Twenty Years in the Making

Twenty years ago this week I met the man of my dreams. I was just a wee little girl (Ok, I was a freshman in high school), so what I had back then was schoolgirl crush more than anything.

The guy was older, so much older at age 19 then he will be when I'm 80 and he's 85. Luckily, we were both good kids and back then that meant that we kept our interest in each other to a little flirting in public, under the watchful eye of more people than we'll ever know.

Our courtship was very seasonal. We saw each other at the county fair and then, perhaps, not for months. I went on to my high school things with friends, boyfriends and prom dates who weren't the legal drinking age. He went on to college, which included studying about farming, actual farming, watching basketball in Columbus, playing basketball behind the dorm in Columbus, eating at Wendy's--and not much else, actually.

Eventually, FINALLY, according to many, I got to be college age and we began dating officially. The photo above shows us in barn flirting mode circa 1994 under the watchful eye of my now island-dwelling brother and my future brother-in-law. I'm wearing his coat. Isn't he the cutest thing?

Oh, and I just realized tonight in unearthing these photos that I was HOT. He looks a little dopey here at my sorority formal in 1993, but God, don't I look great (for a college girl in the early 90s).

And we owe it all to this guy, John, who pulled each of us aside 20 years ago and said: There is someone you should meet. That's what he said to me, anyway. Maybe he told my future husband that I had Buckeye season tickets and owned a Wendy's franchise. Luckily, he liked me anyway.

From the moment I met him, I couldn't wait to see him again. I dreamed of the day we'd be able to wake up together and spend the day together. Now that I'm here, living the life I always wanted, it's good to have the county fair as a reminder of the days when I used to steal his hat to get him to wrestle it back from me, rather than curse under my breath as his collection flows from the hat rack. Now that his coat is something I have to pick up off the floor, it's good to look back and remember when I reveled in wearing something that smelled so much like him...

What am I doing here on the computer? The man of my dreams, just went to bed. In my house. Gotta go.

Making Memories at the County Fair

My kids are filthy, my carpet is littered with sawdust, there are no clean blue jeans in the house. Yep, it's county fair time!

For a farm family, the county fair is part livestock bragging rights, part social gathering, part family reunion, and part marathon. For us, it means making sure our seven-year-old is ready to show his gilt (female pig), the four-year-old has eaten something more than the candy he got from pee-wee showmanship, and the two-year-old hasn't been run over by a cow--because the cow would not want to know her wrath.

The Montgomery County Fair is the culmination of our summer of hog showing. This year our combined family (ours plus my husband's brother's family) brought six gilts, four head of dairy (cows), plus a myriad of cakes, cupcakes, scarecrows, etc.


Here, Justin, Ryan and Morgan pose with the 2008 Montgomery County Pork Queen. Believe it or not, that title is a big honor.

They are celebrating Ryan's grand champion gilt and Justin's win in the 3-4 year-old pee-wee swine showmanship class. He managed to win, even after hitting the judge in the be-hind with his pig whip.



Little sister needs to pay attention and learn from the 3-4 year-old champ.

My sister-in-law was inspired by the displays that the big dairy farms put up at the Ohio State Fair--many include water features, painted murals of the farm, their prize cow sculpted in butter, and more. This one was awarded best dairy display at the fair.

Justin was too busy eating candy to show off his trophy, so Morgan stepped in to share her participation ribbon (it's PINK!) and Ryan had a minor stroke (just kidding).

We have exhibited Ayrshire dairy heifers (females) at the fair for 40+ years. And only once in that time did we actually have any competition. But no matter, we persevere on and are introducing a new generation of the family to the method of walking into the ring and collecting multiple ribbons, then exiting. They are also learning how to cash the premium check.

A motley crew of future dairymen (and dairywomen) participated in pee-wee dairy showmanship.

My husband and I have so many fond memories of our time at the county fair and our years in 4-H. I know our children are also having fun while learning important life lessons:

• The hard work you do behind the scenes pays off when you're on display
• Put your best foot forward, even when you have no apparent competition
• If you walk behind the bull, you will step in it
  

Swine Lecture Series - Auctions

Welcome back students. I hope you enjoyed your summer off, but now it is time to get back to our Swine Lecture Series.

When a farmer needs a new pig or wants to expand his herd, the best way to buy is at an auction.
Many hog shows like the Summer Type Conference auction off the exhibited pigs--using the results to determine sale order.

Some farms also host their own pig auctions at the farm to sell boars (males) and gilts (females) to other farmers who want to use them as breeding stock. Here are some pigs ready for a farm auction.

OK, so they're not too excited yet. But in a few hours, they will be heading off to a new farm (we hope) to fulfill their happy pig lives as the mothers and fathers of the next generation of purebred hogs. You may recall that the black and white ones are Hampshires, the all-white ones, Yorkshires.


Now let's review the key elements to a successful pig auction on the farm. Like any event, you need to market the date/time/location with advertising, Web site, and a database of customers for direct mail.

A good auctioneer is critical. Our auctioneer, Dan, has been coming to our farm every fall for 40+ years. Right after this photo was snapped Dan said: wasthatlightening?wasthatlightening?doIneed toswitchswitchswichtobattery?battery?didsomeonesaybattery?

Nothatwasjustmyflash, I responded.


Food is an important part of any successful event. Here, my garage doubles as a 4-H lunch stand. Don't tell the health department. A really classy event includes childcare. Great-Grandma and a swing set will do.


In summary, hosting a pig auction is a lot like any other event a business may put on. You need lighting, sound, stage/podium, marketing, direct mail, parking, childcare, food, and staff. You also need a guy who can talk fast, and guests of honor who intend to poop all over the place.

