Can You Identify… Joint Staffs

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Larry Krug

This picture is the only photo existing of the joint staffs of the National 4-H Service Committee and National 4-H Foundation during their merger as National 4-H Council. It was taken at the National 4-H Center (which was being remodeled) in 1976, 48 years ago, a year before merger. Can you help us identify the “blanks in the photo?

L. to R. Seated: Louise Kilpatrick, Margo Tyler, Harold Sweet, Mollie Hardin, Gary Deverman, Mary Bedford, Melvin Thompson, Nancy Aiken Varian, Gwen El Sawi, Lois Howard.

L. to R. Standing: – ________, James Veeder, Francis Pressley, Bonnie (Beck) Sarkett, Jack Seibert, Kathleen Flom, John Pederson, ________, Larry Hancock, Charles Freeman, Larry Krug, James Harden, Wayne Bath, Les Nichols, Joseph McAuliffe, ________, Marsha Midgley, Grant Shrum, ________, Kenneth Anderson, Pat Brown, Ray Crabbs, Diana Williams, Don Henderson.

If you can identify any of the “unknowns” please send their names and who they were standing beside to: Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com

Please note: Not all current staff at the time are shown in this photo.

Where Our 4-H History is Kept

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Larry Krug

There are many locations which contain significant archival collections of 4-H history — records, artifacts and other historical memorabilia. They include 4-H history museums and websites, and collections housed at national repositories, state and university libraries and even some local archives. There are 4-H program and event records and photos and the personal papers of some of our 4-H pioneers and leaders.

One of the projects of the National 4-H History Preservation Program is that of developing a database which provides information on where to locate these various repositories.

We currently have over 50 repositories listed in the National 4-H Repositories section of our history website… but, we know there are many more “out there.”

Visit: http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/Repros_National.asp to view the listing and contents, or check out the locator map. If your state 4-H records and archives are not listed, or a state 4-H museum, please let us know. If you know of special collections or papers of 4-H pioneers or state 4-H leaders that are housed in a library or archive, we would like to know this, too. Contact us at: Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com

4-H Brand Products from the Farm Highly Promoted a Century Ago

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Larry Krug

Almost from the creation of the term “4-H” — and before the use of the 4-H emblem — enterprising young girls and boys were using the term “4-H Brand” as a “stamp of quality” on their home-grown farm products resulting from 4-H projects, kind of like the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”

Today the 4-H emblem is a federally protected mark that can’t be used on products without approval. The 4-H emblem was patented in 1924, and a 1939 law protects the use of both the 4-H name and the emblem.

Early 4-H’ers were very keen on management and marketing of their projects. Accurate record-keeping and accountability was stressed by the leaders and county extension agents. Creative marketing was often the key to success. Many members devised ideas on how to market their products that even their parents or leaders had not thought about.

Whether it was vegetables from the 4-H garden, fruit from the orchard, eggs from the hen house, dairy products from the barn or honey from the 4-H bee hive, creative marketing was important to the young boys and girls.

A 1914 directive out of USDA’s Washington headquarters office states: “In connection with the boys’ and girls’ club work the 4-H brand canning labels, seed corn labels and seed potato labels are of especial importance in encouraging the club members to standardize their products. State, district and county men who are interested in the 4-H brand labels and wish samples of them can secure the same by writing the office of farm management, says O. H. Benson, government specialist, in charge of club work.”

A new section,4-H Brand Products from the Farm, has just been added to the national 4-H history preservation website on 4-H brand products. To view the section to go:

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

Self-Guided 4-H History Tour Initiated

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Larry Krug

The National 4-H History Preservation Leadership Team introduced a self-guided history tour of the National 4-H Youth Conference Center during National 4-H Conference this past spring. This is the first step of a planned Center-wide tour to cover many places of interest and items of National 4-H Historical value at the Center, and was conducted in the lobby area of J. C. Penney Hall.

Six sites were picked because of their proximity and because they include the history from the day that the National 4-H Center was opened by President Eisenhower up to and including an exhibit of national artifacts from the 10 most recent years of 4-H history. People wishing to take the tour need only a scanning device such as a smart phone or an electronic tablet to participate. Each item on the tour includes a marker containing a very brief description of the historical area or artifact and a QR code which leads the viewers to more detailed information.

