VAUGHN — The Benton County Fair is a fun evening for many residents. It becomes a second home for one week in August for others.
Hundreds of competitors and their families carve out their own niches in and around the Livestock Building while they wait to show their animals. They arrive early in the week to make a comfortable, hay-lined bed for their animals and spend the next several days feeding, watering and walking their restless animals around the barn.
Dariann Coffelt, 16, of Hiwasse said she keeps her heifer occupied with food — lots of it. Dariann’s heifer “Dream” clearly didn’t mind the extra meals. The one-year-old Angus heifer was the largest in a long row of cows.
Dariann and her younger brother Wyatt Coffelt had an easier time with their animals than Garrison Jackson did Friday. His calf “Fairy” tried to take off at a run as soon as he led her for a stroll outside the barn. Garrison pulled the rambunctious calf back in order, but she was soon ready for a second rush at freedom.
“She’s bored,” Garrison said. “She’s been laying around all day.”
The calf and owner came to a better understanding later as Garrison laid back in the hay with his head resting against Fairy. He pulled out a handheld video game while the calf rested from her recent escape attempt.
Wyatt, 10, has a similar bond with his cows. He showed his heifer “Queeny” on Thursday and had to warn the judges she doesn’t like to be scratched — at least not by anyone but him.
“She’s a little psycho,” Wyatt said. “She’s not even a year old yet. I know because she still likes to butt my head. She likes to play a lot.”
The cows are more than just a chance for an annual blue ribbon for the children. They become a part of the family. Wyatt said he loves to talk to his cows and treats them like pets. Dariann said she got her first cow at age 3 and fed her from a bottle. She’s shown cows since she was 9.
“It’s hard when it’s time to sell them,” Dariann said.
The barn becomes something akin to a big family during fair week. Most of the people showing animals know each other through 4-H clubs or previous years at the fair, Dariann said. The children play on the farm equipment on display, while teens group up with friends.
Wyatt and three other boys his age sat in lawn chairs around a cooler playing a card game Wyatt’s friend made up.
Parents of the 4-H students make their spaces as comfortable as possible with mini refrigerators and radios placed near big fans. An outside wall of the barn was lined with people sitting in lawn chairs Friday afternoon as they listened to a girl practice her violin.
A sale is held at the end of the week where competitors can earn money from the work they put into their livestock. But many, such as the Coffelts, plan to keep their ‘pets.’ At least for one more year.
The fair runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds.