Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – The brother-sister duo of Nathanael and Rachel Donovan of Blaine claimed first and second place, respectively, in the annual 4-H sign contest held during this year’s Northern Maine Fair & Music Festival.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
HERE’S YOUR SIGN – Nathanael Donovan of Blaine won first place in this year’s 4-H sign contest held during the Northern Maine Fair & Music Festival. Each year, the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club requires members to create a sign that is displayed over the steer’s stall in the livestock area of the fair. Donovan outlined his steer’s name, Vinney, with Christmas lights and included a raised photo of the animal giving it depth. The sign contest was sponsored and judged by Rick and Sandy Guerrette, owners of 27 Sign Place in Presque Isle.
Each year, the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club requires participants to create a sign that is displayed over the steer’s stall in the livestock area of the fair.
“There are certain requirements for it,” said Nathanael, who has been with the club for five years. “We have to have our name, the steer’s name and breed, the weight, the buyer’s name, and a 4-H clover logo.”
Nathanael said he created his sign in “sort of a hurry this year.”
“I was a little surprised that I won,” he said. “One of their requirements is that the sign should be eye-catching, so I outlined my steer’s name, Vinney, in Christmas lights which definitely helped. At night, it looks really good. I also took a picture of Vinney up-close, blew it up, cut around it and raised it up to give it some depth.
“I probably spent about six hours on the whole thing,” said Nathanael. “I always like to make my sign original and have it look cool. If it doesn’t win, it’s at least going to look cool and have some type of humor on it. This year’s was more eye-catching. I was very happy that I won. I actually thought my sister’s was going to win, so I’m pleased.”
This is Nathanael’s last year in the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club.
“It’s pretty neat how everything goes together. You start off with a little calf and you’ve got to work with it. It’s kind of neat to see what hard work does when you bring it together and you produce such results,” he said, pointing to Vinney. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Rachel created a unique sign for her steer, Max.
“With Max, I did a sign where it had a quality scale because when you show, they judge on the quality of the beef,” she said. “The scale said ‘minimum, fair, good and maximum’ and Max was pointing to maximum.
“Ideas for the sign started forming right when he came into the barn and I named him. Pretty much all year round you think, ‘How can I do a cool sign to go with his name?’” she said. “Last year my steer’s name was Samson from the Bible, so I had long hair on my sign.”
Rachel has placed in the sign contest before, and said she enjoys the creative aspect of it.
“I don’t necessarily do it to win, but I always make sure it’s something cool that stands out,” she said. “I like how it shows individuality. It’s a way to put your own flair into the stall. It’s like a splash of you which is kind of cool.”
This was Rachel’s third year in the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club.
“Next year will be my last year,” she said. “I like raising animals and spending time with them … that’s the most fun. I also like being able to hang out with friends while you’re doing it. Raising a steer teaches you a lot of responsibility. I’m a busy person and I always have to take the time to feed him twice a day, every day, keep him watered, groomed and clean out the stall.”
Third-place winner Meagan Smith of Mapleton modeled her sign from the movie “Cars.”
“My 3-year-old cousin, Brody, loves that movie,” she said, “and he actually named my steer, Diesel. There’s a trailer truck in the movie that talks and he loves that trailer truck, so he named him Diesel, and that’s how we made our poster … off his favorite character.”
The cab of the trailer truck is the head of a steer with big eyes.
“When we name our steers, we think of something that’s easy to make a sign out of,” said Smith. “It didn’t take long to create the sign, and it’s fun being creative like that.”
Smith won the sign contest a couple years ago.
“I don’t do it to win,” she said, “it’s just fun to do the artwork. I take art classes, so I put what I learn to good use.”
This is Smith’s last year in 4-H, as well.
“Once you turn 18 or graduate from high school, you’re out of the club,” she said. “I’ve been in the club eight or nine years, but have been raising cattle for 17 years. I’ll miss 4-H and my friends. I like raising cattle, but I don’t really like showing them. I’m not much of a showman.”
Placing fourth this year was Ben McKenna of Mapleton, while Presque Isle’s Grayden Hemphill came in fifth.