To make the experience more enticing and rewarding for the Conference visitors, the History Team devised a treasure hunt. Conference delegates were given a map designating the areas where the QR codes were located along with a question to be answered on each place, item or the person featured in that part of 4-H History. The participants needed to read a small amount of information on their device in order to answer the questions. To make the experience more gratifying, the 4-H Center Gift Shop offered a 10% discount to all who found the answers to all six questions.

The areas/items currently on the tour are: Gertrude Warren’s Portrait, the J. C. Penney Mural, the Contemporary 4-H Exhibit, Massachusetts Foyer, Noble Breakfront and Danforth Courtyard.

The History Team hopes to enlarge the tour to include the timeline mural and historic items in J. C. Penney Hall’s first floor Kathleen’s Corner along with the artwork in the Heritage Hallway between Aiton Auditorium and the Schruben Board Room on the lower level as the project moves forward over the coming months.

History Preservation Newsletter
April 2014

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Sue Benedetti

The last few days of balmy spring weather brought DC’s cherry blossoms bursting forth in all their frothy pink splendor to highlight the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. This painting captured that spring ritual in the c. 1975 National 4-H calendar art. So, for this issue, what is more fitting than 4-H helping Mrs. Obama plant a cherry tree? Or a “Hands on History” challenge to create healthy cherry-based snacks?

There’s a new self-guided history tour at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. Using QR Codes, we’ve put up six sites in and around the J. C. Penney lobby for visitors to scan and learn a bit about that piece of 4-H history. The tour covers a broad span of time from a portrait of the “Mother of 4-H” to artifacts from the most recent 10 years of the program. Scan the QR Code in this issue and see where it leads.

We continue the “Voices of 4-H History” program of recording audio and visual memories as we come closer to the Centennial date of signing the Smith-Lever Act (May 8) which gave federal funding to the Cooperative Extension Service. Progress updates from several states, some suggestions, and a list of available resources make up this month’s coverage.

“Voices” participants are scripting, filming, editing, re-filming, and re-editing their potential entries in the national 4-H film festival, “2014 FilmFest 4-H.” This year’s festival will be in St. Louis and “Voices of 4-H History” is an official category in the August competition.

And now it’s time for that healthy snack: a juicy slab of freshly-baked cherry pie while you enjoy this issue!

4-H Electrification Projects: Then and Now

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Dave Benedetti

Many of us take electricity for granted at home, at work, and at local stores and businesses. But that wasn’t the case seventy-five years ago, especially in rural areas. An article in the 1939 National 4-H News invited 4-H members to participate in the 4-H Rural Electrification Project. Members and clubs were “encouraged to study wiring plans, safety practices, and operation of electrical equipment.” Members were encouraged to complete activities to help them learn to make basic electrical repairs and additions at home and on the farm. Project records were submitted to compete for county medals, trips to National 4-H Congress, and $200 scholarships.

Early electrical club work even inspired a novel to be written. “Dynamo Farm” by Adam Allen, and published by J. B. Lippincott Company, NY in 1942 tells the story of a boy from the city who moves to a farm and learns to love being there because he gets involved in an electrification project in 4-H and saves the family poultry business.

Electricity is still an important 4-H project. Members learn the principles of electricity, circuits, magnetism and safety. These days, energy conservation is also emphasized.

You and your club members can learn about electricity like the 4-H members did in the 4-H Rural Electrification Project many years ago. A club member or guest speaker can do a demonstration or lead a club activity to learn about electricity. Club members can do a home energy audit and share their results at a future club meeting. Or you could try to find a copy of the novel mentioned above and share a report about it or act out some of the scenes for the club.

“Voices of 4-H History” will be a major Feature of Filmfest 4-H 2014

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Tom Tate

Missouri is pleased to announce that FilmFest 4-H, the national 4-H film festival, has been GREENLIGHTED for 2014! This year’s FilmFest will take place at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is home to countless film productions, one of the nation’s top zoos, amazing museums, and of course the world famous Gateway Arch.

Now is the time to get started! The Film Submission form has been posted, and films will be accepted until July 1, 2014. As with last year, there is a 10-minute time limit on films, so that we can screen as many as possible in the most interesting ways. We continue to request that filmmakers avoid scenes that involve youth pointing guns at each other! This will help us give your films the widest possible exposure through 4-H channels, without creating unnecessary complications.

