Author Archives: Larry Krug

About Larry Krug

April 22, 1938 - May 3, 2019 Larry was with 4-H for 27 years and retired as the Director of Communications. Although he passed away on May 3, 2019 after a brief illness, Larry's work with and for 4-H will live on.

4-H’er Created NASA’s ‘Chix in Space’ Project by Larry Krug

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

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The Challenger disaster of January, 1986 was a tremendous loss for NASA and for the United States in many ways. The science project of 4-H alumnus (and Purdue University senior) John C. Vellinger was part of the payload aboard the ill-fated space craft. The science project, “Chix in Space,” was lost.

Vellinger had been working on the chick embryo project since he was a ninth-grade 4-H member. The experiment consisted of a special incubator designed to cradle the fertile eggs during their journey. Vellinger’s experience in wiring and building circuits as a 4-H electric energy project member was valuable in his work designing and building the incubator.

The idea for the space chicks project began to take shape when Vellinger was a student at Tecumseh Junior High School in Lafayette, Indiana. He entered a national contest sponsored by NASA and the National Science Teachers Association while still in high school as an eighth grader. Not winning that first contest, Vellinger redesigned the project several times before succeeding in getting it selected at the national level on the third try in 1983.

After his first year at Purdue in 1985, NASA arranged for mentorship by Mark Deuser, an engineer who was working for Kentucky Fried Chicken, the corporation that sponsored the $50,000 incubation project. On the challenger flight, the experiment was to be monitored in-flight by S. Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first schoolteacher in space. The project consisted of carrying chick embryos at two different stages of development into the weightlessness of space and comparing them against a control group.

After the shuttle accident, Vellinger and Deuser carried on with NASA on development of the hardware and integration for Student Experiment (SE) 83-9 Chicken Embryo Development in space a.k.a. “Chix in Space.” The experiment finally reached its goal when it went into space on a Discovery Mission STS-29 in 1989.

Of those incubated for the full term, in the young embryo group, not a single egg hatched, while all of the eight more mature eggs, subjected to the nine-day pre-incubation on Earth, hatched and proved to be viable. Dissection revealed that in the younger embryos, development ceased at varied stages during exposure to microgravity conditions aboard the space craft.

After this pilot experiment, NASA scientists launched chicken embryos again in late 1992 aboard Endeavor STS-47 for collaborative study with Japan, and the research of chicken embryos in space is ongoing worldwide. For NASA, the “Chix in Space” hardware served as the prototype for additional space embryotic studies.

John Vellinger and Mark Deuser later went on to co-found IKOTECH, a company with design teams which develop and provide equipment for life science experiments on space shuttle missions and other commercial and government applications.

 

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James Cagney’s Fondness for 4-H

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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



Academy Award winning actor James Cagney, considered one of the top film actors of all time, had a fondness for 4-H and particularly the area involving soil and water conservation.

Cagney was born and raised in New York City, however a lecture on soil conservation that his mother had taken him to when just a child sparked a life long interest in farming and conservation. In later years he spent parts of the year on two farms he owned, one in Dutchess County, New York and the other his Martha’s Vineyard farm.


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The actor promoted soil and water conservation wherever he saw an opportunity. In 1956 he appeared in a 4-H film encouraging young people to take care of their natural resources. The previous year James Cagney attended the 1955 National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago. He related to the delegates how he had gotten interested in conservation at the age of 11 when his mother took him to a lecture on conservation in New York City. Cagney related to the delegates his favorite line from the movies, from “Dead End.” It was, “Look Mom I’m dancing.” He said this reminded him of 4-H’ers who are always energetic and dancing and hold much of the promise for our nation’s future.

 

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4-H Promotion and Visibility Compendium Becomes a Popular “Read”

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The following story is from the March 2016 issue of the 4-H History Preservation Newsletter

One of the most recent segments added to the National 4-H History Preservation website is the 4-H Promotion and Visibility Compendium. This is a collection of short stories – currently numbering over 170 – highlighting 4-H promotion and visibility over the last century. It includes many truly interesting and inspiring stories with new ones continually being researched and written.

