Adalyn Heess of Shunk embraces her turkey hen, Henrietta, after winning blue ribbons in showmanship and for the bird itself. Adalyn looks forward to working with and showing a steer this year.
Story by Rick Hiduk / submitted photo
(originally published in the Sullivan Review)
Showing animals at the county fair and the Pennsylvania Farm Show has become a family tradition for a number of Sullivan County residents. But the Heess family from Shunk has developed a knack for tackling new projects as soon as they have mastered the task at hand.
Cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens and goats are among the menagerie on the Heess farm, and Adalyn Heess, the daughter of Josh and Tamara Heess, has shown most of them at one time or another. This year, she showed a broad-breasted white turkey for the first time as a member of Sullivan County 4-H.
According to Penn State Extension 4-H educator Sandy Peterman, Adalyn was the first 4-H’er from Sullivan County in many years to take a market animal to the Farm Show. Fellow 4-H member Lillian Broschart has taken chickens to the Farm Show for a judging contest when they were permitted, but she takes them back home. Adalyn would like to show chickens, but they have not been allowed at the Farm Show for several years now due to the prevalence of avian influenza. That’s why she opted for a turkey instead.
The one-year old hen named Henrietta stood outside her cage on the Farm Show floor throughout the interview for this story, calmly taking in all of the action around her. And there was plenty.
“She’s pretty chill, and she’s good at walking,” Adalyn explained. That and Henrietta’s full breast were exactly what the judges were looking for, as well as Adalyn’s total control of her. Adalyn competed in the Show Class 1, Division IV of Junior Market Turkey Showmanship on Jan. 6, as well as Show Class 3 for Turkey Hens. Adalyn scored high enough with the judges to take first place in showmanship, and Henrietta got a first-place ribbon in her own right.
Adalyn is a fifth grader in the Sullivan County School District and enjoys math, science and English Language Arts. It was her first year raising turkeys, though she has previously shown horses, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and goats. Her brother Josh and father Josh both showed pigs.
“That’s sort of how I got into it,” Adalyn said of showing livestock. Now that she has successfully shown a turkey, she will start working with and showing a steer in the coming year. “I’ve always liked cows and stuff because we have a lot of cows on our farm.” Her mother was raised on a horse farm, hence Adalyn’s love of horses. “And I’ve always liked rabbits. I have nine.”
“She’s very ambitious, and she has grown in her confidence and her ability to try new things,” Peterson said of the 10-year-old. “When she was just eight, she took on nine projects and concluded all nine, including her officers book.”
In addition to working with animals, Adalyn has pursued projects in sewing, cooking, gardening, archery, and multimedia art. “She knows what she’s doing, but she’s not loud about it,” said Peterman,
Nonetheless, while Peterman would have described Adalyn as shy just two years ago, “She has come out of her shell so much in the past two years. She’s willing to share her knowledge, but she’s still a very young 4-H’er.”
As for the noticeable increase in participation at the PA Farm Show this year by Sullivan County residents, as well as the number of winners, Peterman said that the county council had set a goal of getting more 4-H members to enter projects this year. At least eleven youths answered the call by submitting a project.