Photo by Aubrey Weishaar – Anthony and Skit, Lexie and Lil’ T, Tommy and his rocket, and Emma and Meatball have worked for months for this moment, and the chance to show off all of their hard work at county fair week.
by Aubrey Weishaar
With the Jefferson County 4-H Fair beginning Monday, the Welsh family, Valley Falls, is busy preparing to show the county all of their hard work.
Although the fair lasts just four days, the family has spent months working on perfecting their projects. Preparation ranged from drawing pictures, creating posters, buying the perfect goat, halter breaking the bucket calf, and so much more.
Raising animals is not an easy task for many, but at a young age the Welshes have stepped up to the challenge, learning many valuable lessons in the process.
Siblings Lexie, 14, Tommy, 12, Emma, nine, and Anthony nine, are excited for this upcoming fair week to celebrate all of their accomplishments. They are members of the Valley Victors 4-H Club.
Lexie is a eight-year member and participates in the horse, goats, interior design and architecture, and clothing projects.
“The goat project is my favorite because I have the most fun showing them and I have put the most time and effort into it,” Lexie said.
Tommy participates in rocketry, goats, interior design and architecture, clothing, arts and crafts, and the Legos project. This is Tommy’s fifth year in 4-H.
“Rocketry is the best because I get to show my building skills to others and I like to shoot off my rockets,” Tommy stated.
The youngest Welsh siblings are twins Anthony and Emma who are following in their older siblings’ footsteps. This is only their third year in 4-H, but they have been exposed to this life since they were young.
Emma’s got her plate full with the amount of projects she is enrolled in this year. Her projects consist of bucket calf, horse, goats, the pet project, interior design and architecture, clothing, arts and crafts, foods, cake decorating, and Legos.
“My favorite project is horse because I get to ride my horse for fun,” Emma said.
Anthony’s projects consist of rocketry, arts and crafts, Legos, goats, robotics, horticulture, and clothing. He couldn’t just pick one project to be his favorite, so he showcased two.
“I like rocketry because I can build things and I liked sanding it, and I like arts and crafts because it is a lot of fun making crafts,” Anthony stated.
While balancing all of their projects, Tommy and Emma also hold leadership roles at the club level. Tommy is currently serving as the Valley Victors junior president and Emma is the junior secretary. Tommy also is a prince candidate this year and is awaiting results tomorrow night during the public fashion revue.
The siblings are the children of Tom and Dianna Welsh. Dianna grew up being involved in 4-H as she was a 12-year member of the Prosperity 4-H Club and has now passed on her love for the organization to her kids. Her husband, Tom, was never involved in 4-H growing up, but has since been exposed to all of the things 4-H it has to offer.
Tom currently serves as the Jefferson County Fair Board President, dedicating his time to the betterment of all things 4-H.
The Welshes are a family who continue to “make the best better.”
Stop by the Jefferson County 4-H Fair at the fairgrounds in Valley Falls July 29 through Aug. 1 and see Meatball the bucket calf, Skit the goat, Fancy the horse, and all of their other awesome Welsh family projects.