Sculpture raffle to aid building new 4-H Chuckwagon

Hill County 4-H will be raffling off a sculpture by a local artist at this week's Great Northern Fair, part of an ongoing effort by the group to raise money for a new Chuckwagon.

Willard Vaughn, a wheat farmer who lives about 24 miles northwest of Havre, made the 10 1/2 foot replica of wheat stalks from mild steel.

"I thought about making a wheat plant for about the past three years but didn't know what to make the kernels out of," said Vaughn. Then one night, he thought of using pipe caps for the kernels. He took the caps and crushed them in a press, before placing them on top of the wheat stock.

Before crafting the piece Vaughn, whose wife is a longtime 4-H volunteer, offered to donate the piece to be raffled off if the organization would sell the tickets.

"They need a new Chuckwagon badly, and I thought this is something I could do for the community that wouldn't cost me a lot of money," Vaughn said.

Tickets will be sold for $10 each at the Bigger Better Barn and on display throughout the five-day fair. Tickets will then be drawn and a winner determined on the last day of the fair.

Hill County 4-H has been seeking to replace the Chuckwagon since 2012 when a committee was established to study the project. The proposed 50-by-140-foot structure would replace the current Chuckwagon, built in the 1950s. So far, close to $100,000 of the estimated $400,000 price tag for the new building has been raised, along with thousands of dollars in in-kind donations of labor and a donation of kitchen equipment.

The proposed facility will house 4-H activities through the year and being offeredfor hosting meetings, exhibits and events throughout the year as well as for selling food during the fair.