Hilltown Misfits: a 4-H Club on the Move
The Hilltown Misfits 4-H Club has ambitious plans for the future. Back in the spring, this Chesterfield-based club took advantage of the Massachusetts 4-H Foundation’s Pilot Grant Program after learning about it from 4-H Educator, Erica MacLean. The club was awarded $1,450 to further their activities, specifically with working steer.
Faith Everett Bisbee coordinates the working steer part of the club. However, she said the Hilltown Misfits 4-H Club focuses not only on steer, but also on crafts, rabbits, horses, and community service. “It’s been fun and interesting; we learn about different projects,” she said. While there are 20 youth in the club, about ten participate in activities with the working steer.
The steer program centers around workshops that prepare 4-H youth for fairs like The Big E. Hilltown Misfits has an ongoing partnership with Connecticut Whiplash, another working steer group with adult volunteers. In the spring workshop, volunteer Tom Jenkins showed the youth how to hitch oxen to cut down trees in the woods. The 4-H’ers also learned how to plow with draft horses.
In the fall, the club holds a working steer competition, in which the youth compete against adults and are prepped for The Big E. The youth direct the steer leading a cart around obstacles, such as bridges, or back the animals into a barn. “That’s what we spend the bulk of the time doing, obstacle courses,” explained Faith. “We mimic the situation on a farm.”
The youth also participated in a working steer workshop in June in Farmington, Maine, where they practiced showmanship skills. This training paid off. At The Big E in 2023, two youth from the Hilltown Misfits won the Herdsmenship Award, which recognized how the
4-H’ers interacted with the public and worked together.
Owen, 15, is a member of the Hilltown Misfits, and his family owns four steers at their farm in Belchertown. He has enjoyed his experiences with the club. “I like the friends I make and getting to hang out with them at fairs and 4-H meetings.”
Owen has shown working steer at The Big E for the last two years. “The Big E is definitely a lot of work,” Owen said. “It’s fun, and it’s good training experience for the cattle.”
The Hilltown Misfits will use the funds from the Pilot Grant Program for current workshop necessities, such as food, workshop fees, judging costs, and ribbons. Faith also is interested in holding more workshops in the future. “I feel the more workshops we hold, the more people will see us out in the community.”
Faith also hopes a portion of the grant funds may be put toward club travel. “I’m always interested in traveling to different places or having teamsters come in,” said Faith. “We have a cooperative relationship with Connecticut and Maine. I’d love to start an annual get-together with them.”
