Growing UP Farmers exhibit is a hit at U.P. State Fair
Mary Feldhusen - mfeldhusen@dailypress.net
ESCANABA - Gov. Jennifer Granholm said it was an "awesome display." A visitor from Columbia, Mo. gave it a grade of "A++."
Two other people said, "It was a cool exhibit for both kids and adults," and Brian of Chicago wrote, "All of it was terrific and the papermaking as (an) end product of forestry was a great hands-on idea."
The exhibit was a "living forest" display set up by members of the Pulp & Paperworkers' Resource Council (PPRC) at this year's U.P. State Fair. The exhibit was part of the "Growing UP Farmers" hands-on learning attraction. Granholm paid a visit to the display when she attended the fair on Aug. 20.
"She was pretty excited about making paper," said Michelle Labadie, organizer for the exhibit and coordinator of the PPRC at MeadWestvaco (MWV) in Escanaba. It was the first year the PPRC had an interactive display at the fair. In the previous two years, the PPRC had a booth in the Ruth Butler Building and the organization mostly posted information for people to read, she said.
This year, people could actually make paper at the booth. They got to follow the papermaking process from beginning to end. Labadie explained to visitors that papermaking involves a recipe just like a person uses to cook at home.
Visitors were able to mix up wood chips with water, and then screen, cook, wash, bleach, refine, press and dry the mixture before arriving at the final product - a piece of paper.
"Teachers were really enjoying it," said Labadie. Many commented that it was very educational for kids and adults alike.
An eight-foot-long model of a paper machine at MeadWestvaco Papers Group's Rumford, Maine, mill, made by PPRC members in Rumford, was set up in the booth to help illustrate the paper-making process. Finished products manufactured from paper and paperboard made in the U.P. by MeadWestvaco in Escanaba, International Paper in Quinnesec and Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation in Ontonagon were also on display in the booth.
The PPRC's "living forest" was just one part of the "Growing UP Farmers" attraction designed to teach agriculture to children. The new exhibit tried to bring together what's important in farming to the Upper Peninsula.
"You can't have agriculture without forestry," said Deb Mulvaney, U.P. State Fair special events coordinator. "Forestry is a crop."
Upon entering the exhibit building, kids were given a basket and directed to different work stations to complete a variety of "chores," said Mulvaney.
They fed pretend chickens; drove little pedal tractors to haul hay; dug for potatoes; picked fake vegetables; and practiced milking a fake cow before heading into the forestry section.
"The Governor thought it was wonderful," Mulvaney said. In fact, so much positive feedback was received on the exhibit that the fair administration is kicking around the idea of making it a year-round project.
"It will definitely be back at the fair next year," Mulvaney said.
"Growing UP Foresters" and "Growing UP on the Great Lakes" have also been suggested as exhibits. "This was just a baby step," she said.
The PPRC has already signed on to participate in next year's exhibit, said Labadie. Helping with this year's PPRC display were representatives from PACE Local 21 (Paper Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers' International Union), IBEW Local 979 (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Teamsters Local 328 (International Brotherhood of Teamsters), MWV salaried people, employee's children, and workers from International Paper and Smurfit-Stone Corporation.
Display items were furnished by MWV's greenhouse, Ed LaCosse Forest Products, Jay Sargent, Northern Lodge and Down Co. and Flinn's Floral.
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Mary Feldhusen, 786-2021, ext. 144
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