Left to right: Jesse Melton, Wayne Melton, Susi Melton and Jason Melton.
Provided photo.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Susi Melton, co-founder of Hancock County 4-H Llama and Alpaca Club, had a mission to make sure every kid who wanted to work with llamas and alpacas was allowed the opportunity.
Melton started the club approximately 35 years ago. With her passing earlier this month, family and members of the club made sure the traditions and opportunity for the kids continued at the fair this week.
“It has been different without mom,” Susi’s son and superintendent of the club, Jesse Melton, said. “She’s always been there for it.”
Susi grew up on a farm and eventually raised her own on a farm as well. As a bus driver for Greenfield Central Schools, she had a heart for kids.
A part of the club Susi wanted to make sure was possible for the kids was they didn’t necessarily have to own a llama to be able to participate. Currently, Jesse owns 30 out of the 34 llamas in the club.
They have what is called their lease program, without actually exchanging money. This program allows the kids to show an animal even if they don’t have access to their own.
There are 32 kids in the club and they are divided into three groups — juniors, intermediates and seniors. These kids meet every Tuesday starting in March and up until the fair week is over.
When the weather is good, they take animals to the barns to practice for their events, such as the obstacle course, the costume contest, the showmanship division and their general fun night.
Jesse says they will get around four to five new kids to join every year. Mentoring happens between the groups, where the older kids will work with the younger ones to help, whether they need extra practice or are just a little timid still.
“Never lie to them and steer them straight…” Jesse said. “Got a good bunch of kids, always have had.”
One problem Jesse says they sometimes run in to is the animals are getting more expensive and harder to get. Recently, they had to take trips to Michigan and Bloomington to pick animals up. Jesse says they’re not as readily available and the average cost for one is almost $2,000.
As far as costs, the club hosts fundraisers and have people who donate. Some of the fundraisers include selling pizzas, working at the dairy barn, and they just recently held a fundraiser at Culver’s, where Susi attended and was able to visit with club members.
Beth Gulley, Susi’s niece, used to participate with her two sons when Susi showed up one day with two llamas in her driveway.
“It’s been a blessing ever since. It’s probably one of the most rewarding times of my life, watching the 4-H’ers and doing the different costume contests with them,” Gulley said.
Gulley can remember spending six months deciding on costumes, making the costumes, and then having to practice with them on.
In more recent years, Gulley will watch some events, as her eldest son still participates. Gulley says events like the costume contest really shows how much time the kids will spend with the animals and build trust.
“A llama hates to have their ears messed with and they hate to have their feet messed with. And you’ve always heard that llamas will spit,” Gulley said. “The thing is if you’ve really worked with your llama, they’re used to you, and they trust you and you trust them.”
Leader of the club, Breeana Fish, has been involved in the club since 2009, teaching in various positions. Fish works alongside Jesse and throughout the fair week will help care for the animals and help organize the shows.
“We get to see the progress of the animal and the 4-H’er side by side over years,” Fish said.
As for this past Sunday’s costume competition, Jesse was unaware of most of the costume ideas the kids had planned.
“I never want to know what anyone’s costume is, cause I run the gates and I want to make sure when I turn around I want to be surprised,” Jesse said.
The score sheets used to determine the winner were developed more than 30 years ago and remain the same to keep everything 100 percent fair, no matter who is judging.
Overall grand champion was Ava Gentry and overall reserve grand champion was Lane Bassett. In their senior group, the champion was Ava Gentry and reserve champion was Alayna Waltz. Intermediate group had Lane Bassett champion and reserve champion was given to Layla Bagnall. Junior champion was Maci Bagnall and reserve champion Brenley Jones.
Wednesday night is their general fun night at 7 p.m., obstacle courses are Thursday at 6 p.m. and the showmanship is Friday at 9 a.m.