Life Under the Big Top

To say things are crazy here would be akin to making a vast understatement similar in proportion to saying that pig poo doesn't really smell.

In other words: Our lives this month, like every August, are out of control. A real circus.

See... we even have the tent to prove it.



Yes, that is a county fair-quality tent right behind our house.

Why do we need a tent, you ask? To hold our annual pig auction, of course.
Huh? We are holding what's called a "production sale," selling boars (males) and gilts (females) to other farmers who want to raise pigs.


In addition to hosting a pig sale in the barnyard this week, over the course of the month we made two trips to the Ohio State Fair to show hogs, one trip to the Indiana State Fair, took one kid to flag football, two more to swimming lessons, hosted crafts at Bible school, and won a church softball tournament (husband only).

After the pig sale we will spend a week at the county fair with our six pigs, four dairy calves, scarecrow, decorated cupcakes, and photo entries. Oh, and then we head to my sister's out of town wedding.

I think we may need a bigger tent to hold this circus.

PR Idea of the Week

My college roommate had an umbrella that said Alabama: Open for Business. It became a joke we said to each other whenever it rained. But here it is a decade later and I remember that tag line.

Maybe because that branding made us pause to think about Alabama in a new way. If the umbrella had said, Alabama: Come tour the Old South or Alabama: Not as Backward as you Might Think, I don't think it would have made as much of an impact.

Here in Dayton, we ["we," as in all people of greater Dayton have a stake in this] have just launched a new branding campaign:

I think it does a good job of saying We are doing smart things here in Dayton, you should check it out. Our previous tag lines seemed to say Um, hi, we invented the airplane here and the ice cube tray, so please look down and smile or something next time you fly over.

I especially like the part about originals wanted. It's a call to action. While our previous slogans seemed to try way too hard to convince people we were cool. This new one just assumes a level of hip and then invites the reader to join--but only if they too are hip enough for Dayton.

In Detroit, their new branding just focuses on the D and their cool image and doesn't even mess around with a tag line--an intentional step, because they know that people always gripe about tag lines.

So... Dayton Originals: Are we ready to start thinking about living and working in Dayton as something to achieve--rather than something to apologize for? 'Cause if we don't want to be here, who in their right minds would join us?

Mama Said

There are things that every mother has to tell her kids. Pick up your toys, wash your hands, turn off the TV... CLOSE THE DOOR!!

But farm mothers have to come up with additional instructions like:

Don't wear those manure-covered shoes to church

Yuck, leave Daddy's semen collection cup alone

Be careful with that rusty wire

Don't eat that after it fell on the barn floor


Apparently, I must also now add: Do not drive your battery-powered John Deere Gator into the swing set.

Thankfully, both boys escaped unharmed.

While a rookie Mom may have spent the aftermath of this wreck comforting her sons and admonishing them against future stunts, as a veteran Mom, I simply went back inside and got the camera.

A Moment Not to Miss

There are many moments in parenthood when you wonder what you have gotten yourself into. When your baby projectile vomits in the car. When your toddler dips his hand in his diaper and smears poop on his nose in the middle of JC Penney. When you finally break down and start channeling your mother: Do I have to Stop. This. Car?!

But thankfully there are other moments. Moments that you can't even blog about without getting all emotional. Moments that remind you why it was a good idea to reproduce, after all.

Of course, I'm talking about the day that your little baby boy becomes a man. The day he buys his first pig at auction.

Our Ryan began shopping for a Hampshire gilt (black and white, female pig) as soon as he arrived at the Ohio State Fair. By the time of the auction he had investigated every pig in the barn, cross-referencing against the sale list. A feat made all the more challenging by his kindergarten-level of reading and writing.

He picked out a lovely gilt from Iowa named Miss. And when the auction started he stood with his GrandDad... seriously, I'm blowing my nose now... raised his little arm and signaled to the auctioneer. With his GrandDad at his side (occasionally reminding him to lower his arm), his father looking on proudly, and his Grandmother sobbing with joy, he bought his first pig.

Meet Miss and her proud new farmer:



Miss is home on the farm now. She hasn't stopped helping make memorable family moments. My husband and Ryan got to pick out the boar who will be her "piglet Daddy" and then artificially breed her--just another touching father-son bonding moment on the farm.

PR Idea of the Week

Anyone who has EVER worked at a marketing or PR agency or has been at the bottom of the corporate food chain can relate to this video. It shows what would happen if we let a modern day corporate marketing team develop the stop sign.

And as much of a mess as they make designing their simple sign, those of us in PR can just imagine what horrors became the press release announcing the new sign. I take a (tongue in cheek)stab at it myself below.

Creating A Stop Sign - Watch more free videos

New Innovative Signage Solution from Acme Corp to Minimize Accidents, Appeal to Motorists

NEW YORK--August 1, 2008--A new innovative sign was unveiled today by the state, EPA, and Acme Corp, the worldwide leader in innovative solutions. The sign, designed to appeal to female motorists, will appear at all major intersections and appeal to the good nature and courtesy of drivers.

The sign invites drivers to stop briefly at the intersection and then encourages them to proceed carefully. Each sign is designed by Acme to meet all major safety standards as determined by the EPA and other sponsoring agencies.

"We are so pleased to be involved with this innovative solution to traffic incidents," said Acme CEO Bob Shaffer. "I really foresee that by encouraging drivers, especially women, to please halt briefly at intersections, we can really change the paradigm of modern-day driving. I want to thank the EPA and other sponsoring agencies for partnering with us on this important endeavor."

The new Acme Halt Signage Solution is available through your local municipal government. For more information, visit us online at http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=542649#

Editorial contact: http://2thebacon.blogspot.com