Home on the Grange

Chickens squawk and laughter drifts across the desert as children play in the fading sunlight. But they are not just passing time; they are junior members of the High Desert Grange preparing for the 2013 San Bernardino County Fair.

Thanks to help from the Junior Grange, 9-year-old Olivia Finch of Apple Valley competed in her first county fair this year. Finch showed rabbits and secured her first blue ribbon.

“I love my bunnies,” Finch said. Though shy with humans as she shared her ribbons at a monthly Grange meeting, Finch is very happy with animals as she tells of her experience at the fair. “I got two: first and a second.”

The Grange appears to be a family affair at the Finch household. Twin brothers Caden and Bryce plan on showing chickens at next year’s fair. The boys run in circles as they try to catch the birds in their pen.

“Soon it’s our turn,” Bryce said.

The kids think they are just having fun playing with their animals, but mother Jenifer Finch knows the Grange means much more than that.