GREENFIELD — Jim Bishop will be spending Father’s Day the best way he knows how — hustling back and forth between barns at the Hancock County Fairgrounds, watching his kids show their animals at the Hancock County 4-H Fair.
It’s the picture-perfect day for Bishop, who grew up showing animals in northern Indiana as a 4-H kid.
“When we found out that the fair was going to be over Father’s Day this year, it reminded me that some of my best memories as a family were the times we spent at the fair,” said Bishop, who lives on the north side of Greenfield with his wife, Nicole, and their five children.
All five are active in 4-H and enjoy a helping hand from Dad when it comes to doing their 4-H projects and preparing their livestock each year.
“He’s the one who got us into showing animals, and even helped us build a barn for all of them,” said his oldest daughter, Claire, 16.
He’s taught them how to raise rabbits, how to properly walk a pig, even how to exercise a goat by letting it run on a treadmill, said his 12-year-old son, Everett.
Bishop is there for the behind-the-scenes prep work as well as the livestock shows, and was all smiles in the audience when Claire was crowned a member of the queen’s court in the 4-H queen pageant on June 12.
“Whatever we’re doing for 4-H, he’s been there teaching us and supporting us all the way,” she said.
Eric Schilling is another devoted 4-H dad who’s looking forward to spending this Father’s Day at the fair.
He loves teaching his two sons — Luke, 14, and Lincoln, 9 — how to show pigs and do 4-H projects, just as his dad taught him when he was a kid growing up in Nebraska.
“There’s not a lot of activities like 4-H that teaches kids responsibility,” said Schilling, who lives in Wilkinson with his wife, Natalie, and their boys.
“It’s been a fun thing for our family to do together. It teaches the kids to work hard, to set goals, and to be responsible. It’s been fun watching them grow,” he said.
Luke said it’s great to have his dad help him and his brother out in their family’s barn, where they keep their pigs. “He helps me with pretty much everything out in the barn, and he’s always really understanding when me or my brother messes up. It’s good to know not everything has to be perfect,” he said.
Mike Long has shown the same patience to his two daughters, as he’s helped them with their 4-H endeavors over the past 11 years.
He’s been a steadfast presence as his daughters Megan, 19, and Erica, 18, have created projects, shown livestock and competed in the 4-H queen contest. He was there this year to watch Megan, last year’s 4-H fair princess, place a crown on her sister Erica, a member of the queen’s court this year.
“For us, 4-H is a family affair,” said Long, who lives in Greenfield with his wife, Stephanie, and their girls.
From milking cows to watching tiny rabbits being born in their garage, 4-H activities have always been a great bonding activity over the years, he said.
“Preparing for the fair is something we’ve always done as a family. It was something we would look forward to doing over school breaks,” he said.
Erica enlisted her dad’s help when she opted to learn the art of woodworking for a project last year.
Together, the father and daughter — both new to woodworking — pored over YouTube videos and instructional guides, learning how to build a sofa table with a “live edge” of bark around the sides.
“We don’t have a fancy workshop or the best tools or anything, but I think that’s what made it so special, because we had to adapt and figure out the best way to do things,” Erica said.
Best of all, the wood used in the sofa table and end tables they built was made from a tree on her great-grandfather’s farm.
The project went so well, she got her dad’s help in making a set of matching live-edge end tables to complement the table this year.
Megan remembers her dad helping out with 4-H posters when she was little, and teaching her how to show dairy cows, which was a learning experience for them both.
“He helped me get ready for a show, even though he didn’t know what he was doing and had to learn too. He taught me how to feed them and wash them and walk them,” she recalled.
It was her mom who helped her more when she branched out into sewing, but her dad was always there, lending feedback and advice. When she prepared for the queen pageant, he helped her prepare for her interview. “He helped me to be more confident,” she said.
Erica said that while she and her sister need less help now that they’re older, their dad has always been there to teach them new things.
“I’ve learned so much and I know so much that I wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t helped me. It’s been great to have him always by my side,” she said.
Claire Bishop feels the same way about her dad.
“He’s always out there supporting and encouraging us, and that’s really cool, because not a lot of people will go out into the barn and get dirty for someone they love,” she said.
Her brother, Everett, said some of their best family times are spent tending to their animals together.
“There’s been a lot of fun times in the barn when we’re messing around, spraying each other with a hose, having fun,” he said.
This Father’s Day, the family will be sitting in lawn chairs around their animals’ pens at the 4-H fairgrounds, shuffling between barns as the kids show rabbits and pigs.
Claire said they’ll celebrate the holiday with a crockpot meal her mom will bring, followed by milkshakes from the dairy barn between shows.
“It’s really cool because we can celebrate our dad while doing what he’s proudest watching us do,” said Claire. “He’s done so much for all of us in every different way, so it’s cool we get to spend Father’s Day doing something he loves.”
Her dad said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
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A schedule of events at the Hancock County 4-H Fair, which began Friday, is on Page A5.
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