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Son raises prize steer chosen by deceased father
MONROE, Mich. (AP)--Bobby Heck may be gone, but his legacy lives on at the Monroe County Fair.
The longtime fair board member and 4-H leader must have flashed his familiar grin when the steer he picked out last fall for his oldest son, Christopher, was chosen the top Division 1 steer during a recent beef show.
Christopher, 16, was elated after the 1,130-pound Angus steer was named the best in the lightweight division. So were his mother, Annette, and family and friends--many of whom were in tears when the judge shook his hand.
It's been 10 months since Bobby Heck died after a long battle with sarcoma, a form of cancer.
Last October, Christopher and his father visited the Stanger Club Calves farm in Dundee to find a steer project. They had looked over many calves when Heck pointed to one of the dark cattle and said, "That's a good one there."
Heck succumbed to cancer Nov. 5. A month later, when Christopher returned to the Stanger farm, the Stangers offered him another steer to replace the one his father had selected. Christopher was adamant: He wasn't going to switch.
"I decided to go with it," the tall, blond Monroe High School junior said after the show. "He knew what he was talking about. He helped us with all of our animals. I told them I was going to (bring home) the steer my dad picked out."
For years, Heck coached Christopher and his two siblings--15-year-old Ethan and 13-year-old Emma--on how to raise and show pigs, lambs and steers. Steers were a favorite on the farm where Heck and his brother helped raise calves for their kids, nephews and nieces to show.
Christopher has many fond memories of working with his dad to walk and groom their animals.
"I've been showing since I was 9," he said. "Dad helped me with my first year of showing steers. We had two bull calves. I got a second place with one. I've been taking homegrown ones ever since."
That's what impressed his mother the most, that he raised the county-born steer on his own.
"Chris did about 98 percent of the work himself," Annette Heck said. "He did all the walking and grooming without Bob. He had to."
Christopher plans to use the profit from selling the prize steer toward college. He wants to attend Michigan State University like his father. He plans to major in both animal science and crop science. He'd also like to follow in his dad's footsteps by judging livestock and owning a herd of beef cattle for breeding.
Annette Heck said her son was confident that, if he worked hard, he could make a top steer out of the animal his dad chose.
"I just wanted to go for a winner this year," Christopher said. "I know he was watching me out there."
Date: 9/22/05
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