A year-round job

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Fair is more than just a week of long, hot days at the Weston County Fairgrounds for 9-year-old 4-Her Joslyn Pischke, who prepares for fair year-round. From feeding her animals to working on a major static project, Pischke has dedicated lots of time over the past year for that one week of animal showing, rodeos and fun in the sun. 
This year, Pischke took on her first major sewing project, creating a full-size quilt that she will use for her bed after fair is over. 
“I have been sewing for about four years,” Pischke said. 
Working her way up slowly, Pischke had created smaller quilts in years past, but this year the determined youngster broke out her gifted sewing machine and worked off and on over five months to create the quilt. 
“It takes lots of sewing with the machine. I had to pick out all the fabric and cut it and then design it,” Pischke said. “The hardest part was sewing the quilt squares to the backing because you have a lot of fabric to wrestle with.” 
Pischke recalled developing an interest in sewing at a very young age, watching her Grandma Marcia, who then taught her the skill. 
Grandma Marcia isn’t the only person with whom Pischke has connected by virtue of her love of creating with thread and cloth. 
“Joslyn met a friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas and runs a sewing store,” said Pischke’s mother, Jill. “She and Joslyn hit it off right away, swapping sewing stories. My friend enjoyed Joslyn’s love of sewing so much she surprised her with a new sewing machine of her own.” 
The friendship is still going strong.
“That was a little over two years ago, and needless to say they are still great friends and Joslyn is always excited to show her friend Beth Boyer her latest sewing projects,” Jill Pischke said.
Pischke plans to continue to perfect her sewing skills and has her next quilt already planned out. 
“I am pretty excited I reached my goal of making my first big quilt,” Pischke said. 
Not only will Pischke be entering her first static exhibit in the 2019 Weston County Fair, she will be showing her market sheep and goat for the first time, as well as her horse, Houdini. 
“This is the first year I’ve had market sheep and a market goat, so my mom is teaching me a lot,” she said. “I have to exercise them almost every day and feed them special feed.”
Jill Pischke said that her daughter’s time is pretty well occupied with her animals, especially in the summer. 
While Houdini has been Pischke’s partner in rodeo for the past three years, this is her first time showing Houdini at fair. Horses have been a part of her life since she was very young. 
While Pischke may be busy from sunup to sundown on some days getting ready for fair and caring for her animals, she admits she wouldn’t trade it for anything. 
“I love getting to learn to bond with my animals, and the hard work of being a cowgirl is fun,” Pischke said. “Riding Houdini is my favorite. I love spending time with him, but taking care of all of my animals is the best.”
She would encourage any kid her age to get an animal because the things they can teach you are important, Pischke said. She has learned a lot about the animals and responsibility through preparing for fair, she said. 
Pischke’s animals and the quilt, along
with the pint-sized cowgirl in charge of
them, can be found at the Weston County Fairgrounds beginning July 27 for the 2019 Weston County Fair.