member, said.

Each year during the first week of July, Emma and almost 700 other kids in the county prepare to put their best foot forward and show the 4-H projects they have been working on half the summer — and some for an entire year.

Kylie Gorka enters goat showings year-round, traveling as far as Oklahoma and Texas to enter competitions. The local county fair sneaks up on the calendar for Gorka.

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"By the time we're done with our big show at Nationals, we have the fair two weeks later," she said.

But, in her 10th and final year of 4-H, Gorka has never missed a week at the fair.

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The St. Joseph County 4-H Fair is celebrating its 97th year this summer. Although some fairgoers come for the glitzy rides and lights, just as many come for the 4-H tradition.

"You have people that know the 4-H part of it. You have people that know the commercial part of it," fair board member Stephanie Nelson said. "But the community is the same and the community knows there's this history."

Nelson added that the two sides have always had a "good friendship."

"We are separate, but we are a union as well," she said.

4-H activities range from animals to baked foods to crafts, but one thing is the same across the board: hard work.

"Your parents do help you, but in the end, you want it to be your project and you want to be showing off your work. So I think it makes you proud of your own work," 10-year member Rebekah Beehler said.

With many members entering in multiple categories, they can spend all day in and out of the various barns, ensuring their animals are taken care of and ready to show. It's not uncommon to see entire families sitting in lawn chairs and kids taking naps on makeshift hay barrel beds in the barns.

Gorka shows not only goats but also swine and dairy beef cows, meaning her time is divided between caring for all the animals. Throughout the week, she also interacts with young kids who walk around the barn.

"I let the kids name the young ones," she says, referring to the two baby calfs her family owns. "They are always really popular."

Even after completing 10 years of the program, some can't leave the tradition that fills their summer and go on to compete in the Open Class division, designed for adults who want to keep showing animals at the fair.

For 10 plus years, Bryce Birk has shown one animal and one animal only: dairy cows. He joined 4-H at 8-years-old out of expectation and family tradition.

"The family's always done it and you're expected to be in it and kind of go with it," Birk said. "You just learn to enjoy it."

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4-H clubs are also expanding to include younger children. Kids cannot enter the official program until they reach the age of 8, but with the new Little Hands program, kids can get involved when they reach pre-school age.

In Little Hands, kids can make any sort of craft they want and simply bring it out to the fair to receive a ribbon.

In addition to giving kids something to look forward to, Nelson believes the program is helping to increase enrollment in 4-H, which has been slightly declining in recent years.

"The numbers have been down, but then they come back up because people really get to realize what all (these little kids) can get involved in," she said.

'It's more than a blood family'

Gorka's family lives on Newton Farms in Lakeville, and she grew up in both a farm family and a 4-H family.

She also has found a family with other members in her 4-H club, which can make shows hard when it's time to compete against her friends.

"We always want to be competitive," she says, "So in that run of it, it's fun to see who can go out better."

Emma is in her ninth year of 4-H and has been showing swine for all nine years. Two years ago, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and join the dairy beef category. Even though the category is new for her, with nine years of experience, she says she doesn't get nervous before shows.

With both her parents working on the fair board and busy most of the week, Emma hangs out with her two younger siblings, both of whom also participate in 4-H, in the animal barns.

"It's nice," Emma said, laughing. "There's a lot of help."

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Nelson, Emma's aunt, volunteers on the fair board along with many of her family members because her father served as president of the board for 50 years.

"It keeps me close with my dad," she said. "I feel close with him at the fair."

A former 10-year 4-H member herself, Nelson supports her nieces and nephews in their 4-H endeavors, but she has found another family through the fair.

"Although a lot of my real family is out here, these other people become family, too," she says. "It's more than a blood family,"

The St. Joseph County Fair runs daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. through July 9 at 5117 S. Ironwood Road.

Email Alysa Guffey at aguffey1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlysaGuffeyNews.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County 4-H Fair 2022: Members show off projects