It’s 6:30 in the morning. The temperature is below freezing, and the Montana sky is still black as pitch. The warm bed is magnetic and powerful, but nine-year-old Scarlett’s spirit of discipline is stronger.
With a heavy coat, a bucket of feed, and a sense of responsibility, Scarlett marches out to the pens to care for her pigs. Her mother, Aubrie Caton, has offered to help, but Scarlett politely declines. Watching her daughter from the frosted kitchen window, Aubrie feels proud. But the scene of her daughter braving the cold to care for her creatures isn’t just a proud parenting moment, it is history repeating itself. Before Scarlett, there was Aubrie, and long before Aubrie, there was Reu Carr.
The story of this dedication stretches back over a century, long before Scarlett was even a thought. It began in 1917, when a farmer named Reu Carr packed up his life, his sheep, and his dairy cows, moving from Iowa to Montana.
Reu had a passion for animal husbandry and a desire to pass that knowledge on to the local youth. He founded a group called the Creston Go-getters, a rag-tag group of farm kids that would eventually evolve into the Lakeview Livestock 4-H Club.
Reu’s great-granddaughter, Melanie Hayek, grew up with that inspiration and spent her own youth under the 4-H banner, earning ribbons with her market pigs, before eventually stepping into leadership roles to guide her own children through the program.
“The number one thing I hear from adults is that they can always tell when they’re dealing with a 4-H kid,” Melanie says. “They've got a good handshake, they look you in the eyes, and they can carry a conversation.”
Today, Melanie sees a state where nearly one in six youth—roughly 20,000 kids across all 56 Montana counties—participate in 4-H under the guidance of the Montana State University Extension. And Scarlett is just one of those 20,000 kids learning valuable life skills through the program.
While the program offers everything from photography to robotics, the livestock projects carry a unique weight.
“Parents will set their kids up the first year buying their pig or their sheep or their beef,” Melanie explains. “But from then on, the kids have to raise and care for the animal, and they have to market the animal. After the sale, they put the money into an account and hold onto it for next year. So, they are basically creating their own business.”
Besides grit and emotional resilience, these kids are building financial literacy. Melanie has watched 4-H kids leverage their livestock earnings to fund their college education and even put down payments on their first homes.
The program values this individual success as well as the overall well-being of a community. Guided by the four core pillars—Head, Heart, Hand, and Health—Lakeview Livestock participates in service such as cleaning up the streets of Somers, making fleece blankets for those in need, volunteering at the West Shore Food Bank, and raising money for Toys for Tots.
It was this blend of hard work and love of community that drew Aubrie Caton back to the club when Scarlett expressed interest. Aubrie’s own childhood memories are wrought by the magic of 4-H: family camping trips at the fairgrounds, the sweet routine of feeding her animals and cleaning pens, and the reward of a beautiful blue ribbon. Now, it’s Scarlett’s turn as she prepares to take one of her pigs to the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell.
While fun, this preparation for the fair will reveal a grounding truth for Scarlett, and many other kids preparing for their first 4-H. Raising a market animal means understanding exactly where food comes from. One of the final, sobering steps of the project is selling the animal at auction, knowing its destination is the slaughterhouse. It is a profound life lesson, and Aubrie’s voice softens with sympathy when she talks about her daughter navigating that reality.
Yet, the confidence it builds is undeniable. When asked about her journey, Scarlett’s eyes light up, and she emphatically states she most certainly will do it again next year.
“I love taking care of the animals and getting to play with them every day,” Scarlett says brightly. “I’m really looking forward to doing jumps on my horse and pageants with them someday.”
It has been more than a hundred years since Reu Carr brought his livestock to Montana, but his philosophy still echoes through the valley.
“My great-grandfather would say, ‘Never let it rest until the good is better, and the better is best,’” Melanie says, a smile in her voice.
Ultimately, the true measure of the program is found in the character of the people it produces.
The number one thing I hear from adults is that they can always tell when they’re dealing with a 4-H kid. They've got a good handshake, they look you in the eyes, and they can carry a conversation.
My great-grandfather would say, ‘Never let it rest until the good is better, and the better is best.’
4-H is the MSU Extension youth development program and the state's largest out-of-school program. If your family is interested in joining the 4-H program, please call 406-758-5553.