Entering the county fair makes for a unique experience each
year
Brian and Russell Tobias have their morning routine down
pat.
The 12-year-old twin brothers wake up at 6:30 every morning
– even on weekends. They stumble into the bathroom, splash some
water on their faces, pull on their pig clothes and finally, make
their way outside through the early morning chill to the family’s
barn, where Georgia and Spok are patiently awaiting their
breakfast.
Entering the county fair makes for a unique experience each year
Brian and Russell Tobias have their morning routine down pat.
The 12-year-old twin brothers wake up at 6:30 every morning – even on weekends. They stumble into the bathroom, splash some water on their faces, pull on their pig clothes and finally, make their way outside through the early morning chill to the family’s barn, where Georgia and Spok are patiently awaiting their breakfast.
Georgia and Spok are the twins’ market pigs, one of two projects the boys are entering in the 2007 San Benito County Fair. The fair takes places Sept. 28-30 at Bolado Park. This is the third straight year the boys have chosen pigs as their fair project, in spite of the work raising a pig requires, such as the early morning feedings.
“Even if you are tired, you have to feed your pig,” Brian said. “If you have to slap yourself, put cold water on your face, you do it. You do whatever you have to to get yourself out there.”
Russell agreed.
“You feed your pig before you feed yourself,” Russell continued. “It is a show of respect to your pig. If you eat first, you might get busy and forget. You’ll be at school, sitting in class and all of a sudden you might think ‘shoot, I forgot to feed the pigs.’ And you don’t want that to happen.”
Growing up on a ranch off of Santa Anita Road in Tres Pinos meant being introduced to the raising of livestock at an early age. The boys have been around animals their entire lives, and have even participated in such activities as brandings. They joined the Ausaymas 4-H Club several years ago, and entered their first pigs in the county fair in 2005 with a little help from their parents.
“Our cousin always does pigs, and said pigs were pretty easy,” Russell said. “They make you more money than a lamb would, and they are way smarter. So we went with pigs.”
Starting out wasn’t cheap.
“A good pig can cost you around $200-$400,” Brian added. “The first year, our mom and dad bought us the pigs. After we sold our first ones, they put our money into an account, and now we buy our own pigs. They help pay for food, but we pretty much pay for it all ourselves.”
Brian and Russell buy their pigs in June, and for the next four months, caring for the pigs is the boys’ primary focus. In addition to the early morning feedings, there are, of course, the 7 p.m. evening feedings. After school the brothers spend time cleaning out the pigs’ pens, and once their homework is finished, they walk the pigs, a necessary task for a pig’s overall showmanship, Brian said.
“Halfway through the summer, you start walking your pig to build up muscle and help your pig learn self-control,” he said. “When you are showing your pig, you want the judges to think ‘hey, that pig looks nice, he walks nice. That kid must have worked hard with his pig.’ A good walk is important if you want to do well. Sometimes a judge takes a while making up his mind and you’ll have to walk your pig for a long time, so you want him to be used to it. Walking also works muscles, so it helps to increase your pig’s weight and leaner muscle will make the meat taste a lot better.”
So far, the boys’ pigs have performed well at the fair – in 2005, Brian’s first pig was named a Reserve Grand Champion and placed second overall, while Russell’s pig won first place in its class. Since then, both boys have won a number of ribbons in their class, which is based on the weight and gender of the pig. This year, they are a little worried about their pigs’ weight, as Georgia currently weighs in at 190 pounds and Spok at 205 pounds, which is a bit underweight.
“It’s not a good year for pigs,” Brian said. “All of the pigs were light, and our 4-H leader’s pig didn’t even have a litter, and usually she has around three. I don’t know why, but it’s just not a great year overall.”
Although they hope to do well at this year’s fair, both boys said they choose to raise their pigs for the experience rather than the prizes.
“Sometimes you feel bad knowing you are sending your pig off to be slaughtered,” Russell said. “The first year, Brian had a great pig – he was a real character. He would sit in his food pan and make us laugh. It was kind of sad when we said good-bye.”
“If you have a pig that is so ornery you just put its food in its dish and split and you don’t want to spend time with it, then it’s easy,” Brian said. “But if he’s a great pig, you kind of feel bad.”
Photo finish
Watching their child eat a juicy slice of watermelon might make most parents think of sticky fingers and stained clothing.
Chris Preston wonders how to catch the moment on film.
Preston, a local mother of two, is an amateur photographer whose home is filled with shots of her daughter Taylor, 10, and son Tyler, 4. Last year, she became a first-time fair participant, entering five of her photos into the novice photography class.
“I take pride in participating in a community event both as a contributor and to view and enjoy the handiwork of my friends and neighbors,” Preston said. “It teaches my children to take part in an educational event that focuses on community involvement and the heritage of our county, and it is a lot of fun, too.”
Seeing the world through a camera lens is something that comes naturally to Preston – many of her family members are into photography. It prompted her to pick up a camera at an early age. That interest peaked with the birth of Taylor in 1997.
“When Taylor was born, I found myself wanting to get really good shots of her,” she said. “Of course, I had an older camera that wouldn’t focus, and I had trouble with lighting. Trying to get good shots of a moving 18 month old with that camera was a real challenge.”
Since then, Preston has invested in a better quality 35-millimeter camera that she prefers to the newer digital cameras now on the market.
“I like working with film,” she said. “I don’t think I’d like the way my pictures would look digitally.”
Last year, Preston entered five photographs – three color shots and two black and white shots. Three featured Taylor and Tyler. Four of the five shots won awards in the novice class, and a shot of Tyler bending over to pluck something out of the dirt took second place.
“Taking part in the fair reminds me to pick up my camera and take more artistic shots and to concentrate on photography as an art form,” she said. “Sometimes that idea is put on the back burner when life is hectic.”
Her family is still her favorite subject, and Preston said she is looking forward to entering several shots of her children as well as scenic and abstract shots in this year’s fair.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I am one of those people who constantly sees the world through a viewfinder, noticing lighting, backgrounds and subjects. I find myself saying, ‘That would have made a great shot’ numerous times each day.”
Barnyard Boogie
The San Benito County Fair runs Friday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Sept. 30 at the fairgrounds at Bolado Park off Airline Highway in Tres Pinos. Fair admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for children 6-12 and children under 5 years of age are free. Discount tickets are now available at Rancher’s Feed, Esperanza Travel and at the fairgrounds through Thursday, Sept. 27. Parking is $3 per vehicle. For more information, call 628-3421.
