Sometimes we take for granted what makes some things succeed. We see exhibits, buildings, traditions and rarely think of whose hands built them, and whose hearts keep them going.
Up in Isabella County, the Bryant family is both. Their Baby Animal Barn at the county fair sees hundreds of visitors daily in a pocket-sized space at the heart of the fairgrounds.
Kids marvel at a Holstein calf, ducks, lambs, goats — and the stars of the show: baby chicks hatching all week long. While little hands try to coax pets from pens lining either side of the barn, parents read posters on the wall, helping visitors better understand where their food comes from.
A couple years ago I watched my own two-year-old loop ‘round and ‘round to revisit her new fluffy friends, but my mind never wandered to the exhibit’s origin story. Turns out Isabella’s Baby Animal Barn has stood the test of time now for almost five decades…
Origin Story
From the rafters down, every piece was built from scratch by Joe Bryant’s 4-H club, in a neighbor’s driveway in 1979. He and his club raised money to buy the supplies by partaking in the age-old tradition of selling candy bars.
Joe’s mom had been inspired watching a crowd gather to watch chicks hatch at the Ionia Free Fair. She knew it’d be the perfect project for their 4-H club, the Rural Routers — a club that now includes the great-grandchildren of one of its original volunteers, who still stops by to visit the Baby Animal Barn to reminisce.
Over the years, the barn has tallied more than 50,000 visitors, and the Bryants have continued to maintain it with the TLC it deserves, from paint jobs to a couple new roofs. Lately, they’ve found a helping hand in the Isabella County Farm Bureau.
County president Cathy McCune has kept her eyes open at every visit.
“Since I’ve gotten to know Joe, I call him up and say, ‘Tell us what you need. What can you use to make it easier for visitors?’”
Such conversations have led to improvements including new ventilation fans, picnic tables and tents for the area outside of the barn, and this year new signage. There may even be a new tactile activity in store for 2025.
Next-level Farm Bureauing
For Cathy, the fair is “…where we can meet our members where they’re at.
“A lot of members have ties to the fair, and it helps them see where their membership money went.”
Not only does Cathy meet members at the fair, but she also recruits members there.
“Every event should be a membership event.”
The Baby Animal Barn isn’t the only place where Isabella County Farm Bureau has made an impact on their fair. As active participants, they’ve come alongside programming, campers and volunteers over the years.
One year they distributed water and popcorn at the livestock sale. Another year they gave “trailer bags” to every camper, complete with an events schedule, hand sanitizer, safety pins, first aid kit, ink pen, candy, an issue of Michigan Farm News — and of course a membership application!
Their other efforts have focused on livestock exhibitors — wash pails, soap, sponges — and this year, bright t-shirts bearing QR codes for 4-H and Farm Bureau. Cathy dubbed them “walking billboards.”
All these ideas hinge on the county Farm Bureau partnering with existing programs, pulling up alongside and amplifying their efforts.
“Partnering with other organizations benefits everyone. You don’t have to do everything on your own: Look around… You don’t need your name in lights, just do what you need to do.”
And Outreaching
Cathy pointed out that a key to the county’s partnership with the Bryants and their Baby Animal Barn is their openness and big-picture acceptance of the mission they have in common.
Joe is a member of MFB’s state-level Promotion & Education committee, putting to work for Farm Bureau his 50 years of experience of sharing agriculture with the public. And he encourages others to follow suit.
“I really think the incubator and the chicks are the heart of it,” he said. “If you didn’t have anything but chicks, you’d still have people. Have a safe spot for the incubator and the chicks, and build from there. We pull chicks from the incubator two or three times a day. The chicks hatching right out of the egg definitely makes everybody look.”
Both Cathy and Joe believe partnering with clubs can help make such events run smoothly. Joe’s club’s 46 years of involvement is the proof.
“If you have a club that’s active and ready to go, you don’t have to come up with a dozen bodies to help run it. Our club is considered a community service club and is always looking to help out in the community in any way.”
And for Joe, there’s always one of his grandkids begging to be the volunteer of the day.
“Me and the grandkids open it in the morning, and usually a family member is within earshot to deal with something if we have to."
Cathy insists a sharp 4-H club isn’t the only reason for the barn’s continued success.
“Because of the Bryant family and their 4-H group — and the commitment of their family — people have been able to enjoy the Baby Animal Barn. The county Farm Bureau is proud to come alongside in any way to help keep it going.”
Grand Finale
Joe’s parting comment to me will stick in my head for years to come:
“Get involved and stay that way. Don’t start something and dump it.”
Countless visitors — generations of them — to the Isabella County Fair are thankful to Joe and his family for sticking to their commitment.
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