Well, small town as we are it made the paper. Along with a plea for people to drop off things to send "Charlie" (The student that got Oklahoma) that would teach him about our great state. So what can I send?? Something that speaks of Oklahoma and Agriculture? You know me ... I came up with a plan ... I would never miss a chance to help out a fellow student learn about rural life, fleece or fiber.
First I found one of these.... It is a post card that we got free from our printer with my last order ... I had no idea what to do with them but now I know how to use one ...
I Hope this letter finds you well. Let me introduce myself. My name is RJ. I am 15 yrs old and I live on the prairies of Northeastern Oklahoma. I heard about your project for school and wanted to let you know that most of Oklahoma is a beef producing state. That means most people around here raise cattle to put meat in the supermarkets around the country. I also wanted a chance to tell you that a small amount of us in Oklahoma also raise sheep, alpaca and goats for Fiber. Fiber is their wool.
With the wool from the animals we make things like yarn, rugs and clothing. I am sending you a few samples of different stages of the wool process so you can let the others in your class feel them and see what they really look like. I also wanted to invite you to follow a real Oklahoma Farm on the web.
You see, I am someone who owns a small fiber farm. It started as my 4-H project and now is a real business. I even have customers in Apple Valley Ca. and Sunset Beach Ca. I wanted to share that I have my own website and it is kid friendly. There is a blog that you can use to find out what is happening on the farm and you can even contact me with questions.
Along with the samples that I sent, there is a picture of me and my dog with my goats. On the front of the picture is my web address and on the back is a lot of ways to get in contact with me, but you have to ask your parents first. Feel free to share the web page address with your classmates, friends and teacher. Spring is the most fun season on the farm. In the spring people on the web get to name our baby sheep and goats and we have a lot of fun.
I hope your project goes well
Sincerely,
RJ Straw
AKA Young Shepherd