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In the 50s though 80s during many National 4-H Weeks, Lawrence Welk paid tribute to 4-H and to the special week being celebrated. Often Myron Floren, the popular accordion player in the orchestra, and a former 4-H’er, would give the tribute and play a special song, or it could just as well be another member of the Welk musical family.

Some of the stories highlight 4-H members, clubs or leaders while many others recount the connections 4-H has been fortunate to have with hundreds of VIPs through the years. These stories involving U.S. Presidents, NASA astronauts, Hollywood stars, corporate CEO’s, TV personalities, sports stars and top educators and scientists show that 4-H has been held in very high esteem decade after decade.

These stories are scattered throughout the Compendium, showing a broad segment of VIPs with special relationships to 4-H. Here’s a short list of 25 – Dwight Eisenhower, Reba McEntire, Bob Hope, Dolly Parton, Jeff Gordon, Arthur Godfrey, James Cagney, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Amelia Earhart, Walter Brennan, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Ann Landers, Ronald Reagan, David Letterman, Lawrence Welk, Will Rogers, J. C. Penney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Orville Redenbacher, Ed Sullivan, and Sugar Ray Leonard. In this group alone, some were 4-H alumni, some made 4-H films or appeared in 4-H radio and TV promos, others spoke or entertained at 4-H events or helped raise funds for 4-H.

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Reading through the stories of the 4-H Promotion and Visibility Compendium is a quick way to learn a lot about what makes 4-H so special. For those new to 4-H, these stories are a great way to capture some of the spirit and energy of the program through the decades. If you have been involved in 4-H your entire life, we can still guarantee you that there are stories here which you have never heard about before.

Visit the Compendium at http://4-HHistoryPreservation.Com/History/4-H_Promotion/

 

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4-H Presidential Winners

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

Considered by many to be the most prestigious awards in 4-H, the National 4-H Presidential Awards Winners – the top girl and the top boy in the Achievement, Citizenship and Leadership programs – began in 1924 with a single winner in the Leadership program… and ended after the naming of the winners for the year 1993 – a 70 year run.

For many years the six top recipients were given silver trays in the name of the President of the United States.

President Richard M. Nixon with winners of the National 4-H Presidential Awards at National 4-H Congress.

President Richard M. Nixon with winners of the National 4-H Presidential Awards at National 4-H Congress.

Although the Presidential Winners program did not receive the year-round publicity that was generated by the National 4-H Report to the Nation Program, the naming of the winners at the closure of National 4-H Congress in Chicago each year generated much promotion and visibility for that one event.

The complete history of the National 4-H Presidential Winners can be found on the National 4-H History Preservation website in the National 4-H History area under: National 4-H Presidential Winners

 

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U.S. Presidents as Honorary 4-H Chairmen

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

In 1924, although only three years old, Guy Noble as the director of the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work apparently had enough faith in the little fledgling organization to boldly ask the President of the United States to be their honorary chairman. Calvin Coolidge said “yes,” and, well, as they say, the rest is history.

And, every President after Coolidge, up through Bill Clinton in the 1990s, also held the role of Honorary Chairman of the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work, then National 4-H Service Committee; and, finally, National 4-H Council – a string of 76 years.

So, what did this actually mean? To our knowledge, no President ever attended a board meeting, however the entire board did go to the White House to meet with their Honorary Chairman while Ronald Reagan was President. And, President Richard Nixon traveled to Chicago to address the delegates at the National 4-H Congress’s 50th Anniversary. Presidents often hosted 4-H groups in the Oval Office or the Rose Garden and President Eisenhower cut the ribbons to open the National 4-H Center. They almost always sent a formal letter about National 4-H Week which could be used in the press kits, and sometimes sent Holiday Greetings to “all 4-H’ers” in December. Plus, having the name of the President at the top of your list of board members on the Annual Report didn’t hurt, particularly when it came to fund raising.

