A Lamb Called “Stormy”

Dear reader, please indulge me a moment to comment on the reporting of agriculture in many of our local newspapers. Most are trying, but many just don’t understand the importance of ag in Wyoming and the significance of our county and state fairs. Below is a letter to the editor I sent to the local newspaper correcting an otherwise good article. Enjoy.

Years and years ago when I was a kid showing sheep at the Carbon County Fair, if I had “five market-WEATHER” lambs they would be named “Stormy,” “Wind,” “Rain,” “Snow” and “Hail.”

However, if I was showing a market-WETHER it would have been called “Lamb Chop,” as opposed to “Rambo.” It would be tough to decide WHETHER that would be the right call or not.

Congratulations to Corson Kerbs for weathering another fair by scoring a double grand champion slam with “Fluffy” the steer and “Stormy” the wether – described in the dictionary as “a male sheep castrated while immature.”

Signed, Dick Perue, a former 4-H  and FFA member who weathered several Carbon County Fairs by showing market lambs as well as reporting on lots of fairs while editor, publisher and proofreader for The Saratoga Sun in bygone days. As author of several hundred articles about showing sheep, I can’t recall ever using the term “market-wether.”

P.S. The really sad thing is that my computer doesn’t even list “wether” in its spellcheck. I had to look it up the old-fashioned way – in Webster’s Dictionary.