Allison Heim is somewhat a Jack (or Jill) of-all-trades in her Prairie Rose 4-H Club, and she is bringing a full arsenal to the Allen County Fair this weekend.
Heim, 11, who lives north of Moran with her parents Bret and Angelea, and her sisters Mallory and Sophia, has been working to perfect her arts and crafts project for the fair. Built out of popsicle sticks, she has constructed miniature pallets that may be used for drink coasters — an idea that was sparked from a post on Pinterest.
“I just like to look for fun stuff to do,” she said. “I got the hang of it pretty fast.”
She cut out all of the pieces of the pallets from a template she created herself. And, after just one prototype, she had her completed coaster. She will show her project off at the arts and crafts show in the fair. The show starts at 4 p.m. Friday in the Recreation Community Building at Riverside Park.
Heim’s talents are not limited to smaller projects, however. She has constructed a rocket, is training a horse for show and has formulated a recipe for low-fat brownies.
“It’s hard to remember them all sometimes,” Heim said. “I’ve been involved in a lot of stuff.”
Her father, Bret, has been supervising the projects, but has not offered much help — mainly because he has not needed to.
“She’s really good at brainstorming solutions,” he said. “I’ve just been kind of supervising.”
He said she has made repairs to her rocket after test runs, and has taken charge of painting it and adding a clear-coat for the exterior. They expect the rocket to launch about 250 feet into the air, if everything goes to plan.
“I’m just seeing what I can get, and what I can do better,” Heim.
She also has been training her horse, named Dunn, which she is leasing from Jeff and Laura Johnson, and perfecting her brownie recipe. She has calculated the nutritional value for her recipe, and the yogurt-based ingredients drop the calories to just 54 per serving.
Heim’s ultimate goal is to improve her skills for the fair, and enjoy herself.
When not in preparation for competition, she is the recreation leader for Prairie Rose 4-H and attends school in Moran.
Heim a ‘Jill of all trades’