There is a history of ‘U.S. Presidents and 4-H’ on the 4-H history website at:
http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/U_S_Presidents

 

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National 4-H Report to the Nation Program

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

4-H Reporters with President Kennedy

4-H Reporters with President Kennedy

The National 4-H Report to the Nation Program was initiated in 1950. The intent of the program was to utilize a team of outstanding 4-H members as spokesmen for the 4-H program with important national officials and presenting them with a volume describing 4-H achievements during the previous year – hence, “the Report to the Nation.”

Each year a special “Report to the Nation” book was produced. It was visual, most pages containing a photo with caption. It could be quickly read… or scanned. Reporters often used the book as talking points in meeting with a VIP and then gave them the book.

For the first 25 years, teams were selected from delegates to National 4-H Congress in Chicago. In the mid-1970’s a change was made with the team being selected from delegates to the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C. The primary sponsor of the program for its duration was the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago.

The program was disbanded in either 1993 or 1994, but for over 40 years the team participants had some remarkable experiences, often getting the “red carpet” treatment at the airport as their plane touched down in a major city, being welcomed by the mayor or governor. Several teams met with the President of the United States in the Oval Office.

4-H Reporters with Ed Sullivan

4-H Reporters with Ed Sullivan

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Report to the Nation team members routinely appeared on some of the top television programs in the country. They were guests on donor-sponsored television shows with youth appeal – such as Danny Thomas and Andy Griffith – as well as those with parent appeal – like the Tonight Show and the Today Show. One Sunday night the team appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show… and, one afternoon, were guests during a visit to Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.”

At some point (believed to be in the early 1980’s) the Report to the Nation Team became the 4-H Ambassador Program with essentially the same types of responsibilities as the older program.

The history of the 4-H Report to the Nation team is still incomplete, however a good share of the experiences are documented on the 4-H History Preservation website. Go to:

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

 

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4-H Postage Stamp

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

To mark the 50th anniversary of 4-H, a commemorative three cent stamp was produced. The stamp went on sale at Springfield, Ohio on January 15, 1952. An initial order of 110 million stamps were authorized.4-H_Stamp[1]

The central design of the stamp depicts a group of typical farm buildings at the left, while in the center appears the symbolic four leaf clover, with the letter “H”. Directly below the symbol is inscribed: ‘The 4-H clubs’. Dominating the right side of the design are a teen age boy and girl, facing the club symbol. At the top of the stamp are the words “To Make the Best Better.”

This stamp is the only officially produced U.S. postage stamp in 4-H’s long history. For additional information on the stamp, the commemorative event, and other stamp efforts, visit:

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

 

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National 4-H Alumni Survey – 1985

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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


The year 1985 was a significant year for National 4-H Council regarding how former participants of the 4-H program felt about the program… the impact. At that time 4-H had 40 million living alumni. This is an overwhelming figure, but yet remained basically meaningless… valueless… without some further explanation or documentation. Who are these alumni? What do they think about their 4-H experience? Was it of any sustaining value to them?

Several projects were done during the first seven or eight months of the year. Over 50,000 alumni were identified through these projects. Most of these projects were done by National 4-H Council’s Communications Division in partnership with Council’s Resource Development Office.

Donors assisted with some surveys, carrying an alumni query response card as an insert in their house organ. Others placed an alumni identification “stuffer” in with their monthly customer credit card mailings. Direct mail appeals… one over Roy Rogers’ signature, were done.

In some cases, responses were tremendously high. For example, a survey done by 4-H Council of 4,300 state and national awards winners from 1965-75 – 10 to 20 years ago – using 10 to 20 year old addresses and a 7-page narrative paper survey, resulted in over 2,000 respondents, a 50% return!

