Listen, I like prizes. Ribbons, trophies and medals; doesn’t matter. Winning is fun. Try the alternative, you’ll see. They tell you prizes aren’t everything, but that doesn’t feel true. Prizes are awesome.
Whenever I toured the St. Louis County Fair as a kid, I’d look at all the entries and say to myself, “I could beat that.” Never mind that, at the time, I’d never grown a vegetable, decoupaged a handmade wooden box, or raised a chicken. To me, macaroni art was a crime against Kraft dinners.
That didn’t matter. I’d look at those ribbons and nitpick the winners. If you spend time at the county fair, you see people doing this constantly. You call those green beans? I’ll show you some green beans.
This year, I was invited to be a judge for the 4-H program at the county fair. The four eponymous Hs are “head, hands, heart and health.” These refer to the citizenship, leadership and life skills taught by the organization. Though founded with a focus on agriculture, today 4-H does a lot more. They demonstrate livestock, arts and crafts, but also career skills and — in the category I was asked to judge — creative writing.
Even with doors open and fans running, the exhibit building steamed like a sauna. At the judges’ meeting I learned that 4-H judging at the county fair is hardcore. You award a ribbon right there on the spot — while looking into the hopeful eyes of the judged. No pressure. Jeez, it really is hot in here.
I was never in 4-H, so I assumed this would be easy. As a communication instructor, I grade speeches all the time. I’ve written countless critiques as a high school speech coach and judge. In both cases, I’ve unintentionally crushed people’s dreams. But I was surprised that selecting winners at the fair was even harder because the entries are each so unique.
In just three hours, I read 20 poems, short stories, works of nonfiction, graphic novels and comic books while having conversations with each young writer. The kids ran from age 8 to 17, spanning a wide range of writing development.
These students brimmed with passion for their handcrafted books, poems and stories. Every one of them reminded me of the excitement I felt when I started writing. Some of them read their work to me, others waited on pins and needles as I turned pages. At least two recited the whole story from memory with an enthusiasm that reminded me of long bus rides with friends after they had snuck into an R-rated movie over the weekend. (Though their stories were delightfully PG).
Of course, I can’t tell you about the specific stories or kids in this column. That would violate several of the H’s. But if you haven’t been yet, head over to the St. Louis County Fair before it closes on Sunday and check out their exhibits.
One of the most impressive things about these kids was that, even though they were promising writers, they were good at a wide variety of other things, too. Watching kids flit from one judging table to another, I saw them demonstrating not just one, but many valuable life skills.
We have a bad habit of telling younger generations that they’re not as good as the older ones. What I saw in the 4-H exhibition was a generation of people with useful, marketable skills, but also empathy and creativity. This world needs people who can do anything. These kids can.
Sure, it might be easy to nitpick people who try something new and then get better at it. But when’s the last time you did that? Not everyone gets a blue ribbon, but, as I told the kids, the only person who can stop you from writing is you.
Getting better is winning. The future is a prize we can share.
Aaron J. Brown is an author and college instructor from northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. He writes the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and co-hosts the podcast “Power in the Wilderness” on Northern Community Radio. This piece first appeared in the Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024 edition of the Mesabi Tribune.
Thanks, Aaron
We need to encourage young people to become involved in the creative arts whether it be writing, theater, music, dance, and more! The arts help us to become well-rounded, involved members of the community.