This year’s confirmed categories are:

Narrative
Animation
Documentary
4-H Promotional
“Voices of 4-H History”

This special event connects young filmmaking enthusiasts with film industry professionals and with other youth who share those same interests. Like any national film festival, FilmFest 4-H is a “commuter event.” Festival-goers are free to make the arrangements for travel, lodging, and meals that best fit their needs. Your $129 “All access Pass” is your ticket to the entire event. This includes film screenings, field trips, festivities, meetings, exciting workshops with film industry professionals, and other special opportunities. Registration will be online at the FilmFest 4-H website in the weeks ahead. For more information about the event click on: http://is.gd/9Aeb92.

Youth filmmakers from across the nation will present the products of their film making labor on August 3, 2014, in St. Louis. In 2013, youth filmmakers from more than a dozen states exhibited 38 films that they had produced. Finalists’ films from the 2013 FilmFest 4-H can be seen at: http://4h.missouri.edu/go/events/filmfest/2013/films/ror-wy.htm/.

During 2014, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, we are hopeful that youth film makers will assist Cooperative Extension in celebrating this centennial by helping capture 4-H history in their state and counties. Youth filmmakers that complete their productions in time to submit them prior to the July 1 judging deadline, will be considered for FilmFest 2014. Films not submitted by July 1, will be considered for FilmFest 2015.

We hope that 4-H alumni, staff, volunteers, club leaders and supporters will reach out, get involved and encourage 4-H’ers to start up “Voices of 4-H History” media projects for sharing at FilmFest 2014.

4-H and Radio: Early Days, Growing Together

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Larry Krug

When the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work (now National 4-H Council) was started in late 1921, it basically consisted of a staff of one person – Guy Noble – working at a ‘desk on loan’ in the Chicago headquarters offices of the American Farm Bureau, with the assistance of a part-time secretary (also on loan). In addition to the overwhelming burden of raising funds in unchartered waters and planning and managing the major national 4-H event, National 4-H Congress, Guy Noble also knew that it was critical to promote the concept of 4-H to broaden audiences if it was to grow.

As early as 1922, before it was even a year old, the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work became a radio pioneer. Arrangements were made that year with the Westinghouse Radio Service of Chicago for news of Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work to be presented each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 pm. In 1922 there were only 30 radio stations in the country and a quarter million receiver sets scattered across the nation.

The decades of the 1920s and 1930s became a growth period for both radio and for 4-H together. At one point all the major radio networks were carrying 4-H radio programs. And, there was the National 4-H Music Hour on NBC which featured the United States Marine Corps Band and highlighted music appreciation for young people. The National 4-H News magazine carried a regular column of upcoming radio programs in their monthly publication.

David Sarnoff, president of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), and one of the corporate giants in the communications industry, partnered with 4-H. He became a board member of the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work and RCA would become a national sponsor, funding a new activity for 4-H Club leaders and members. It was the National Program on Social Progress which helped to train and encourage 4-H members and adults in their communities to make the community more pleasant and improve the quality of living. This included: being more “neighborly,” and more resourceful, as well as stressing more education and creative community social activities. The program placed heavy emphasis on using the radio for communications.

By the 1930s, many rural stations were hiring farm broadcasters; first to announce the grain and livestock markets each day, but then to support rural community activities and events. Four-H fit nicely into this pattern as well; with farm broadcasters becoming strong friends of 4-H. At the same time Extension at every level – federal, state and county – were embracing the use of radio. A decade later, by the end of the 40s, over half of the radio stations in the country were regularly carrying Extension programs, including much coverage of 4-H. The radio was playing in the house, the barn, the car; no longer a novelty, it was a part of our everyday lives.

A new segment – 4-H and Radio – has just been posted in the National 4-H History section of the 4-H History Preservation website. We hope you enjoy it. Take a look at it at: http://4-HHistorypreservation.com/history/Radio/. If you have comments about 4-H and radio please contact: Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com.

4-H History Preservation News

Tag Archives: 4-H History

Can You Identify… Joint Staffs

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Where Our 4-H History is Kept

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4-H Brand Products from the Farm Highly Promoted a Century Ago

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Self-Guided 4-H History Tour Initiated

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4-H Electrification Projects: Then and Now

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“Voices of 4-H History” will be a major Feature of Filmfest 4-H 2014

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4-H History Activities Accelerate in the Summer

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