It was a project for a father and son: an Eddy County, New Mexico, dad hoping to teach his son about hard work through raising and showing a steer, but he died before they could finish the project.
This weekend, the community stepped in as the son’s project came to an end.
It was an emotional moment as 9-year-old Sammy Fodge’s steer was auctioned off at the Eddy County Fair.
“Just to watch the people get up and just start clapping. Just start supporting the moment he walked in that ring,” Sammy’s mom Sally Fodge said.
His father, Paul Fodge, was an Eddy County Sheriff’s deputy who died in June.
Wearing his late father’s SWAT pin, he walked around with the steer the two set out to raise back in October.
The bidding went on for minutes.
“The numbers kept rising, and it kept going. Tears started rolling,” Sally said. “Once it hit 20, in the 20s, I looked at Sam. We locked eyes for a minute. I gave him an ‘I love you’ sign and after that, I think I just went numb.”
Paul had also been with the Carlsbad Police Department and served in the Army. It was the family’s first time participating in the fair and Sammy’s first year in 4-H.
“Paul and I wanted to teach him that you had to work hard to get there,” Sally said.
Sally said Paul and Sammy bonded over the steer they named S’more, going out to feed and bathe him together. “When life changed, we knew we needed to continue, we knew we needed to continue the dream.”
“That’s the biggest thing I think I saw, was the resiliency that came out,” said Eddy County Extension 4-H Agent Wanye Shockey.
Sammy’s hard work and dreams culminated in S’more selling for $56,000. The normal market value for a steer his size is about $1,300.
“Overwhelmed with the amount of support and the love that this community had given us,” said Sally. “Paul would’ve … Paul is very proud of Sammy.”
“It was a surreal moment, I don’t think there was a dry eye in that barn,” said Shockey.
Most of the proceeds will now go into a college fund, but some money will go to purchase animals for next year’s fair.
(Story from krqe.com)