The sign contest was sponsored and judged by Rick and Sandy Guerrette, owners of 27 Sign Place in Presque Isle.
“We’ve sponsored the contest for the last five or six years and we pay the prizes for the top five finishers,” said Rick. “The kids did a real good job this year. Sandy and I go up and look the signs over. We judge them on originality, color, layout and design and we try to pick the best ones … right down the line.
“The club has a time when they want the signs all up, so they tell us which ones are eligible for the contest,” he said. “We think it’s a good program for the kids and it gives them a little bit of money. Some kids put a lot of effort into it. They take a lot of pride in the sign that they do; they’re proud of their animal and they’re proud of the sign they hang above it.”
Bruce and Lauri Buck have been leading the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club for 10 years.
“We’ve been leaders since 1999,” said Bruce. “Me, my sister and brothers were all in 4-H when we were kids. Lauri and I like being leaders and it’s an awesome experience for the kids, and we want to keep it going for our kids.”
Eighteen youngsters can participate in the 4-H club at one time.
“We have a waiting list of kids,” Buck said. “At times there have been 30 names on the list. As one retires out, we’ll bring a new one on.”
When kids are 8 years old, they can put their name on the list and become a member at age 10 if there’s an opening.
“They can stay in it through their senior year in school,” he said. “We have kids from Houlton to Caribou who are members. The kids pick their steer in the fall. Throughout the year we try to have training for them and we have Extension people come in and tell them what to look for in purchasing a steer.
“During Christmas vacation, we do our first barn check,” said Buck. “We’ll look at the animal, tag it, and that night we have a meeting. We also meet during February and April break, and have our beginning meeting in November when we elect officers. We have clinics during the summer and the kids bring their steers to the Fair, and we start working with them.”
A few weeks prior to the Fair, the 4-H Club hosts a buyers’ meeting.
“We get a list of potential buyers and all the kids write a letter and go introduce themselves to the buyers and try to convince them to come buy their steer,” said Buck. “The kids learn a lot through the public relations aspect of it. 4-H, in general, teaches the kids a lot about responsibility.
“A lot of the kids do this all by themselves,” he said. “They do all the chores and take it pretty seriously.”
For more information on the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club, contact Buck at 764-4552.
Contributed photo
THE 4-H BABY BEEF SHOW AND AUCTION were held last week during the Northern Maine Fair and Music Festival. Nathan McLaughlin of Fort Fairfield earned the title of Grand Champion, while Logan McLaughlin of Mars Hill was named Reserve Champion. Nathan’s 1,370-pound, Maine Anjou steer, Big Rig, fetched $3.05 a pound. MFX was the top bidder. Logan’s 1,520-pound, Simmental-cross steer, Curly Cue, went for $2.05 a pound, and Bob and Cathy Davis were the top bidders. Being congratulated are, from left: Nathan McLaughlin, judge Mark Cooper, from Cumberland County; Bruce Buck, co-leader of the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club, and Logan McLaughlin.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
MEAGAN SMITH of Mapleton was the third-place winner in the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club’s sign contest. Smith modeled her sign from the movie “Cars.” She said her 3-year-old cousin, Brody, named her steer, Diesel, and is a big fan of the movie.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
RACHEL DONOVAN of Blaine earned second place in the Aroostook Valley 4-H Baby Beef Club’s annual sign contest. For her steer, Max, Donovan included a quality scale with Max tipping the scale to “maximum.” Donovan has placed in the sign contest before, and said she enjoys the creative aspect of it.
Contributed photo
AROOSTOOK VALLEY 4-H BABY BEEF 2009 CLUB MEMBERS are, front row, from left: Grayden Hemphill, Joel Guerrette, Logan McLaughlin, Nathan McLaughlin, Caleb Buck and Joshua Nickerson. Back row: Jacob Buck, Ian Crane, Ethan Braley, Rachel Donovan, Lucas Richards, Amanda Hotham, Nathanael Donovan, Meagen Smith, Ben McKenna, Melissa Hotham, Garrett Hemphill and Carter McLaughlin. Co-leaders are Bruce and Lauri Buck.
