{"id":1312782,"date":"2019-07-24T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T00:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair\/"},"modified":"2019-07-24T18:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T00:28:00","slug":"mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Mills column: Growing up at the county fair"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.0569948186528\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-984737-143\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy of Linda Mills | A proud moment for me 34 years ago after completing my first show day at my local fair back in southern Idaho.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A proud moment for me 34 years ago after completing my first show day at my local fair back in southern Idaho.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy of Linda Mills<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519.jpg\" alt=\"A proud moment for me 34 years ago after completing my first show day at my local fair back in southern Idaho.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent |\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/AroundtheCornerCol-rct-072519-1.jpg\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/rifle-news\/mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair\/?#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/rifle-news\/mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair\/?#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">With the Garfield County Fair just around the bend, I can\u2019t help but reminisce about my time spent in 4-H, attending the local county fair and the lessons I learned back in southern Idaho.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For my brothers and me, it was a rite of passage and a family affair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Growing up around chickens, pigs, cattle, horses and more, it was a natural progression when you turned 9; you entered your first livestock project in the county fair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For me it was a little easier than for most first-time 4-Hers. Not only did my three brothers and I join 4-H, but my mom and dad as well, who jumped in and took over as leaders of one of the local clubs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I think my mom had the hardest job. Not only did she have to wrangle her own children, who were within 5 years of each other, but she also took on 20 other children during our weekly meetings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With three older brothers, I had a chance to watch and learn a few years before I threw my hat in the show ring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Like any little brother, I emulated my big brothers and wanted to follow their every move, so I entered a steer right out of the gates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">My first steer was a Black Baldy, a type of crossbred beef cattle that was the result of breeding between a Hereford and Angus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He was jet black with a white face with black polka dots covering it. When I first picked him out in the spring of 1985 he was still growing, but by the time the fair came around he weighed over 1,000 pounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For the life of me I can\u2019t remember his name, which makes me a bit sad \u2014 they do say your memory is the first to go. I\u2019m sure it was something after a character out of a Louis L\u2019Amour book, my favorite childhood author.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I don\u2019t know how tall I would have been when I was 9, but I do know I weighed in at no more than 65 pounds, soaking wet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">An animal that size can be intimidating no matter how big or small you are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not wanting to show any weakness in front of my siblings, I would do my best to handle my steer without showing the struggle to keep him in line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It never failed that when my steer tired of me messing around with him all he needed to do was toss his head, and off the ground I would go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I was always told never to let go of your animal, no matter what, so I would never let go or show an ounce of fear in front of my brothers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It also helped that my dad was always close by, knowing when he needed to step in and when to let me find my own way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It didn\u2019t hurt either that my dad was a cattle whisperer of sorts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A big burly man, standing 6-foot-3 tall and tipping the scale at 230 pounds, as a young boy he was a giant in my eyes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After months of working daily with my steer, and taking him for walks around the farm, he was as tame and docile as our family pets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He would come running when I called for him and would even let me sit on him when he was relaxing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There is nothing like the bond you have with your first 4-H animal. Endless hours spent together, feeding and watering your animal and practicing leading and setting up your steer and getting him used to the show stick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">4-H and the county fair not only instilled in me a work ethic, respect for animals, and the drive to get better with every new challenge, they also hold some of my favorite childhood memories, many of which come from the time I spent at my hometown county fair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The fair introduced me to lifelong friends, it was a place I fell in love with the girl from the other side of the county, and year after year I left a little piece of my heart at the fairgrounds as I said goodbye to my steer on the final day of the fair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I hope to see you out at the fairgrounds next week, I know I will be one of the many Garfield County residents that will turn up for the festivities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:kmills@postindependent.com\">kmills@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/rifle-news\/mills-column-growing-up-at-the-county-fair\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A proud moment for me 34 years ago after completing my first show day at my local fair back in southern Idaho.Courtesy of Linda Mills Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Show CaptionsHide Captions With the Garfield County Fair just around the bend, I can\u2019t help but reminisce about my time spent in 4-H, attending the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 06:17:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}