Nine-year-old Ethan Werth wanted a sheep for the longest time. He’s the son of Cody and Leah Werth, who own a family farm. Cody reached out to sheep farmers Mike and Mary Centala of Heritage Acres in Hubbard Lake.

“That was early 2022, before we lambed,” Mary Centala said. “We said we would see what we could do to help Ethan out. As it turns out, we had a little black lamb that, at about a month old, got flystrike,” a skin condition caused by flies.

Bell was going to be alright, but she needed a little extra loving care, and the Centalas knew Ethan could provide that for the sickly little lamb.

Ethan’s parents said he could have a sheep on one condition.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Bell the sheep hangs out at the Alpena County Fair on Tuesday.

“Mom said it had to be a girl,” Ethan said.

“I was a little outnumbered,” his mom, Leah Werth, said with a laugh. “Three sons, a dog that’s a boy, two goats that are boys.”

“When Mike delivered the lamb to the Werths’ home in the spring of 2022, he said that he felt he was delivering a movie star,” Mary Centala said. “Video cameras were rolling, the pen was all set up for a queen of sorts.”

She said the Werths gave them updates about how the lamb was doing, and that her name is Bell.

“When this spring came, our shearing date happened to be during the school week when students were asked not to miss any time if they could help it, because state testing was taking place,” Mary Centala said. “So, Dad brought Bell to our farm for shearing, but explained that he was given strict orders to stay at her side at all times so she would not be scared, and also, to video the shearing so Ethan could see how it went. Dad followed orders to a ‘T.'”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Ethan Werth, 9, feeds shorn, washed wool from his sheep Bell into a hand-powered carding machine. It combs the wool out to prepare it for spinning.

“She looked so different after she was shorn for the first time,” Leah Werth said. “I couldn’t believe it was the same sheep.”

When the shearing was done, Mary Centala bagged the fleece so Cody could take it home for Ethan to see and feel, and she offered to have Ethan be involved in the process of skirting, washing, and carding it so that it could be spun into yarn. Then Mary Centala had an idea.

“Perhaps we could incorporate the project into our Sheep to Shawl Demonstration goal of having a project that people could see from beginning to end,” she said. “First, I asked the other spinners if they thought the idea would work. They did. Then I asked the Werths if it was OK to accomplish the project this way. They said Ethan thought it was a great idea and was excited.”

On Tuesday at the Alpena County Fair, Ethan was able to participate in the Sheep to Shawl Demonstration, sponsored by Northern Michigan Fiber Festival. Mary Centala helped him take Bell’s shorn and cleaned wool and run it through a carding machine which he operated manually with a hand crank to essentially comb the wool to prep it for the spinning wheel. Bell’s wool is being turned into yarn, which will be knitted into a hat for Ethan to wear.

At the fair on Tuesday, once Ethan ran the wool through the drum carder, he handed it to Nicole Shubert, who started spinning it into yarn on a wooden spinning wheel.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Mary Centala shows Ethan Werth how to use the carding machine to prepare the clean wool for spinning into yarn.

Ethan has always loved sheep, but they’re not his favorite animal. That’s a tiger, but those aren’t exactly the kind of animal you keep at the family farm.

“When Ethan was born, his brothers, when they came to the hospital, brought him a stuffed animal sheep and a blanket with a sheep on it,” Leah Werth said, then asked him, “And, ever since that time, you’ve liked sheep, huh?”

To which Bell responded, “Baaaaahhhhhh!”

Ethan smiled and nodded, petting Bell inside the pen.

He said Bell is pretty fun and active, but sometimes she gets into tiffs with one of their goats, Harold. She gets along with the other goat, George, though.

Ethan added that he likes when Bell eats the asparagus plants on their property.

“Because then I don’t have to,” he said with a smile.

Mom doesn’t like it when Bell gets into the flower beds. She might have a few things to learn.

Aside from asparagus, Bell enjoys eating animal crackers from Ethan’s hand.

Ethan is so happy to have his very own sheep. He explained his favorite thing about her.

“She’s poofy,” he said.