Fair teaches Bick kids life lessons
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RONAN — For Claire and Cole Bick, the end of school signifies summer fun, a few chores and the Lake County Fair.
Like many 4-H families, when school gets out in May, it’s non-stop activity for the Bick kids.
There’s a garden to tend to, pigs to feed and rabbits to breed — all in preparation for the week in August, where kids can show off a year’s worth of hard work.
This is Claire’s fifth year participating in 4-H festivities and her younger brother Cole’s first year.
The family has learned to adapt to this particular week in August. It wouldn’t be difficult to drive back to their farm west of Pablo every night, but after a day, tired from the August heat and dirty from time spent in stalls and arenas, the Bicks walk a few feet to their makeshift home in the Ronan High School’s parking lot — a camper. It gives the family more time to rest and less time in the car.
And it also allows the Bick kids a bit more time with their friends.
“(The kids) are given total freedom for a week,” Mom, Mona Bick explained.
It’s a social event for everyone at the fair. Cousins, friends, families all congregate and socialize — Bick kids included. Claire and Cole enjoy the competition; the animals and their friends who are in 4-H or who just come to enjoy the festivities.
“It’s the fair, you have to come,” Claire said, playing with her cell phone.
It’s easy to tell that Claire and Cole adore the fair. Their eyes light up joyfully when they talk about their animals.
Claire showed a Yorkshire pig named Lola, a thoroughbred horse, Netherland dwarf rabbits and her gardening skills.
Cole showed a Duroc pig named Harry, a Holland lop rabbit and his vegetable gardening skills.
In the morning the kids wake up to bathe their pigs that share a cozy stall on the east side of the stables.
“Sometimes they’re not too happy about it,” Claire explained.
But Harry, Cole’s pig, seems to enjoy the bath most of the time, when he is not giving Cole a run for his money. Of the two, Harry is quite frisky and on numerous occasions, he has stirred things up inside the pigpen and out.
It’s taken seven months of hard work carefully monitoring the pigs’ diets and making sure they are ready to show.
But the original selection of the young piglets is mostly just the luck of the draw, Claire explained.
As far as the show goes, “it’s hard to keep control, because they’re so big,” Claire explained.
But both kids show all their animals, no matter how big or how small.
“It teaches them how to speak in public and teaches them responsibility,” Mona said, noting the benefits of the kids’ involvement in 4-H.
And the benefits are easily seen.
The maturity of the Bick kids shine through when they speak in public or address an adult. The pair maintains eye contact and hold themselves up with a great deal of dignity.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” Mona explained. “It’s a cycle, like life, and some days are good and some are bad … you just got to deal with it.”
It’s a family affair and Mona, like many community members, volunteers as the rabbit superintendent — keeping watch over the fluffy bunnies and the people who come in.
“It’s a community effort,” she said.
People willingly volunteer their time and abilities to help the 4-H kids with their animals, and many local businesses spend their hard-earned money on the award-winning animals that are auctioned off.
And what do the Bick kids plan to do with their hard-earned money?
“Well, Claire’s a saver and Cole’s a spender,” Mona explained.
