Contemporary 4-H History:
History Website Supports 4-H National Youth Science Day

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National Youth Science Day celebrates 4-H’ers across the nation taking part in a single-themed series of scientific experiments and tasks; this year it focuses on aerospace engineering. Taking place on October 8, the 4-H NYSD 2014 National Science Experiment will be “Rockets to the Rescue!” developed by the University of Arizona. In support of the 2014 theme, the National 4-H History Preservation Program has researched and written a new segment on “Astronauts, Space and 4-H” for National 4-H History Preservation website at http://4-HistoryPreservation.com/History/Space/.

The famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart (center left) was one of the major guests and handed out awards to delegates attending the 1932 National 4-H Club Congress.

The famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart (center left) was one of the major guests and handed out awards to delegates attending the 1932 National 4-H Club Congress.

The 4-H program’s involvement with space can be traced from Amelia Earhart and Admiral Richard Byrd through astronauts Neil Armstrong, James Lovell, Ellison Onizuka, Jerry Ross and Peggy Whitson (a few of the NASA astronauts who were 4-H members) ; from a 4-H space television series with NASA – “Blue Sky Below My Feet” – to National Space Camp, National Youth Engineering Challenge events and now, 4-H National Youth Science Day. Space, indeed, is an important part of both 4-H history and 4-H today.

We would love to hear if and how you used 4-H History in space in your science day program this year at: Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com.

With the 2015 theme, thousands of youth will focus on one scientific mission: feed a community plagued by natural disaster. Youth will be responsible for building an aerodynamic food transportation device that can develop large amounts of food to disaster victims. While participants will learn STEM concepts like previous NYSD experiments in past years, they will also learn a powerful and valuable lesson in nutrition and how to help solve current, global issues such as providing relief services in the wake of natural disaster.

National 4-H Week, October 5-11, 2014

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From 1946 through 1980 a new theme and new poster were introduced every year during National 4-H Week.

From 1946 through 1980 a new theme and new poster were introduced every year during National 4-H Week.

Why was it started?      When and why did it change from spring to fall?

The Federal Extension Service at USDA developed a “4-H Mobilization Week” which was held annually in the spring from 1942 through 1945 as a means of recruiting 4-H members and focusing their activities to support the war with Victory Gardens, canning, increased crop production, scrap drives and sales of war bonds. This was a very successful campaign which significantly increased membership and helped tremendously with the war effort. In 1945 they looked back in their membership records and saw a similar member increase during World War I and a great drop in participation the following year. Not wanting to repeat that historical episode, they decided to turn their mobilization experience into a National 4-H Week in order to continue recruiting new members every year.

The answer to the second question is 1964.

According to a feature in the March 1964 National
4-H News by Fern Kelley, Assistant Director, 4-H, FES/USDA, considerable study and analyses were done before the change was made. That year, instead of being in March, National 4-H Week was held September 26 to October 3; in the future it was to be held the week in which October 1 occurred. In 1968 it was finally decided that it should be held in the first full week of October each year.

There seemed to be a number of good reasons for the change. In most states, the local recruitment and club reorganization period was in the fall. An increasing number of states were moving to fall enrollment and a fall date for National 4-H Club Week made sense. Local 4-H Club leaders were also calling attention to other problems they were having because so many different youth programs observed a promotion week during the spring. This was causing problems for clubs competing with other groups for window display areas or newspaper space in their re-enrollment drives. The fall dates also allowed for nationally prepared reports and statistics to be more timely or up-to-date than the spring date. It must have been a good move as the fall date has held since 1964. This October we celebrate the <B><I>50th</I></B> autumn National 4-H Week October 5-11.

History Preservation Newsletter
September 2014

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Fall is Always Busy in 4-H

National 4-H Week, once held in the spring, is now held in the fall. Read the history of this commemorative event.

First_Poster

This National 4-H Poster was premiered during the first 4-H week held in the fall. What year do you think it was? The older girl’s 4-H uniform might give you a slight hint.

