The annual Tesmer Farm Safety Day Camp event was held at the Mabel Steam Engine Grounds on May 15. Every year, fourth grade students from throughout Fillmore and Houston counties gather to learn about a wide variety of safety issues, and this year’s attendees enjoyed perfect weather for the outing.
Local extension educator Michael Cruse said that although the event has a 25-year history, “This is my third Farm Safety Day. The nice thing for me is I really walked into this. They kind of had the structure in place; my predecessor, Jerry Tesmer, and a number of other community members really brought this thing together and got all the schools to buy in. Now I’m just keeping it going and fine tuning it a little bit.”
The event ran from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and included a lunch served by the Fillmore County Cattlemen. As students learned at 13 stations around the grounds (on such safety topics as lawn mowers, ATVs, tractor rollovers, water safety, horse safety, electrical safety), Cruse explained what makes the event so special.
He said that every school in Fillmore and Houston counties participates, although, “A couple of the private schools come every other year because they have such small class sizes.” Regarding the number of students, Cruse said, “The funny thing is, we’re down this year, but only because we had 590, which was a record, last year. We’re still at 532, I think, which is higher than our average.” Over the history of the event, the average attendance has been a little under 500.
Cruse marvels at the generosity of the community in helping to make the event successful. He pointed out, “The thing that keeps this successful,… it’s three big things. We get a number of donations, we have to raise between $4,000 and $6,000 every year for this.” He explained that monetary and equipment donations have continued to roll in, such as free usage of porta-potties, and two tents that were donated. Secondly, he said, “Then there’s all the donation of time,” as individuals and groups pitch in to help. And finally, Cruse said, “And the schools buy in. The schools make this a part of their curriculum, and they always show up!”
Cruse said the education stations have a wide variety of offerings, explaining, “We do a lot of things that are fun, but some of the things scare them a little bit. Like that lawn mower… they actually stick a cardboard hand underneath to actually show them. It’s a good mix of fun and good education.” He added that the kids’ favorite is always the station where they get to experience holding onto an actual fire hose as it sprays up into the sky.
As he headed to check on lunch preparations, Cruse summarized, “This is such a good example of community members working with professionals,… and getting donations from other community members. It’s good all the way around.” And over 500 fourth graders’ smiles showed that they agreed with his assessment.