Jack of all trades: Keenan Appleton excels in penultimate Cass County 4-H Fair
Jul. 14—Keenan Appleton is everywhere at the 2022 Cass County 4-H Fair.
Walk into the exhibit area at the community center and you will find his beans, rhubarb, kale, kohlrabi, cabbage and squash on display—most with ribbons alongside them.
Spend the week watching the livestock competition and you saw him with goats, sheep, cattle and poultry.
He even won the advanced foods division with a rhubarb pie.
Appleton is a 17-year-old Lewis Cass student in his ninth year of 4-H. Next year will be his last. He's been too busy to think about that, however.
He's done everything he can since the beginning. The only latecomer to his itinerary is the cattle. He prefers the poultry the most, though.
"We've always been really successful in poultry," he said. "We've got two or three green banners this year and three trophies. But we just got into cattle a few years ago and that is starting to grow on me a bit. I'm starting to enjoy that."
Farming has been in the family line for three generations, he said. His father has even taught agriculture and advised the Future Farmers of America at Lewis Cass. Both of Appleton's brothers were involved in 4-H as well.
"(Dad) was always in 4-H," he said. "His brothers and sisters were in 4-H. So naturally, we were in 4-H."
When it comes to cooking, he credits his mother for the inspiration.
Appleton isn't just a whiz at 4-H activities. When tasked with creating a community service project as part of a Lewis Cass assignment, he did auto repair work for the teachers.
There's probably even more Appleton is capable of. Maybe after 4-H ends in 2023 he will have time to discover new skills. Right now, he is putting in 11-hour work days at his job and then coming home to complete his 4-H duties. He struggles to find time for a social life.
It sounds miserable, but Appleton has been thriving in this environment.
His penultimate year feels like a regular 4-H year, he said.
"I think it's going to hit more next year," said Appleton. "Part of me will be kind of glad I'm done so I can spend my summer more in a way I want to instead of spending four weeks on this. Another part of me is going to miss it. I'm really going to miss the people I work with here."
He encouraged others to get involved with 4-H, saying the opportunities to meet new people and be productive outweigh time spent on the couch watching TV.
"Try showing different livestock if you have the opportunity, try doing things like the cooking, the gardening," he said. "Just do some small things. The small things are what make the week worth it."
