Saturday, March 12 was the second day of the 4-H Communication Days. There were 52 members giving a variety of demonstrations on a wide variety of topics, including dog obedience training, cooking, impromptu speaking, and caring for your hedgehog, to name a few.

“When we had Communication Days on only one day in the past many of the 4-H members had conflicts with sports or other events. We made it a two day contest with the finals one week later,” Shirley Kinkade, the MSU Extension office Administrative Assistant from the Sanders County office, stated.

Hot Springs High School classrooms, the home economics room, the multi-purpose room, and a recreation center in Hot Springs were the locations of the demonstrations. Each 4-H member was allowed a maximum time of 15 minutes and gave their demonstration in front of three judges. There were 15 judges who were either former members of 4-H or members from several Sanders County towns; Plains, Hot Springs, Trout Creek, and Thompson Falls.

Rachel Wrobleski is in her sixth year of 4-H and decided to do an impromptu speaking demonstration. She would not know the topic of her speech until she drew it from the judges. Wrobleski drew the topic,” What has been your most rewarding experiences in 4-H?” She had only three minutes to create the speech in the room and then present the speech to the judges. After the three minutes had passed, she was informed that she could give her speech when she was ready.

“The first most rewarding experience was failing at a demonstration a couple of years ago and then being able to give it successfully last year at 4-H congress,” she said. “The success after failure was much better than having the success all along. You need to keep going. A second rewarding experience was my showmanship at the fair in the barns. I enjoyed getting the opportunity to educate the public on the animals I raised. The third and final rewarding experience is helping other members with their presentations.”

She gave a summary of her main points from the speech. There were no questions from the judges on her Impromptu Speaking and she was informed that she had spoken for four minutes and 40 seconds.

A very interesting and educational demonstration was given by Tess Lyscio, who is in her eighth year of 4-H. Her demonstaration was titled “How to care for your Hedgehog.” She had decided to bring her Hedgehog, named Watson, and her brothers Hedgehog, named Moriarty, to the demonstration. She also had many of the things necessary to care for them, including a cage, litter box, a small plastic igloo, paper for the litter box, food, a food tray, a wheel, and a water bottle. Lyscio had many adults and kids asking about the Hedgehogs before and after the demonstration. She stated in her demonstration that Hedgehogs are native to Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Africa. They are related to the shrew family and are nocturnal. They have quills and go through a Quilling when they are 6-8-weeks-old and at four months. That is when they lose their baby quills and get the adult quills. The Hedgehog Watson was a pygmy and is a domesticated pet. The Hedgehog could very easily be held in one hand, though Lyscio and two of the judges held it cradled in two hands.

The finals for 4-H communication Days will be held in Plains High School on March 19 starting at 1 p.m.

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at dwilks@vp-mi.com or 406-826-3402.