Fire doesn't extinguish girls' enthusiasm
By Janet Kubat Willette
jkubat@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 03/01/2010 2:13 PM
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NEW RICHLAND, Minn. --It was 1 p.m. on New Years Day 2009 and the Larson family was sitting at the dining room table eating lunch when the neighbor pulled in.
He was honking his horn, flashing his lights and pointing.
Connie Larson ran to the kitchen window and saw their 1920s dairy barn ablaze. The barn held her daughters' goats and rabbits and the family's cats. It was filled with hay and straw.
It went so quick, the family was only able to save the two smallest goats.
Fifty animals perished in the fire, including 30 goats.
Rather than walk away, Sara, Jill and Erin Larson resolved to start anew.
"The firefighters were still here and they were talking about rebuilding," said their father, Cary Larson.
Jill, 18, had taken out a Farm Service Agency beginning farmer loan in 2008. The $5,000 loan allowed her to buy 17 Boer goats plus hay and straw. The ready-made herd included 12 does, three kids and two bucks.
Since she had a loan, the goats were insured. As a result, the girls were able to buy more goats after the fire.
But first, they needed to tend the two goats who survived the fire.
Zoe, a doe, and Everett, a buck. Zoe's horns bear scars from the heat of the fire and Everett's horns and ears are scarred.
"I'm just really proud of the way they have handled the fire," said Amy Nelson, Waseca County 4-H coordinator.
"They have used it as an experience to grow, to learn and to help others."
Erin, 15, did a project on barn safety for the county fair, Nelson said. She could tell it was difficult for Erin to talk about the fire, but the young 4-H'er persevered and told others what to look for, especially if
they are using an older barn to house their 4-H animals. The exhibit included photographs of their barn fire.
Some may have given up after a devastating fire, but not the Larson girls, Nelson said.
"Those three girls are so active in the program," she said. There is usually at least one Larson, if not all five family members at 4-H events.
Cary and Jill are goat superintendents at the county fair and Erin will be the dairy superintendent this summer. They teach other members and have a good repotorie in the county, Nelson said.
Sara, Jill and Erin are third generation 4-H and FFA members, Cary said.
"Those youth development activities are important to our family," he said.
The girls are also the fourth generation to show livestock.
Their great-grandfather was a well-known Hereford breeder and showman and their grandfather and father showed Herefords. Their mother showed Holsteins and sheep.
The girls have shown and raised, or leased, sheep, rabbits, dairy cattle and now, goats. Their father is continually impressed by the care they give their goats.
Sara was the goat midwife this year, spending up to 12 hours a day in the barn during J-term. A student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, she had Dec. 21 to Jan. 25 off. They breed their goats to kid in
January. Her sisters, both students at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva High School, helped when they weren't at school.
The girls, all avid basketball players, have even given up playing the sport in order to take care of their goats, their father said.
The girls have assisted does with kidding and fed them yogurt water and molasses water to get them eating and back on their feet after giving birth. They nursed a very cold kid back to life by bathing her in 105
degree water in the kitchen sink for an hour. They checked the temperature with a meat thermometer.
"You could almost see her come alive again as her body temperature came up," Jill said. A kid's body temperature is 100 to 103 degrees, she said.
They have blow-dried other kids and put them next to their does to stay warm when it was 30 below outside. They try to keep it at 30 degrees in the barn where the goats are housed in the winter.
Each goat has a unique personality and they're playful. Cary, pastor at Vista Lutheran and Le Sueur River Lutheran, said their farm is a good place to appreciate God's creation. Sometimes being a minister can be rough, and it's theraphy for him to come home to a former chicken coop filled with playful goats or even one in the kitchen sink.
He's thankful his congregations were open to his family living on a farmstead.
He's watched his daughters develop decision-making skills and learn life skills through their participation in 4-H, FFA and by raising livestock.
"They just have learned the value of life," he said.