Ambrose family brings home Eagle Bowl award from Butler Farm Show
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — Among dozens of farm families involved in the Butler Farm Show, only one earned the prestigious prize of the Eagle Bowl Friday, Aug. 14.
Lee and Anne Ambrose, alongside their four children — Isaac, Eli, Lydia and Elizabeth — took home the 73rd Eagle Bowl. The family of six were recognized for their expansive work both on their farm and within the wider agricultural community.
The Ambrose family owns a 200-acre livestock and grain farm in Clearfield Township, where they raise cattle, swine and goats. Lee and Anne work in the agricultural industry and on their home farm while the children show a variety of livestock.
The entire family is involved in 4-H, with the two parents both volunteering and mentoring 4-H members. They are also heavy participants in the Butler Farm Show, entering into six different departments this year.
Lee Ambrose said the family’s love of agriculture was already being passed down generation to generation to both himself and his wife. They have been running their farm for 12 years.
Now, the two hope to pass it down to their own children and hopefully beyond.
“Our kids are very involved in the day-to-day. The older ones are getting big enough to get on the equipment. It’s hard to keep them away, actually,” he said.
He said with a shrinking agricultural industry, building strong families dedicated to keeping the practice alive feels paramount.
“The way our world’s going, the number of farms are shrinking. It seems like we need some way to continue that on and keep our kids involved in it. That job of providing becomes even more important when there’s fewer of us,” Lee Ambrose said.
Both Lee and Anne Ambrose emphasized that it was a family effort to win the award.
“Our family all together wins this, but it also takes all of us to do the work and get us here,” Anne Ambrose said.
“It’s the way it involves everyone,” Lee Ambrose said. “Even the little one (Elizabeth). We can’t keep her out of the barns. She wants to see everyone else’s cows. I think it brings us closer together because it’s one more thing we do as a team.”
Tracy Leturgey, interim managing editor of the Butler Eagle, gave a speech and presented the award to the Ambrose family Friday. During her speech, she highlighted the importance of agriculture and those dedicated to putting food on the table.
“Whether rain, snow, sunshine or blizzard, they’re out there doing the hard work,” she said.
After handing off the award, she said she was honored to be a part of the experience.
“It was really an honor to award a family in Clearfield Township at a farm so close to where I grew up,” Leturgey said. “I enjoyed seeing how the family was honored with numerous awards ahead of receiving the Eagle Bowl. I’m proud that the Butler Eagle was able to put on this award yet again.”