4-H has long featured aeronautics and space exploration; there was even a 4-H flag taken into space on a NASA mission. This year’s theme of National 4-H Youth Science Day is “Aerospace Engineering” and will include rocket projects designed by University of Arizona.

The final installment of our series on the two 4-H musicians at 4-H Congress in the 1950s features Maryland 4-H’er Helen Bovbjerg (now Niedung), a lyric soprano whose career, she says, was significantly boosted by her 4-H experience.

“Hands-On” 4-H highlights career preparation in 4-H; get your club to discuss the impact of 4-H on peoples’ lives.

Read what participants at the 2014 FilmFest 4-H said about their experience in St. Louis and making films, and see the winning films from “Voices of 4-H History” category.

Next month, we’ll feature the 2014 National 4-H Hall of Fame Laureates. This coveted honor goes to people who have made (and many continue to make) significant contributions to the success of 4-H. Many of the honorees are 4-H Pioneers, whose historical work helped shape today’s 4-H program.

Yes, fall is a busy time for 4-H, but take a few minutes to relax and read this month’s History Newsletter; enjoy!

National Collegiate 4-H History

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700_000036_001We need your help! Collegiate 4-H groups are active on a number of university campuses. Many of these chapters launch their “new” program year in September with the incoming group of freshmen.

While the National 4-H History Preservation Program website carries a section on Collegiate 4-H… one of the first sections added to the website:

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Collegiate/

the Collegiate 4-H site no longer exists.We welcome any 4-H Collegiate group to help us keep 4-H Collegiate history represented on the national 4-H history website, particularly the history of this important segment of 4-H. Contact us at: info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com if you have ideas or wish to volunteer for this project.

Early 4-H History with the Schools

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September is here… kids are back in school. And, in many areas 4-H is a big part of this. There are school projects supported by 4-H, some areas where 4-H is held in the schools, and thousands of youth served by 4-H in After-School programs.

The relationship of 4-H and schools goes back to the very beginnings of 4-H well over a century ago. County school superintendents in a number of states started boys and girls club work directly in the schools before it was even called 4-H.

The National 4-H History Preservation website added a new history section on 4-H and 1-Room Country Schools earlier this year.

To learn more about the schools and 4-H connection go to:

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/1-Room_Schools/

1-Room School circa 1905

To contact the National 4-H History team – info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com

4-H and PBS in Montana Cooperate on History Project

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In 2011, Montana 4-H began the process of celebrating its 2012 Centennial. The Montana team developed a Centennial Guide for the counties, including a 4-H Heritage Family program. Each county prepared a Centennial Display documenting their county’s 4-H History, and the displays traveled to several statewide events during the yearlong celebration.

Montana 4-H worked with Montana PBS to produce a television documentary: “4-H — Six Montana Stories.” Youth completed applications to be considered to take part in the project; six youth and their families were selected, who were followed through a 4-H year and also captured footage themselves. View the documentary online at: http://watch.montanapbs.org/video/2260061763/

The premier took place at Montana 4-H Congress. In addition, “Heritage Project,” an excellent heritage project book, was developed providing dozens of great suggestions for successful youth 4-H history projects.

4-H History Project Comes to Life for Missouri Youth

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Story and Photo: Linda Geist, University of Missouri Extension;
Story Source: Velynda Cameron

Fourteen-year-old Michaela Higginbotham of Bolivar expected to learn about the history of Polk County 4-H when she began working on a national 4-H history project. But she was happy to uncover her own family’s rich 4-H tradition as well. She is one of Polk County 4-H members who helped gather and display 4-H memorabilia in the county’s museum as part of the National 4-H History Preservation Program. Cards stored in the county courthouse chronicle the projects her grandfather, uncles and cousins enjoyed while they were members.

As a six year member of Woodlawn 4-H club, Higginbotham is following in her ancestor’s footsteps. She discovered a picture of her great-grandmother (who died before she was born) who was a Volunteer Leader, as is Michaela’s mother, a 10-year Polk County 4-H alumna currently leading her club’s bread project. She also unearthed a picture of her mother on the front page of a special 4-H section of the local newspaper.

