MORE THAN LUCK: E.C. Woman Seeks Four-Leaf Clover World Record
mom of two pursuing goal of most consecutive days finding a four-leaf clover in the wild
Parker Reed, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Shooting for a world record takes skill, determination, and a wee bit of the luck o’ the Irish.
Betina Reich is an Eau Claire-based married mom of two with a passion for collecting four-leaf clovers. Betina’s main pursuit is her handcrafted jewelry and accessories business, Betina’s Designs, but in her spare time, she has achieved two different stretches of finding four-leaf clovers in the wild for more than 100 straight days. This newly found talent inspired Reich to pursue recognition in the Guinness World Records book for the most consecutive days finding four-leaf clovers out in the open.
“I’ve always been pretty good about finding them, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I truly started doing it as a hobby,” Reich said. “Every day my kids and I would go hunting for them in order to keep them active. Now here we are and it’s become a real passion of mine.”
Reich’s original streak stretched from July 1 to Oct. 20, 2020, when she collected four-leaf clovers for 112 straight days. After seeing the potential for a record, her second stretch lasted from March 22 to Dec. 4, 2021, before a large snowfall put her streak of 258 days to an end.
Currently, there is no record established for the most consecutive days collecting a four-leaf clover, a potential roadblock for her. She said that the staff at Guinness World Records is hard to get ahold of due to the large number of records they oversee and paying to have a judge personally come to Eau Claire to examine her collection and make a determination is quite costly. She said pursuing this goal, despite the difficulty in validating her record, is important to her so her children can see that if you put your heart and mind behind something, you can achieve it.
“When I was a kid, I was one of the children who would run to the library to check out the newest Guinness Book,” Reich said. “And the thought of my children potentially checking one out, and having their mom be in it, is exciting. It’s a fun little legacy to leave behind for them, but even if I don’t make it in, I’m proud of myself for being consistent and staying with this every day for so long.”
When Reich has collected each clover, she first posts the find on Snapchat and TikTok, then stores them so she can look back fondly on her adventure. She also has found ways to incorporate them into magnets, picture frames, and various other accessories. She said each day finding a new clover is special, because “Like us, each clover is unique. Not one of them is the same.”
To keep up with Betina’s four-leaf clover pursuits, you can follow her on TikTok @wiscocloverqueen. To donate to her GoFundMe campaign, visit gofundme.com.
