On April 5, 2017, my family and I attended “Baby Animal Days”
at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, Utah. The American West
Heritage Center is an educational farm center, and their mission statement is, “Create
an educational and entertaining environment that inspires our patrons to learn,
live, and celebrate the American West Heritage by exploring the diverse
cultures that shaped the Cache Valley and surrounding region from 1820 to 1920”
(“Mission Statement”). I really like this mission statement because I feel that
this is exactly what I experienced when I went to “Baby Animal Days.”
At “Baby Animal Days,” the public is able to come to the farm
where they can hold and interact with the baby animals there. My family and I
were very excited to experience this event because we had heard so many
positive things about it from friends and family members. I did not grow up in
Cache Valley, so I did not realize how large of an event this is for the
county. When we arrived at the farm, I was surprised to see how many people
were there, too. It was clear how excited everyone and their families were to
be there. I knew then that we would have a great time at this event.
After my family and I paid our admission fees, we went into
the visitor’s center where there was a small history museum. I really enjoyed
looking at the history museum, and I learned a lot about Cache Valley from it. I
was able to spend a good amount of time reading the informative plaques and
taking notes about Cache Valley’s history. There was information about how
settlement began in Cache Valley, why people settled here, and how the
expansion of the settlement took place. I learned that Cache Valley was
originally settled in order to expand the territory of the Mormon church in
places other than Salt Lake City (“Settlement Begins”).
I also learned about the early
farming that took place after the settlement of Cache Valley. I learned about
how the soil and water was ideal for farming in Cache Valley and how early
farmers constructed irrigation systems using the mountain water runoff (“From Survival to Profit”).
There was also information about how farmers went from farming for survival to
farming for profit; they were able to do this after the introduction of “dry
farming,” which was a new farming technique that allowed the farmers to use
less water (“From Survival to Profit”). In the history of agriculture, innovations and new
techniques have been such an important part of growth for the industry, and the
early Cache Valley farmers truly exemplified this idea.
This is a picture of a setup of a typical room for early settlers found in the American West Heritage Museum.
After spending time at the museum, my family and I made our
way out to the farm. There were multiple areas set up with the different baby
animals. The first animals we saw were the baby cows. They were gentle and
sweet. My daughter loved them.
This is my daughter looking at the baby cows.
After the baby cows, we were able to see some baby goats.
While we were looking at the baby goats, I was able to talk to a volunteer named
Valerie Neal about what it is like to raise baby animals, such as goats. She
told me about how she had raised goats when she was a little girl, and when I
asked her what was the hardest thing about raising baby goats, she said, “They
chew on everything!” (Neal). This made me laugh because right as she said this,
the baby goat she was holding onto was trying to chew on her sweatshirt string.
This reminded me of the story The Bucolic
Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell because he also described the difficulties of
taking care of baby goats and how they can be playfully destructive (Kinkead,
Funda, and McNeill, 344). We were also able to see baby chicks, and they
were much harder to catch and hold than I expected! The baby ducklings were
very cute, as well.
This is my family and me holding some baby chicks.
Along with the baby animals, there were other activities happening at “Baby Animal Days.” There were people dressed up in 1800’s attire who were giving information to the public about early farming. There were also pony rides. Overall, the atmosphere was super family friendly, and it really showed the joyous side of farming and agriculture.
I definitely gained more respect for farmers who raise baby animals after seeing how hard of work it is. There is so much joy surrounding birth on a farm, and it reminded me of the writing of Annie Pike Greenwood in her story "Birth" (Kinkead, Funda, and McNeill, 134). She wrote, "Farming is giving birth...Birth is a continual process on the farm. The land is for borning; the animals are vessels of reproduction...Out of birth came nearly all the troubles and delights of us sagebrush women" (Kinkead, Funda, and McNeill, 134). Each year, during the spring, life starts anew. It is such an important time for a farm, so it is really awesome that American West Heritage Center wanted to share that experience with the public. "Baby Animal Days" is truly a celebration of new life. This event really taught me how beautiful and rewarding raising baby animals on the farm can be, even if it is a very hard task. I learned a lot about Cache Valley farming at this event, and it was as fun as everyone told me it would be. I will definitely be going back again next year.
Works Cited
“From Survival to Profit.” American West
Heritage Center History Museum, Wellsville, Utah. 5 Apr. 2017.
Kinkead, Joyce, Funda, Evelyn, and McNeill, Lynne S. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. 2nd
ed., Fountainhead Press, 2016.
“Mission Statement.” American
West Heritage Center, 2012.
https://www.awhc.org/index.php/mission-statement/
Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
Neal, Valerie. Personal interview. 5
Apr. 2017.
“Settlement Begins.” American West
Heritage Center History Museum, Wellsville, Utah. 5 Apr. 2017.