Polk County 4-H’ers Michaela Higginbotham and Jacob Toombs look over some of the 4-H memorabilia they helped collect for a display in the Polk County Museum in Bolivar, MO.
Courthouse records also showed that the ancestors of 12-year-old Jacob Toombs of Bolivar participated in beef projects; one of the most dedicated volunteers on the history project, Jacob now shows Hereford cattle in 4-H.

University of Missouri Extension 4-H youth development specialist Velynda Cameron learned about the national “Voices of 4-H History” project at a previous 4-H FilmFest in Branson. Members were asked to make audio and video recordings of former members as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, which created the national cooperative extension system.

The Polk County Commission offered 4-H memorabilia found in courthouse storage, and a small, enthusiastic group of 4-H members expressed interest in having Polk County represented in the national project. They painstakingly pored through newspapers, microfilm and 4-H annual reports to gather information. Their research shows that Polk County 4-H club work began in 1926 with two garment-making clubs and 15 members. By 1928 there were 54 clubs in the county and 422 active members. Today there are 10 clubs and 186 members, Cameron said.

The Bolivar Herald-Free Press published articles seeking memorabilia from former 4-H’ers, and current members began interviewing alumni from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Items began pouring in, including an extensive collection from 84-year-old Betty Ammerman, who had kept a diary of her 4-H days.

Museum curator Margaret Vest suggested the group put a display in the “school room” section of the Polk County Museum, since 4-H groups met at rural schools and teachers often led projects. Ammerman’s diary gives glimpses of the past such as “How to Cover and Make a Stool for a Dressing Table from a Nail Keg” in 1942.

Higginbotham volunteers at the Polk County Museum and encourages older family members to go through the museum with her because the displays often inspire them to tell her stories about their past. “This project is really special to me because I can see what other people have done,” she says. She’s hopeful that future generations will be inspired by her love of 4-H. “I like visiting other places, going to contests and going to Achievement Day. I just love 4-H. It’s really, really fun.”

Polk County 4-H'ers Michaela Higginbotham and Jacob Toombs look over some of the 4-H memorabilia they helped collect for a display in the Polk County Museum in Bolivar, MO.

Polk County 4-H’ers Michaela Higginbotham and Jacob Toombs look over some of the 4-H memorabilia they helped collect for a display in the Polk County Museum in Bolivar, MO.

A video of the club’s history is on the Polk County Extension Center website at http://Extension.Missouri.edu/Polk/4H.aspx

Polk County’s 4-H club is the first club in Missouri to participate in the “Voices of 4-H History” program, which aims to increase public awareness of 4-H by collecting and preserving audio, video and print information. Cameron encourages others with 4-H memorabilia to contact her at Cameronv@Missouri.edu.

4-H History Preservation Website and My Welcome to the World of 4-H

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Credit: Story by Chad N. Proudfoot, WV State 4-H Staff

In the spring of 2012, I was still relatively new to the Extension Service and very new to the world of 4-H as I had originally been hired in Extension’s Community Resources & Economic Development unit. So, when I was asked to teach the Heritage Class at Older 4-H Members’ Conference (OMC – one of our three major state camps for 14-21 year olds), I was both excited and terrified. I had not grown up in 4-H, and a year before this I could not have told anyone what the four Hs even stood for; now I was being asked to teach a two-hour class for four days at a major camp. “These kids will eat me alive!” was my first thought, but then I began looking for resources to plan my lessons.

I had learned that Heritage Class had become a little stale in the past couple of years, where students made small heritage crafts and the like, and it was not very exciting. I also learned that the mission of OMC is to develop leadership, so I decided to take a new approach with the class. I wanted to focus on a different topic each day, and for there to be meaningful discussion with those in the class.

As I was putting my ideas together, I spoke with our state 4-H leader, Debbie McDonald, who was very supportive of my thoughts for a revamped Heritage Class. She gave me a card for the National 4-H History Preservation Team, and suggested that I look at their website for guidance. When I looked online, I could hardly believe all of the amazing resources that came pouring out! I was able to develop the four topical days regarding the history of 4-H and music in the 4-H program just from what I found on the website.

