GRACE — “I’ll believe it when pigs fly,” wouldn’t be an unexpected response if someone told you that a local boy recently sold his first ever 4-H animal for about $12,000 at a local county fair — and then gave the money away.
But such was the case for 9-year-old Flint Van Buren, of Grace, whose 302-pound Hampshire cross barrow, whom he named Piggy Smalls, recently sold not just once — or even twice — but three times at the Caribou County Fair last week, netting a total of at least $12,000.
“It was pretty cool, you know,” Flint’s father Matt Van Buren recently told the Idaho State Journal. “There weren't a whole lot of dry eyes in the place.”
Emotions were high inside the sale barn at the fair the evening of Aug. 9 and it wasn’t because of how much money Piggy Smalls went for — but rather, how much good all that money could do for Flint's best friend who's battling cancer.
FLINT’S 4-H JOURNEY BEGINS
Matt, Flint and the boy’s mother, Nicky, embarked on their first 4-H venture in March when they obtained Piggy Smalls from a local family friend. At the time, the small pig weighed just 98 pounds.
“Our friends run a breeding program for 4-H and they told us they had some pigs for sale back in March,” Matt said. “Flint saw them and decided that’s what he wanted to do was raise this pig. We supported it because most 9 year olds just want to play Xbox, but he wanted to spend his money and his time on this pig, which is pretty good time spent if you ask me. I thought it would be good to learn some responsibility, something that is different than just normal chores of mowing the lawn or doing the dishes.”
Flint’s parents explained to him that it was his job to raise this pig and show it himself and that at the end of it all he would walk away with a little bit of cash that he could put into savings or maybe buy a couple more pigs with.
And Flint’s journey into 4-H was born.
Piggy Smalls quickly came to resemble the real-life counterpart in which he was named after, famous rapper the Notorious B.I.G. With a daily regimen of Intermountain Farmers Association 14 percent show feed, and the occasional baked potato, Piggy Smalls would tack on an average of 1.67 pounds per day leading up to the fair, Matt said.
Flint and his pig formed a close bond, Nicky added.
“He was a great pig,” she said. “Never had any issues with him. He was more like a dog. You’d scratch his belly and he’d just melt to the floor. He would always be happy to see Flint when he came to the barn door every day. He definitely loved the scratches and attention.”
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, GOING THREE TIMES. SOLD.
And after five months, Flint’s hard work culminated in him showing Piggy Smalls and then taking him to the auction barn to see how much he would fetch.
Initially, the bid for Piggy Smalls reached $3,800 from local fertilizer company Itafos.
“When he sold for $3,800 we all thought it was done. I even stopped my recording,” Nicky said. “As soon as I cut the video off, that's when Itafos came back out and said they were bumping the bid up to $5,000 and donating the pig back to Flint to sell again."
Matt added, “Then he sold again for $3,500 to Jorgensen Farms and Casey Jorgensen immediately said, ‘Sell him again,’ and donated him back. Then they bid ‘em up again and the last bidder was Bear River Electric for $3,300.”
Nicky added that after the bidding is final there is also a process where local businesses can contribute additional money to the final sale in what’s called “boosting,” which she estimates will bring the total sale for Piggy Smalls to at least $12,000.
THE REAL PAYOFF
And while most 9-year-old boys would have themselves a hay day with that kind of money, Flint instead decided someone could definitely use the money more than he could.
For years, Flint and fellow Grace resident Krew Hemmert, 10, have been the best of buddies.
“Flint and Krew have been friends since they were old enough to start playing little league football together,” said Becky Hemmert, Krew’s mother. “They’ve done football and wrestling together and have been the best of buddies for quite a few years.”
In June, Krew went to bible camp with his dad, Kevin, who was tagging around as a camp leader. By the middle of the week, Kevin noticed that Krew wasn’t eating or drinking much. By the time they returned home at the end of the week, Becky noticed that his feet were a bit swollen, though they figured he was just dehydrated.
The next morning, Becky noticed that Krew’s face was swollen so they rushed him to the emergency room. When the labs came back, Krew was loaded into a an emergency helicopter and flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Krew would ultimately be diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and would start treatment just days later.
“The B-Cell that Krew has is one of the more common leukemia strands of cancer, so it does have a higher curable rate, but he was classified as high-risk because of his age and the symptoms he was having,” Becky said. “They flew him to Salt Lake on a Saturday and by Monday he was in surgery. His bone marrow blast came back at a 98 percent leukemia rate.”
Becky says Krew has undergone the first phase of an aggressive treatment and they are currently waiting for his body to heal enough to start the second phase.
So instead of buying the latest video game console or even putting the money into a savings account, Flint opted to support the family of his best friend and donate all of Piggy Small’s earnings to them in this difficult time. You can imagine the decision had quite the impact on the parents for both boys.
“The reaction has been awesome and I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Matt said. “This is what life's about, you know.”
After learning how much Piggy Smalls went for, Becky said, “I just cried and cried. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that such a young boy would want to do that with his money that he's worked so hard for. He raised that pig and formed a special bond with him, so for him to think of this was just overwhelming. I was just filled with so much gratitude.”
The money Flint donated to Krew will help support the family as they make consistent trips from Grace to Salt Lake City as Krew continues to receive treatment. As difficult as the situation is for the Hemmert family, Krew is doing alright, Becky added.
“He’s doing pretty good,” she said. "We’re on a hold until his (absolute neutrophil count) numbers go up, which we’re hoping will be next week. He’s got some of his energy back and the side effects of the chemo have kicked in a bit. He’s lost all of his hair but he is rocking the bald look. He’s just as cute as can be with his little bald head.”
She continued, “School started for Grace on Wednesday and he was pretty bummed that he couldn’t go back with all his friends but overall he seems to be in good spirits. We’re just enjoying these good days because the tough days are really tough.”
And while it was bittersweet for Flint to say goodbye to his best animal friend in Piggy Smalls, he knows that the money he raised will be an incredible help to his best human friend in Krew.
"The whole deal has been awesome," Flint said. "I'm happy to be able to help, and I can't wait to get back to wrestling with my best friend."
Those interested in assisting the Hemmert family further can do so by contributing to a GoFundMe campaign, accessible by visiting gofund.me/16315597 . As of Friday evening, the fundraiser had earned $12,575 of its $20,000 goal.
Most Popular
Comments / 0