The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Boy donates his birthday money
By Alex Grazier G'Sell, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: April 5, 2007
The typical 7-year-old's birthday party consists of a piŅata, unlimited cake, a house full of screaming kids and, of course, a pile of presents.
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But this is not the picture of Jack Goggins' seventh birthday.
Jack dreams of being a farmer. He has an entire miniature farm made of Legos set up in his bedroom. His favorite vehicle is the John Deere tractor, and he already knows how many cows he will have.
So when Jack's birthday rolled around, he made one more step toward his dream. Instead of receiving gifts, he asked all of his friends to donate to Rentschler Farms in Saline.
Such an act seems like an amazing sacrifice to the majority of 7-year-olds, and few adults would willingly refuse gifts. But Jack simply states that Rentschler Farms allows him to learn about what to do with his own farm in the future.
And his friends were happy to participate. One, Ben Stimac, was inspired to donate $25 out of his own piggy bank. Jack and his friends raised a total of $174 for the farm.
Rentschler Farm was an operating farm for 100 years and has passed through four generations. It was purchased in 1998 by the city of Saline and leased to the Saline Area Historical Society. With the land, the historical society created a museum that is dedicated to all the farmers of the Saline area.
Different activities run throughout the year, including teaching second-graders to shell corn, grind grain and make butter. Katie Goggins, Jack's mother, says they have never missed an event.
Agnes Dikeman, the public relations coordinator at the Saline Area Historical Society, said that she had never witnessed such a selfless act before.
"He's the first child that thought to do that, and we just thought it was wonderful," she said.
Jack's original letter, which includes the names of all his friends who contributed, will be framed and hung in the museum.
Alex Grazier G'Sell is an intern at The Saline Reporter. She can be reached at kylealex@umich.edu.
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