My favorite use of the site came from the section on 4-H films. I decided to make the final day of my Heritage Class into “movie day,” because the campers were tired and needed some time to relax. But I also determined that our movie must fit our goals, and that we would have a discussion. The 4-H History Preservation website lead me to the film “The Green Promise” staring Walter Brennan and Natalie Wood. When I previewed it, I found the film to be a bit dated, but I thought that it still had a great message, could certainly be used for programming, and might be something that the Heritage Class participants would enjoy.

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Robert Paige inducts child star Natalie Wood as a member of 4-H in “The Green Promise,” a Glenn McCarthy production for R-K-O release in which Marguerite Chapman and Walter Brennan co-star.

I could never have dreamed how much the kids in my class loved and appreciated this film! They hung on every word, and when it was through they had a great discussion about the film’s message, the time period in which it was made, what about it was relevant or not relevant to today, and a host of other topics. I could not have been more excited. It was at the end of that week that I knew 4-H was the right place for me.

A few months after that class, the Extension Service moved my appointment to the 4-H Youth Development Unit as the Cultural Resource Specialist, and I became the first full-time Extension Historian and the Historic Preservation Officer of Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp.

Now I use the National 4-H History Preservation website on a regular basis, and it is one of the first resources to which I point anyone when they are looking for any aspect of 4-H history. I have used the site to develop curriculum, write flag ceremonies, and to allow others to appreciate all of the culture and heritage that is enveloped in the 100+ years of the 4-H program. As a new member of the 4-H family, I now proudly say the 4-H Pledge, sing “The H’s Four,” and use the myriad resources available to promote the heritage of the best youth development program the world has ever seen.

Teen Filmmakers Exhibit and Learn at 2014 FilmFest 4-H

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Teenage filmmakers from nine states exhibited 40 youth-produced films at the 2014 FilmFest 4-H in st. Louis, August 3-6. Sixty teens and leaders participated in the educational programs at the festival. Activities included viewing and discussing the teen-produced films and participating in a series of workshops conducted by film industry professionals. The topics included design, writing, casting, filming, lighting, sound, stunts, makeup, costuming, animation, control room operation, and remote satellite transmission.

Among the many highlights:

  • Emily Hagins, youngest Hollywood film director and writer, shared her Hollywood-based filmmaking insights from an unprecedented youth perspective.
  • Film producer and editor, Russ Weston, winner of fur Emmy and six Telly awards, conducted workshops for the youth in the remote satellite truck and control room on how remote productions get to our television screens; and
  • A visit to the nationally acclaimed “CoolFire Studios” in st. Louis where participants visited with professional directors, animation artists, sound producers and film producers as they worked in their studios.

Twenty-nine films were pre-selected by judges to be viewed in five categories: Documentary, Narrative, 4-H Promotional, Animation, and “Voices of 4-H History.” The top three in each category were recognized during the program along with a vote for the audience favorite. According to Tom Tate, the National 4-H History Preservation Team’s representative at the festival, “2014 FilmFest 4-H prepared future leaders to communicate more effectively in changing times.”

Five films from the “Voices of 4-H History” category were selected for viewing at this year’s festival. The three top place finishers in the category were:

  • Clay Ferguson (San Leandro, CA), “100 Year Anniversary: 4-H and the Alameda County Fair”
  • Eric Glaze (Waynesville, OH), “A Centennial of Extension with Dr. D. Howard Doster”
  • Kelsey Hibl and Brittany Berger (Dickenson, ND), “Voices of Stark County 4-H.”

The National 4-H History Preservation program provides sponsorship to FilmFest 4-H as part of its “Voices of 4-H History” initiative. For more information visit:

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/Voices/

West Virginia Gets Grant for Voices of 4-H History

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The West Virginia Voices of 4-H history team reports that they have received a grant and have been working during July and August to begin implementation of a youth filming project that will be done this fall. The project will take place with several county 4-H teen leader groups being trained to conduct oral history interviews with some “WV volunteers and Extension staff” who were leaders in West Virginia 4-H.