The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 29, Ed. 1, Friday, December 8, 1989 Page: 3 of 8
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Friday December 8 1989
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For th
Love
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Story by Lorri Hunter
Photos by Robyn Stultz
Pushing a stray strand of
curly brown hair back from
her face Lisa Pitney hefted
another block of hay Irom the pile.
The motley assortment of barn cats
scurried around her feet as she
tossed the hay into the stall where
'two colts waited impatiently for
their feed.
When each of the eight colts had
received its daily ration Lisa final'
. ly turned her attention to the cats
and kittens that came racing to
receive the food she ladled out for
them. The feeding of the cats was
the last task in a typical day for
Lisa a senior animal science major
from Newton Falls Ohio.
Lisa staned working at Allen
Farm the first semester of her
freshman year and she liked her
job so much she never gave it up.
"When I started working here
the first thing they did was in
troduce me to all the horses and
show me how to feed them" Lisa
said. "I was so excited because the
horses just walked right up to me.
I loved it."
Lisa's love of animals not only
has helped her enjoy her job but it
also has influenced her choices
concerning what she wants to do
with her life.
"When I was in high school I
visited my uncle's ranch in Wyom-
ing and I loved it so much I
decided right then I wanted to
study agriculture and work with
animals" she said.
As Lisa began investigating col-
leges where she could study
agriculture and animal science her
decision to come to ACU was
made easy by the possibility of a
job on the school farm.
When Dr. Ed Brokaw associate
professor of agriculture sent her
scholarship and financial aid in-
formation he also happened to
mention that she might be able to
work at Allen Farm if she qualified
for the College Work Study Pro-
gram. This offer was all the en-
couragement Lisa needed to choose
ACU.
Now in her last year of an
animal science degree Lisa looks
on her time at the farm as one of
her most valuable learning experi-
ences. She has learned how to
breed horses how to give shots to
baby pigs and how to control un-
cooperative animals. She also has
learned that life on a farm is not all
fun and games.
: "They might start to rear
up and paw the air and I
have to try to stay in con-
trol of these huge horses
that weigh more than
1 000 pounds."
As well as the fun chores such
as feeding the horses her duties
include raking stalls sweeping
barns painting fences carrying
hay cleaning watering troughs and
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exercising stud horses.
"Exercising the stud horses is
especially scary because they get
spooked over little things" Lisa
said. "They might start to rear up
and paw the air and I have to try
to stay in control of these huge
horses that weigh more than 1000
pounds.
But the things that scare Lisa
probably give her the best educa-
tion she admitted as she prepared
herself for another intimidating
task. In this case she was about to
administer a shot of penicillin to a
young horse that had an infection.
Pulling back slowly on the syr-
inge she carefully drew hc last j
few drops of penicillin into the
needle. She poised the syringe over
the horse's hip but she hesitated
as though unwilling to drive the
needle in.
"Just pop him with your hand a
few times to make him numb and
then push it in quick" encouraged
Kathy Franklin director of equita-
tion. Taking a deep breath and squar-
ing her shoulders Lisa drove the
needle in. The shot passed without
incident but her hands were
trembling as she drew nway.
"I've learned how to do things
I'm afraid of in this job like that
shot" she said. "And I think these
experiences will help me in life."
Lisa said her parents were sur-
prised when she told them she en-
joyed working on the farm.
"We are from a small city and I
had never done anything like this
before" she said. "They didn't
think I'd like it."
But she did like her work
despite her lack of experience.
"I didn't know a single thing
about jigriailture before I came
down here" Lisa said. "I've learn-
ed a lot on this farm about working
with animals and about
agriculture."
"I want to do something
with my life where I can
spend time helping. other -
people."
When Lisa graduates she plans
to spend two years in the Peace
Corps teaching agriculture skills in
an underdeveloped country Her
Peace Corps application is now
under review and she will have
her first interview Wednesday. She
said she always has been interested
in the culture of China so she
hopes she can be sent there to
teach the women andyoun&peo-
ple. "I always wanted to be a mis-
sionary or a Peace Corps volun-
teer" said Lisa. "I want to do
something with my life where I
can spend time helping other peo-
ple." When Lisa finishes her service
with the Peace Corps she wjll
probably look for a job with a gov-
ernment agriculture extension
Lisa Pitney
Lisa senior animal science major from Newton Falls Ohio cweeps out the horse barn at the farm.
agency but she doesn't want her
career to end there. She dreams
beyond then to a time when she
can combine the things she loves
most in life.
"My dream is to someday have a
ranch where I can have a home for
children" she said. "I want to take
the troubled and lost children
the kids nobody wants and I want
to let them grow up in a natural
environment where they can help
me take care of the animals."
Lisa has big dreams for helping
people and animals someday. For
the moment however she must
turn her attention back to the task
at hand. Specifically a barn full of
horses and five hungry cats who
nudge her from her dreams to re-
mind her dinner time is fast ap-
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One of Lisa's duties at the farm is tq Hoop the bams sup-
plied with grain and hay.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 29, Ed. 1, Friday, December 8, 1989, newspaper, December 8, 1989; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101550/m1/3/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.