4-H educators nominated new locations for the National 4-H History Map at the recent National Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA) meeting in Portland, Oregon. Visitors to the 4-H History Preservation Program Exhibit viewed the 119 locations currently posted to the Map , and those 4-H educators nominated new locations for the National 4-H History Map at the recent National Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA) meeting in Portland, Oregon. Visitors to the 4-H History Preservation Program Exhibit viewed the 119 locations currently posted to the Map , and those who wanted to add a site filled out a form and put a green pin into that location on the paper map. On return home, 4-H educators will work with youth and adults to round up old photos, clippings, related web sites, that will make their historical 4-H location more interesting to the internet users of the 4-H History Map, as they travel across the United States.

These nominations are the first steps in the process of getting countless historically significant 4-H sites documented on the growing, internet-based atlas of 4-H history. Forty-four 4-H educators from 27 states (AZ, CO, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TX, WV, and WY) committed to grow a history mapping effort in their state and will get youth  and adults involved in identifying historically significant 4-H locations in their communities.

These new state 4-H Map teams will identify locations to be nominated, reviewed, approved, and loaded into the interactive National 4-H History Map. Reviewers and approvers will follow up with the nominators to get more complete information, such as photo/video/text, on the points of interest (POI) before the sites will be posted to the 4-H History Map..

It’s easy to join in this effort. Putting up a US or state map at a 4-H event attended by 4-H teens, volunteers, staff, and alumni, who know 4-H sites that should be documented, is a very effective way of recruiting new suggestions for your area to take a rightful place on this 4-H History Map. In Portland, it was important to have attendants that were excited about the project so that they could build interest and collect contact information from those who express interest in getting involved.

Maryland and Texas have committed to events in November to increase the number of locations and points of interest documented on the Map.

• Dwayne Murphey, Maryland State 4-H History Map leader, has an event planned for the Maryland Teen and Volunteer Forum in Ocean City. They’ll use the same props (foam poster board, US Map, with pins to indicate locations) which proved effective at NAE4-HA.
• Dr. Tamra McGaughy, 4-H Educator in Dallas County, TX, will be working with the state 4-H office to further the project. She stated, “This will be an awesome opportunity for 4-H youth to learn.

Think about sites/locations/points of interest that could be nominated from your community, county or state. Also help in the search for old photos/video/texts that will enhance the value of the points of interest which you propose to be documented.

Every month, new sites/locations will be added to the “smart phone accessible version” of the map, for  use by 4-H families traveling across the U. S. So join the effort to get members, leaders and alumni to participate. It is your 4-H history!

Try out the online version of the 4-H History Map at http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History_Map

For more information on the 4-H History Map project contact Tom Tate at tateace@aol.com or Jason Rine at Jason.Rine@mail.wvu.edu

Please help us preserve 4-H History . . .

The following story is from the August 2015 issue of the 4-H History Preservation Newsletter

4-H youth geospatial map-makers shared their 4-H History map with thousands of professional cartographers from around the world.

In July 4-H Youth and adult leaders from seven states shared their new 4-H History map with thousands of professional map-makers from around the world.

The new 4-H project was launched during the Esri International Conference in San Diego July 18-22. The 2015 National 4-H Geospatial Leadership Team of youth and adult leaders exhibited their map to 16,000 attendees from 120 countries at the San Diego convention. Team members from CA, IA, MT, NC, NY, MD, and TN, showed attendees how 4-H families will be using mobile technology to discover and visit historically significant locations where national, state and local milestones in 4-H history took place.

To see what the conference attendees saw you can visit http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History_Map

Several of the professional map-makers visiting the 4-H Youth Community Mapping exhibit were former 4-H’ers and were highly interested to see which 4-Hhistorical items might be posted in the states where they were members or where they live now.

Zooming in on California, National 4-H History Map users saw a Ferris Wheel near San  Francisco. When they clicked on it, they uncovered the 100 year history of 4-H and the Alameda County fair. There, they found a youth-produced film made in 2014, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of 4-H and the Alameda County Fair, both of which were
viewable through the Map. A former Indiana 4-H’er spotted a symbol of an interesting person in 4-H history appearing in the middle of his state; it was the location where the first  Saturday morning 4-H TV show was hosted by a young media host, David Letterman, who went on to  be a famous national network TV star.

A former 4-H’er from South Carolina found a historical marker noting the importance of US Congressman Asbury Francis Lever, whose national legislation in 1914 provided national resources through Cooperative Extension to support 4-H Youth Development for years to come.

A former 4-H’er from Wyoming noted that there were no historical 4-H sites in Wyoming. He was quick to say, “I want to nominate my favorite 4-H memory to the map, as soon as I get home.” Massachusetts visitors found a variety of 4-H campgrounds and fair grounds that triggered thoughts of many memorable 4-H sites they would like to re-visit.

During the Fall of 2015 and into the future, thousands of 4-H clubs will nominate interesting national, state and local 4-H historical people, places and events for documentation on the National 4-H History Map. We encourage you to look at your local area and county and see which, if any, 4-H History sites have already been nominated. If your county has no historical 4-H location yet posted, please let us know, so we can help you get started.

4-H Alumni attending the Esri International Mapping Conference
last month were encouraged to map their 4-H History.

For more information, please contact:
Tom Tate TateAce@aol.com
 
Jason Rine Jason.Rine@mail.wvu.edu

Ever wonder about . . .

• Where the first 4-H club or camp in your county or state was located?
• What communities in your state are home to celebrities who were 4-H members?
• Which 4-H Camps in your state served as Prisoner-Of-War camps during a world war?
• If elected officials in your state or national government were members of 4-H in your state?

 On April 28, 2015, “Map Your 4-H History” went live: an internet-based national atlas of sites that are historically significant to 4-H families. To take a look at how the new National 4-H History Map will operate, click on or paste the following web address into your web browser:

 http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History_Map

 We hope that every 4-H club will ask the question, “Do we have a historically significant site in our county or state that should be nominated for the National 4-H Map/Atlas?” All 4-H members, staff, volunteers, alumni and supporters are encouraged to nominate locations that are significant to the 4-H history of your county, state or the nation.

 What type of sites are we looking for to be nominated for the National 4-H Map? Some of our pilot test team members who have helped develop the National 4-H Map project, suggested the following sites – among others – as being historically significant:

• ! 4-H history museums
• ! 4-H camps
• ! 4-H fair grounds
• ! locations of the first 4-H club in your state
• ! the longest continuous 4-H club in your state;
• ! the first club of its type in your state; and
• ! famous 4-H alumni in your county or state. the first club of its type in your state; and
• ! famous 4-H alumni in your county or state.

 As you consider nominating a site, ask yourself, “Would a 4-H family traveling through our area find the site or location interesting to visit?” The National 4-H History Map will be viewable on mobile devices used by 4-H families as they travel the country. Equally important, the Map visually documents historically significant people, places or events – all pieces of the rich 4-H history – for all to see.

To view the publicly-accessible 4-H Map, click on or paste the following web address into your web browser:
http://arcg.is/1QBM4qf

To nominate a site for the 4-H History Map, click on or paste the following web address into your web browser: http://arcg.is/1bvGogV

 Each month, nominated sites will be reviewed, and approved sites will become publicly-viewable on the 4-H History Map/Atlas. We encourage you to get involved in nominating historically significant sites from your county/state.

Put YOUR 4-H History on the Map!