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4 Vol. 56, No. 10
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
generations of 4-H’ers share their story By ABBY OLIVER Staff Writer
For Shelley Shilling and her extended family, 4-H is more than a childhood activity: it’s a four-generation, lifelong tradition of hard work, perseverance and family values that will echo in future generations. From Shilling’s father, Richard Williamson, to her grandsons, Knox Shilling, Kole Shilling and Konor Shilling, most of Shilling’s family has participated in 4-H. The story begins with Williamson, who showed a dairy calf his first year of 4-H followed by an Angus beef heifer his second year. At the time, he said he was probably around 14 or 15. While still showing dairy cows, he bought some beef cattle and also showed a handful of Shropshire ewes when Craig Shilling, Shelley Shilling’s oldest brother, was a toddler. When Shelley Shilling and her six siblings were children, the family would attend the Indiana State Fair, showing in 4-H and open class and staying there for two weeks. “Those are some of my best memories of childhood, definitely,” Shelley Shilling said. Shelley Shilling’s adopted mother, Barbara Williamson, also helped the children work with sheep. Barbara Williamson and Richard Williamson raised Registered Columbia sheep for years. When Barbara Williamson retired, she helped the kids work with sheep, and she and Shelley Shilling used to do a lot of shows together. “Mom was out there side by side with us,” Shelley Shilling said. “She would be out there in the wintertime in the barn with the lambs.” Now that she’s retired, Shelley Shilling continues her adopted mother’s tradition, helping her own grandchildren with the sheep. Shelley Shilling’s son, Joel Shilling, showed sheep and pigs in 4-H. The family participated in a lot of open shows. “It was kind of a tradition that we would go to open shows in different counties,” Shelley Shilling said. Her brother and his daughters also showed in 4-H. Joel Shilling’s sons are just starting out in 4-H. Knox Shilling shows sheep and rabbits, while Kole Shilling shows sheep. Konor Shilling, his youngest, participates in Mini 4-H. Knox Shilling also did one year of welding and a fire education poster. The boys said they enjoy showing and taking care of their animals, spending the week with their family and seeing their 4-H friends. “It’s really neat. It’s really cool to know that we are carrying on a family tradition,” they said. Shelley Shilling said one of the main family values that has come from 4-H is “working together and working through the projects together.” Joel Shilling agreed, explaining that even through the hard days when it’s difficult to get out there and take care of the animals or projects, “pushing each other” to, as Shelley Shilling added, “do what we need to do” each day helps. “It’s a lot of hard work,” Joel Shilling said. He said that, in the end, the experience is ultimately “rewarding,” particularly as an adult continuing the experience with his children. “For me, it’s when you set your mind to something, go finish and do it,” Joel Shilling said. “Don’t give up on yourself. It can get hard, but you’ve got to push through it.”
Shelley Shilling’s 4-H FAMILY — Richard Williamson, seated, has biological his photo taken with his great-grandsons. From left mother, Wilare Konor Shilling, Knox Shilling and Kole Shilling. burta Baker, Photos provided by Shelley Shilling. also started in 4-H when she was a child. Some of the 4-H projects that Baker showed were lambs and pigs, baking, food preservation and canning, and home improvement and electric projects. Baker and Williamson met through 4-H. “Had they never been in 4-H, we would not be doing this story,” Shelley Shilling said. “My community and 4-H, church and family, they’ve made me who I am,” Baker said. “I do something 4-H every day. Every day of my life, I have something that follows 4-H inadvertently.” Baker also described the social aspect of 4-H. The boys’ great-grandmother once asked Knox Shilling if he’d made any friends in 4-H. He stated he’d made a friend who wasn’t even in the same animal class. Shelley Shilling hopes future generations will look fondly on the memories. “I’m a big picture person, and I hope they preserve all these pictures,” Shelley Shilling said. “Looking back in these memories … they’ll feel what they see HISTORIC PHOTO — Richard Williamson in those picstands with his sister, Sandy Simmons, and his tures.” first 4-H calf. Williamson’s involvement in 4-H One of helped begin a four-generation family tradition. the most special things for Shelley Shilling was the lasting impact her father will have on future generations. She recounted tearfully how Williamson recently purchased four ewes that Joel Shilling’s boys showed in 4-H. The lambs now live on her niece, Elizabeth Duncan’s, farm. “They’re her first lambs, and they’re going to start breeding so that Dad can help the future generations with showing,” Shelley Shilling said. “Elizabeth has a daughter as well, so she’ll have lambs as well from g r e a t grandpa.” “I think both of us would b e grateful and thankful if you do carry it on,” Baker said. SHOW THAT SHEEP — Joel Shilling shows a Columbia ewe as a child. Shilling is now an adult with three children of his own.