Addyson Dell, an ambitious 13-year-old homeschooled eighth grader who is the secretary of her 4H club in Hollister, is on a mission to repair her new livestock shelter that was badly damaged in a recent wind storm.
With the help of her parents, Dell is raising funds online and from friends to rebuild the small metal structure, which Addyson explained she purchased and built for her and her brother, Calvin—also active in 4H—to house and take care of the animals they plan to show at county fairs during the next year.
The family estimates they can fix the shelter—which is about 10-by-20-feet with a high ceiling—for about $2,500.
Late in the night Dec. 23 and early in the morning Dec. 24, winds were so strong at her family’s home south of Hollister that Dell could hardly stand up straight. The animal pen—which Addyson had just finished constructing with her father, Jeromy, days earlier—had been picked up and moved a short distance before the family realized it was in jeopardy of sailing away.
As the wind picked up and tried to lift the structure off the ground, Addyson and her parents stood on the shaking metal shelter’s frame to keep it stationary, they explained at their property Tuesday morning. They placed a large cable spool on the bottom frame of the shelter and topped it with heavy items, but the pen still threatened to blow away. They were able to tie the frame down to a fence post, but the panels ripped off the sides and top.
The home is located on top of a steep hill. Addyson pointed out how the wind blows from the south, and if they couldn’t secure the metal shelter it could have blown all the way down the side of the mountain on the north side of the property.
“The wind was so powerful it was lifting the whole structure up,” Addyson said.
Eventually, the Dells’ neighbor came to the rescue with a tractor, using the vehicle’s bucket to hold down the animal shelter, which by then was little more than its frame. Some of the poles that comprised the frame were badly bent.
“If it wasn’t for (the neighbors) this thing would have flown down the hill,” Addyson said.
Addyson initially purchased the animal shelter with money she earned from a previous 4H livestock auction, said her father, Jeromy Dell. The family traveled to Barstow to purchase the unassembled structure “and slowly (assembled) it as a team,” says a fundraising page set up by the Dell family.
The teen explained that she planned to use the shelter for both her and her brother, both of whom will be raising livestock for 4H by the spring time. Addyson plans to raise two lambs and some turkeys this year; Calvin plans to show lambs and goats.
The shelter is designed to be divided to house multiple animals, giving each resident their own space. “We can’t just have them free range; that’s why we got this pen, so we could put stalls in it and just kind of keep our animals secure,” Addyson said.
Her father added, on a fundraising page set up for the rebuilding effort, “The shelter was meant to be the center of their daily chores, a safe place for four animals, and a spot to store all their supplies. It’s heartbreaking to see all that hard work undone so quickly.”
The fundraising page on gofundme.com has garnered about $360 toward a goal of $3,000. Some friends have independently offered some cash to help rebuild.
Jeromy said he thinks they can repair the shelter for a little bit less than the stated goal. Those repairs include new plywood paneling around the exterior, and straightening out some of the metal poles on the frame.
The remodeled structure will also include footings on the ground to keep the shelter stable and secured from future weather incidents, Jeromy explained.
Addyson has had a successful run in 4H, which she initially joined four years ago because she has always enjoyed taking care of animals. She has raised champion goats and turkeys for county fairs in San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. This year, she won third in poultry at a competition.
And animals are part of the entire Dell family’s life, with numerous quails and chickens, as well as a steer residing on their property.
Addyson said shortly after joining 4H, she “found out it was about more than just the animals.”
“It’s a good way to learn about business, management and responsibility,” she said. “I love that it’s very well rounded. I encourage a lot of people to try it. A lot of people think it’s just about the animals and it’s too much work. Yes, it is a lot of work but I feel like it creates good things later on in life and teaches lessons about life in general.”
