Lincolnview siblings Haley and Jonathan Overholt have spent nearly 20 years of accumulated 4-H activity raising dairy cattle as projects for the Van Wert 4-H Fair shows.
Haley, a senior this year at Lincolnview, is showing her Holstein, Willard, in this, her ninth year in 4-H. Jonathan, a sophomore, is showing his cow, Herman, this year.
Although the siblings care for their projects separately, they also work together in watering, bathing and rotating doing chores for the two cows.
“We make sure that they are healthy, that they don’t get sick,” said Jonathan. “If one seems sick, then it is our responsibility to doctor them back to health.”
Haley named Willard after a character in the musical, “Footloose.”
“Herman is just a name I came up with,” chuckled Jonathan.
Haley’s best appearance was last year when her cow came in second in its heat. Last year was also the best performance for Jonathan whose dairy cow won the intermediate showmanship award.
“I love 4-H,” said Haley. “It’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of life lessons.”
Among those, said Haley, are responsibility, time management and work ethics, traits she realizes to be in her career some day.
“I would like to go into early childhood,” said Haley. “I love to be around kids and I love to help kids.”
Currently, Overholt said that she is debating between Ohio State University and Wright State University for college education.
Both Haley and Jonathan admitted that they have a flare for getting attached to their animals.
“Since this is my last year, I think I’ve gotten more attached,” said Haley. “I am seeing more all of the time how 4-H has helped me over the years. I know it will help me in the future. It’s sad to think that this is almost over.”
“We’ve worked together in all of this,” commented Jonathan. “We take turns feeding and watering our cows. We walk them together. We’ve always liked working together for our projects.
“I think I like 4-H the most because it is a lot of fun. I really enjoy doing this,” added Jonathan.
“I know I will realize more in the future what this has all meant to me,” noted Haley. “I’ve learned a lot about animals and taking care of them, how to take on responsibility and manage things. I know that I’m going to need all of that when I go to college.”
Source: Van Wert, Ohio TImes Bulletin