Additionally, responses from the alumni were traditionally very positive relating to their 4-H experiences. Many 4-H alumni credit 4-H with selection of their career. The skills taught in 4-H relating to public speaking and record-keeping also were mentioned over and over again. And, third, many respondents continued to be involved, either as local leaders or 4-H parents.

Results of all of these surveys became a strong part of a promotion program, keeping alumni informed and engaged and ultimately as resources for knowledge, as well as dollars!

Although the actual results of the surveys completed in 1985 have not yet been located, the best record of this effort is a copy of a speech given by Council’s Communication Division Director Larry Krug at the 1985 National 4-H Donors’ Conference in Chicago entitled “An Investment Report: Allegiance of Former Participants.” This will soon be digitized and placed in the Books and Printed Materials Archive on the 4-H History website.

 

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Corn Clubs Spread Through the South

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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

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Following the successes in the midwest, by 1909 corn clubs were spreading through the South at a rapid rate. In Virginia that first year, 10,543 boys joined corn clubs and while many of them merely went along with the crowd, some of them made records that surprised their communities. Other states were having similar experiences. On one of his trips from Washington to Mississippi, Dr. Seaman Knapp, highly pleased with the way boys’ demonstration work was going, offered a trip to Washington to the Mississippi boy who made the best record with his corn crop. His offer started something. Following up the lead, O. B. Martin made a similar offer in his own state of South Carolina. T. O. Sandy, in Virginia, raised the purse to send the Virginia champion to the Capitol, and the bankers of Arkansas promised a trip to their champion.

Four young winners – representing four states – made the trip: Ralph Bellwood, Virginia; Bascom Usher, South Carolina; Dewitt C. Lundy, Mississippi; and Elmer Halter, Arkansas. These four teen-age boys were honored for their proficiency in cultivating soil. They were introduced to President William Howard Taft at the White House, and awarded the first diplomas of their kind by Secretary of Agriculture Wilson. They became charter members of the All-Star Corn Club, a national honorary organization of champion growers.The following story is from the October 2015 issue of the 4-H History Preservation Newsletter

Knapp’s idea of giving prize trips to Washington was continued the following year, and the record made by these boys was more sensational than those of the 1909 winners. The hero of the trip was Jerry Moore, 16-year-old Winona, South Carolina, boy who had raised the amazing total of 228-3/4 bushels on his acre.

Jerry was headlined throughout the nation as the champion corn grower of all time. Newspapers and magazines carried his story in detail, picturing the slight, straw-hatted boy sitting on the edge of an immense mountain of husked corn – the product of his one-acre experiment. His thorough records show exactly how he prepared the soil and what he used for fertilizer. He planted Batts’ Four-ear Prolific corn by hand, about three inches apart in the drill, thinning the plants to about six inches when a half-foot high. He cultivated his corn every four days. Jerry Moore’s story is worth recalling because news of his great yield arched over the nation like a rainbow, providing an apt object lesson for farmers whose yields were lower than they might have been.

 

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National 4-H News… Reaching the Local Level

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The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

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


Pic_008a[1]The only national magazine devoted exclusively to the 4-H program, National 4-H News, was created by the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work, serving as an exchange of information and fresh ideas and resources for volunteer adult and junior leaders for 65 years – the first issue appearing in April 1923… and the last issue in April 1988.

4-H news was channeled from the national level to local 4-H leaders directly to the club and community level. Conversely, volunteer leaders were some of the major contributors to the magazine, sharing their success stories… as well as their challenges and problems, so News traveled from the local level directly to the national level, as well as from top down.

Pic_008b[1]The National 4-H History Preservation program team members doing research on various aspects of 4-H history have come to find that National 4-H News is the singular best source for 4-H history in existence. The magazine was undoubtedly also one of 4-H’s best nationwide visibility tools, month after month. The magazines have been digitized and will soon be on the history website.

The history of the national magazine can be found on the National 4-H History Preservation website at:
http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Nat_4-H_News/

 

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