FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Lois Davis

Story by Young Chang;photo by [tk]

In a big blue floral hat, with a sunny breeze swooping past her and

haystacks behind her, volunteer Lois Davis looked like a poster girl for

agriculture Tuesday as she manned a Centennial Farm desk at the Orange

County Fair in Costa Mesa.

An 11-year docent for the farm throughout the year, Davis gives tours

every Monday morning to schoolchildren -- some of whom have never held a

live chick in their hands and some of whom have no idea where carrots

really come from.

“Two of the things that are rather surprising are how the adults who

come with their children know so little, and the kids who have never

touched an animal other than their dog or cat,” the 77-year-old said.

The former president of the Orange County Herb Society is also a

third-generation Californian with a gardening and farming background.

Davis has a garden at her Huntington Beach home, a cat, a tortoise

that belongs to her granddaughter and various other pets that her

grandson always seems to bring home.

At the farm, the volunteer has grown comfortable teaching about cows,

pigs, sheep, goats, chicken and other farm animals. She helps children

plant seeds in little pots of soil so they can take the potential plant

home to care for.

And she loves the simple fact that she provides inquisitive kids with

information.

During the fair, she answers visitors’ questions about the farm and

about farming.

Some want to know why their zucchini didn’t get ripe, and others ask

about growing crops in general.

Davis usually has the answers, partly because of her agricultural

history, but emphasizes that you don’t have to be an expert to do the job

well.

“To be a volunteer, you don’t really need to know a lot about animals

and vegetables, but you can’t be scared of kids,” she said.