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Fred Bright splits tobacco stalks so they can be cured. The volunteer, 69, tends livestock, cultivates crops,
Fred Bright opens the blacksmith shop at George Washington Birthplace National Monument.
Fred Bright, who lives in King George County, starts the day's chores at the national monument in Westmoreland County. He was named Volunteer of the Year by the National Park Service's Northeast Region, which includes 92 sites from Maine to Virginia.
Wearing a tricorner hat, Bright carries buckets of feed for the livestock |
FRED BRIGHT of King George County learned plenty of life lessons aplenty early in high school when he left his comfortable home in Princeton, N.J., to live and work on a nearby farm.
Getting up to help milk 120 cows a morning before school, then back at it from afternoon 'til long after dark, Bright quickly got an appreciation for hard work and dedication.
He also realized he has a natural rapport with animals--"I'd tell them something, and they looked like they understood what I wanted."
Near the end of high school, Bright's job even taught him the perils of mixing work and girl friends.
The 69-year-old Pennsylvania native smiles remembering a cattle sale one afternoon when a pretty face put him in a jam.
"I was looking across the ring and waved my arm at a girl I knew standing by the rail," Bright said, smiling. "My boss from work looked at me and said 'I hope you wanted that heifer in the ring, because you just bought her.'"
When Bright unloaded the heifer back at the farm, it walked off the trailer and right into the barn, blind as a bat.
"But she was a good milker and eventually learned to follow the other cows in and out," said Bright, "so it all worked out."
Bright would grow up to put in a career as a welder, for the last 20 years of it on the Navy base at Dahlgren. But it was those early experiences on the barn that led to a recent award from the National Park Service for the King George man.
For volunteering as a farm worker at George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland County, Bright was singled out as the Volunteer of the Year from the federal agency's Northeast Region.
Chosen from a pool of thousands of volunteers serving in 92 park facilities from Maine to Virginia, Bright received hearty congratulations, a plaque and a round of applause from the Birthplace staff.
Dick Lahey, who manages the living-history farm at George Washington Birthplace, said that since signing on as a volunteer in 2001, Bright has become a critical part of the farm team.
Noting that Bright averages 16 hours a week, Lahey said the volunteer has helped to feed and tend livestock, cultivate crops, build and repair farm facilities and share, with visitors, his growing knowledge of agriculture in Washington's day.
Presenting the award, Birthplace Superintendent Vidal Martinez noted that the National Park Service is facing tight funding, which is why it is so important for volunteers like Bright who step up to help.
"Our mission is to maintain the birthplace of the father of our country" said Martinez. "Mr. Bright is a shining example of how the American people can help us fulfill this mission."
The proud volunteer, who enjoys dressing in period costume to interpret farm work on days of heavy visitation, said he gets a kick out of the work.
"I'm not the kind of person who's going to just sit around," said Bright, who retired from a job at Dahlgren in 2001. "Dick and I hit it off right from the start. I feel like I'm a part of this place."
An integral part, if you consider that Bright was one of only a handful of volunteers to come to the park immediately in the wake of Hurricane Isabel.
"Thanks largely to his help, we were glad not to lose any of the livestock in the storm," said Lahey. "We had a few that wandered off, but they made it back a day or two later."
Lahey noted that Bright has become his top helper on the farm, and is the first call staffers make when Lahey isn't available in emergencies.
"We had a dog attack the sheep one day when I wasn't around," said Lahey. "Fred was here in a hurry to take care of the situation. We lost three to the attack, but it would have been worse if he hadn't gotten here quickly."
Lahey noted that even after a serious surgery, Bright was quickly back to helping on the farm, even back to the hand-planting and cultivation of the period tobacco grown on the property.
Lahey noted that with his time split between the farm and other duties, and no other park workers assigned to helping solely on the farm, having Bright on hand helps him tackle many farm jobs that require two sets of hands.
The proud volunteer said he enjoys the physical work, noting that lifting 50-pound feed sacks and tossing 40-pound hay bales helps to keep him fit.
"I don't lift 'em as high or throw 'em as far as I used to, but I manage," he said.
To reach ROB HEDELT: 540/374-5415 rhedelt@freelancestar.com
