BURNS, Ore. — When 4-H’er Rowelly Wallace guided his goat to the show ring at the Harney County Youth Livestock Show in September, bidders in the crowd were about to make it a special moment.
Paddles raised: Sold for $3,600.
“Sell it again,” the buyer said. Another bidder bought it again, adding another $3,400.
The goat was resold 11 times, ultimately raising $26,500 for Make-A-Wish Oregon, a nonprofit that grants wishes to eligible children diagnosed with critical illnesses.
For Allen Taggart, an event giving manager at Make-A-Wish and a former 4-H faculty member with the Oregon State University Extension Service, youth livestock auctions are nothing new.
But this one, he said, “floored” him.
“I work with many schools and communities, and often, schools struggle to get over $5,000. But this auction got more than $26,000 in like 30 minutes,” he said. “That means three kids just got their wish granted.”
"His value was more than just a meat goat; it was to help kids that need something, a happy moment in their life in a very hard time of their life.”
Make-A-Wish supports youths like Noah Baker, a 17-year-old former 4-H’er in Harney County. Baker recently underwent a kidney transplant and continues treatment for FSGS, a rare kidney disease. His wish was for a side-by-side vehicle and Make-A-Wish delivered a brand-new red Honda UTV this April.
Baker was at the auction, standing next to 13-year-old Rowelly, and they both made a short speech to advocate for the fundraiser.
Baker’s elder sister, Tayleur Baker, said this wish has greatly impacted him, as he’s been able to find joy riding the UTV around their family ranch while undergoing medical treatment.
“I was very overwhelmed by the love and care from our community,” said Tayleur, a junior at Oregon State. “Hearing the result of this auction really took me back, knowing how much our community cares not only for our family, but also for so many other families that are currently going through such distressing times.”
A genie
This opportunity came to Rowelly when Taggart reached out to the OSU Extension office in Burns and youth livestock auction committee, asking if anyone wanted to support kids in the community who’ve been granted wishes by raising a paddle or donating an animal to raise funds.
“When I described the opportunity to him, he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’” said Katy Wallace, Rowelly’s mom.
Rowelly has always raised two goats for fair auctions, one as the primary and another as a backup. So, this time, the backup goat was for the Make-A-Wish fundraising effort.
Rowelly is familiar with hospital visits. When he was little, he underwent multiple surgeries to remove an invasive tumor in his ear. Remembering how difficult medical treatment can be, he said he felt compassion for kids facing serious illnesses.
“Everybody came up to me saying ‘congratulations’ and ‘good job,’” Rowelly said. “After hearing the sale granted three wishes for kids who need it, I got called a ‘genie.’”
Rowelly joined the OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Program in 2021 as a member of the Blue Ribbon Livestock Club. He is dedicated to raising goats and took care of five this year, one doe and four kids. He loved his goats and recalled without hesitation that the two goats sold at the fair were born on a Saturday, on April 6, at 10 a.m.
“It’s hard when you see they both have a blue mark on them because you know they are going to the same butcher,” Rowelly said. “But then you see the other side of it — his value was more than just a meat goat; it was to help kids that need something, a happy moment in their life in a very hard time of their life.”
At the Blue Ribbon Livestock Club, Rowelly has always been eager to help others and has come up with a creative way to nurse goats, according to his club leader, Melissa McElhannon. He designed a homemade feeding tool from a five-gallon bucket, a mason jar and hoses so a doe could feed multiple kids at once.
“Rowelly is a really fun and energetic kid to be around,” McElhannon said. “He has become more outgoing and conversational after joining 4-H … he is a great role model for the younger kids in our group, and I feel very blessed to have him in my club.”
Community connected through generosity
The Bakers were in the same club, too, before Tayleur went to Oregon State and Noah joined FFA. Both Noah and Rowelly attend schools in Crane, an unincorporated town with about 150 residents. It’s a small and connected community that shows up for kids in the county and supports people in need.
“You see dentists and tire shops and auto mechanics and plumbers and grocery stores and farmers … all these people are holding up their paddles and just bidding tens of thousands of dollars to support a kid and a wish,” Taggart said.
Having a goat resold 11 times is extremely rare, said Amanda Tyler, chair of the Harney County Youth Livestock Show and Auction. Goats typically sell once for about $2,000–$4,000. This was the first time Harney County had partnered with Make-A-Wish, and when Taggart told her Rowelly’s goat was one of the largest fundraisers he had seen since joining the organization, Tyler was in awe.
“I was like ‘it can’t be,’ because we are such a small community,” Tyler said. “There’s so much good in this, and because this auction went so well, we are thinking of picking a different charity to try again in the future.”
Autumn Toelle-Jackson, 4-H program coordinator in Harney County, shares the same hope.
“We hope to continue teaching generosity through 4-H,” she said. “We are thinking of creating an application process. Every year, a kid can propose a fundraiser where an animal is sold at the auction to different organizations and charities.”
Families and individuals interested in working with Harney County 4-H can reach out to the Extension office at 450 N Buena Vista Ave., Burns, or call at 541-573-2506.
Author’s note:
After publication, The Roundhouse Foundation matched a $26,500 grant to Make-A-Wish Oregon. The Roundhouse Foundation is a private family foundation based in Sisters, Oregon, that supports rural communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Email from Erin Borla, executive director and trustee of The Roundhouse Foundation:
“The story of Rowlley Wallace and his gift back to the communities in Harney County was heart-warming. To see so many businesses and people from across the county recognize Rowelly’s choice to support his community and offer to provide additional financial support is part of what makes rural communities special. Raising $26,500 for Make-A-Wish is a huge feat.
At Roundhouse Foundation, we support rural, remote and Indigenous communities throughout Oregon. Creative opportunities come up all the time – and especially when young people lead the way – we want to celebrate and honor those visions. Rowelly’s gift not only inspired his community – it inspired us here at the Foundation to match the county's support to Make-A-Wish.”
