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Photo by Jim Craven Jessica Anderson uses a cane to guide Molly, the pig she's getting ready for the Jackson County Fair in July. Getting Molly ready for the fair EDITOR'S NOTE -- This is one in an occasional Mail Tribune series following Jessica Anderson as she raises and prepares her pig, Molly, for entrance in the 4-H competition and sale at the Jackson County Fair July 19-25 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. By MARK FREEMAN EAGLE POINT -- As Jessica Anderson and her pig walk across a pen, Jessica nudges Molly's cheek with a wooden cane and slows the pig's gait. Then a firm tap on the side sends the swine swaggering to the left. Two months ago, 10-year-old Jessica considered such actions cruel. Now, she sees the light caning as a tool to teach Molly the ins and outs of pig-strutting that must be perfected in time for July's Jackson County Fair. "At first, I felt like I was hurting her," says Jessica, of Eagle Point. "I'm used to it now. I'm careful, and Molly knows this is to tell her where to go, what to do." Jessica and Molly are halfway home to their goal of preparing for the fair's 4-H pig show and sale, and both pig and girl are progressing well. The pig has ballooned from a 43-pound squealer to a 120-pound porker -- about halfway home to her weight goal of 240 pounds. And Jessica has blossomed with confidence and understanding in the two months since she took ownership and responsibility of Molly. "There has been a major change in her, and it's responsibility," says Christina Anderson, Jessica's mother. "She's really getting into this, and she hasn't lost any excitement yet." That responsibility showed May 15 during 4-H "Jackpot" showing at the county fairgrounds. The Jackpot is akin to a mid-term exam for the fair. 4-H'ers show off the pigs' marketability by using wooden canes to parade the swine around a pen. A judge rates both the "sellability" of the swine and the showmanship of the 4-H'er. Jessica and Molly placed third -- a fine showing, says Melissa Townsend, a 19-year-old veteran 4-H'er and Jessica's mentor. "She didn't show any nervousness like I thought she would," Townsend says of her pupil. "At that age, I'd cry before I'd go into the ring. But Jess was less nervous than I was." Molly was a 43-pound piglet March 18 when Jessica plunked down $100 and bought her away from an Eagle Point rancher. The pig is living in a pen at Townsend's rural Central Point ranch, which Jessica visits regularly to tend to her swine. Jessica has proven to be a quick study ready to absorb the Head, Heart, Hands and Health aspects that give 4-H its name. At first, Jessica saw Molly more as a pet. She has since come to realize the firm reality of ranching -- that her job is to prepare Molly for sale and butchering. "I used to think I could keep her," Jessica says. "But I know now that I will sell her. But now, when I have pork chops, I cry my eyes out." Along the way, she has picked up a few lessons about commerce. Jessica won $70 with Molly at the Jackpot, but turned around and paid off a $60 feed bill. Her poise and confidence are evident in how well she handles Molly. A month ago, Jessica was timid toward her pig. Now, she acts like a seasoned ranch hand as she uses the wooden cane to maneuver the animal. She not only knows how to use the cane, but also how not to. "Never hit them in the butt," Jessica says. "You'll lose the hams. "And don't hit them in the knees, either," she says. "It's like hitting yourself in the kneecap. It hurts." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA