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.

U.S. Presidents and 4-H

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During the 2015 National 4-H Conference eight 4-H’ers were guests of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House on April 13 to share what their 4-H clubs are doing to tackle hunger in their communities. The group (l. to r.) are: Geneva Wright, Alaska; Gabrielle Parker, Maryland; Jacob Jensen, Utah; Kashawn Burke, Georgia; Kimberly Lopez, Idaho; Lorena Rivera, Idaho; Spencer Orr, Iowa and Andres Parra, Arizona. At the far right in the photo is Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. (photo by Pete Souza)

A tradition that has been going on for well over 100 years… On April 13, 2015, during National 4-H Conference, eight 4-H’ers visited President Obama in the Oval Office of the White House.

In 1912 a group of Southern Club Champions visited President William Howard Taft… and, every President between Taft and Obama has also been involved with 4-H.

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President William Howard Taft with Southern Club Champions in 1912. (Photo Courtesy of National Archives)

A section titled U.S. Presidents and 4-H is located on the National 4-H History Preservation website: http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com  It is not yet complete but has a number of documented stories about presidential involvement.

In 1922, Calvin Coolidge was the first president to be named an Honorary Chairman of the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work (later National 4-H Council). For several decades, successive presidents also accepted this honor. President Herbert Hoover wrote in his acceptance letter “The work of the 4-H Clubs is fundamental. It is bringing about a more economic production of all agricultural crops; it is improving rural homes; it is developing rural leadership, molding character and building citizenship.”

The first National 4-H Camp was held in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1927. Nearly every year, U.S. presidents hosted 4-H camp youth at the White House or visited them at the camp. This tradition continued after the camp became the National 4-H Center held at the National 4-H Center from 1959.

The Presidential Award, presented to the two top winners each in Achievement, Citizenship and Leadership, provided another opportunity for presidential involvement. Beginning in the 1930s the award was presented to the top leadership winners in the name of the President of the United States. The last 4-H Presidential Awards were presented in 1993.

From the 1950s into the 1970s, the 4-H Report to the Nation was presented to the President, other government leaders and 4-H partners during National 4-H Week and throughout the year. The 4-H Report to the Nation was an annual compilation of 4-H membership data, program highlights and photographs. The 4-H Report to the Nation Team usually presented the report to the President.

Presidents have been included in significant 4-H celebrations. President Dwight Eisenhower cut the ribbon that opened the National 4-H Center in 1959. President Richard Nixon addressed the delegates at the 50th National 4-H Congress in Chicago in 1971. During the national 4-H centennial celebration, President George W. Bush welcomed a delegation of 4-H members in the Oval Office, where he was presented with a National Friend of 4-H plaque.

Two 4-H’ers Share Their Experiences

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Back in the early days of 4-H many of the top achievers had lofty goals and were true leaders among their peers. They took full advantage of the newly created 4-H events – the camps, the judging contests, and National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago.

We are fortunate that some of these young members documented their thoughts and experiences. Two of them wrote books which have now been digitized and are in the Books Archives on the 4-H History Preservation website at http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com.

Kenneth Hinshaw, from Washington State, attended the 1926 National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago and was selected the national leadership champion, becoming a proud recipient of the Moses Trophy. Kenneth wrote a book, “4-H A Story” in 1935 weaving together actual 4-H experiences, historical sketches of Boys’ and Girls’ 4-H Club Work, and chronicles of important 4-H events.

And across the country, Charlie Goodwin, a young 4-H boy from Guilford, New York, wrote his autobiography, “A Dreamer and His Dreams,” in 1928. The story relates how Charlie started out with big dreams, but little resources, winning little by little until he was a top achiever and leader.

He attended many of the state and national judging events of the day, won a trip to Camp Vail and was a delegate to the first National 4-H Camp in Washington, DC, and a delegate to National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago the first year his state sent delegates.

The National 4-H History Preservation leadership team strongly suspects that there may be other printed documentation of 4-H’ers sharing their experiences, either in published form or unpublished manuscripts. If you know of other efforts of this nature that we could borrow to have digitized for the history website, we would like to hear about them. Write to: Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com.

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As shown in the Hinshaw book, a party of 4-H club members from Oregon, Washington and Idaho enroute to the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago in 1926. Kenneth Hinshaw is standing on the left in the photo.

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Cover photo of Charlie Goodwin’s autobiography showing the proud author in his 4-H uniform.

Another Walt Disney Film, “So Dear to My Heart”

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“So Dear to My Heart” by Walt Disney Productions rightly belongs in our 4-H film So_Dear_Cover_Lhistory archive. No, “4-H” is never mentioned in the full-length feature film… but, for good reason. The time period of the story presented was the year 1903 – long before the term “4-H” was being used. But the film tells the story of a young rural boy and his pet lamb and his goal of taking his project to the county fair and winning a blue ribbon. It parallels the stories and goals of thousands of young boys and girls across rural America shortly after the turn of the 20th Century in a movement that would later on be called “4-H.”Bobby Driscoll plays the part of young Jeremiah Kincaid who lives with his pious, hard-working grandmother, played by Academy Award-winning actress Beulah Bondi, on their farm near Fulton Corners, Indiana. Jeremiah was a young orphan. Burl Ives plays the part of “Uncle” Hiram Douglas, the village blacksmith, who often has to support young Jeremiah in easing the firm hand of Granny. Luana Patten plays the part of Tildy, Jeremiah’s young friend. Harry Carey is the head judge at the fair. Granny allows young Jeremiah to raise and look after a black lamb when its mother rejected it; a lamb which seems to have a way of getting into more trouble than necessary. It’s a good story with quality actors and music. A gem that should not be forgotten!

So_Dear_Poster_LAlthough the official world premiere of “So Dear to My Heart” took place on January 19, 1949 in Indianapolis, Indiana, a special premiere showing of the film took place nearly two months earlier, on November 29, 1948 when it was shown to the delegates of National 4-H Congress in Chicago. Bobby Driscoll was there at the Congress to greet the delegates.

Driscoll was a tremendously popular child star in the late 1940s and early 50s. He was the first actor Walt Disney put under contract to play the lead character in “Song of the South,” Disney’s first film that combined animation and live action. Now, he was starring in the second such film, “So Dear To My Heart.” He also starred as Jim Hawkins in Disney’s “Treasure Island” and was the voice of Peter Pan in the movie by the same name.

There were plans for “So Dear to My Heart” to be the So_Dear_Grandma_Lfirst all-live-action Disney film, however in the end the full length film (1 hour; 22 minutes) featured approximately 12 minutes of animation, primarily of the “Wise Old Owl” as he sings stories about David and Goliath, Christopher Columbus and others in order to encourage “Jeremiah” in his efforts to make his lamb a champion.

The film was the last screen appearance of longtime western actor Harry Carey, who died in September 1947, before the film was released.

The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song for the adaptation of the English folk song “Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly).” Other songs in the movie included: “It’s Whatcha Do with Whatcha Got,” “Ol’ So_Dear_Owl_LDan Patch,” “Stick-to-it-ivity,” “County Fair,” “Billy Boy,” and “So Dear to My Heart.” The film’s popular songs were recorded by a number of well-know singers, including Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee and Mel Torme. And, child actor Bobbie Driscoll received a special Oscar as the “outstanding juvenile actor” of 1949 for his work in this film and the RKO production “The Window.”

The film was based on the book, “Midnight and Jeremiah” by Sterling North, written in 1943. “So Dear to My Heart” was the film that directly inspired the creation of Disneylandia and, eventually, Disneyland.So_Dear_Fair_L

In addition to the National 4-H Congress premiere showing, the film was featured in advertisements in National 4-H News, the national magazine for volunteer leaders, for several issues around the time of its premiere. The film is available today on DVD.

American Dairy Association, 4-H and Disney Film Studios in Partnership

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

The American Dairy Association sponsored a WD_AF_AiD_F-5_w5inserial shown on the “Mickey Mouse Club’s” second season called “Adventure in Dairyland.” The series starred Disney actors Annette Funicello, Sammy Ogg, and Kevin Corcoran and also featured Midwestern actors Glen Graber, Fern Persons, Herb Newcomb, and Mary Lu Delmonte, as the McCandless family from Madison, Wisconsin. It was filmed on location at the Dr. Ira Sisk dairy farm in Verona, Wisconsin, while the cast and crew stayed at a hotel in Madison. Filming took place during June 1956, and when it was completed, Annette, Sammy and Kevin returned to California to start work on “Further Adventures of Spin and Marty.”

The eight episodes of the series are titled: “Off to Wisconsin,” “Moochie’s Escape,” “The Trouble with Pigs,” “The Runaway Tractor,” “The Case of the Deadly Paint Brush,” “The Turning Point,” “The Kids Take Over,” and “The Storm.” The Wisconsin filming involved 29 cast members which included 14 local 4-H members.
The advance crew, with four large trucks from the WD_AF_AiD_Cvr_w5inBurbank studio full of generators, cameras, kleig lights, costumes and props, arrived at the Sisk farm, overlooking the Sugar River, on June 4, 1956. Filming for the farm scenes commenced the second week of June, and wrapped up June 29.

 In the series, Jim McCandless and his wife have two teenagers, Jimmy and Linda, and little Moochie, plus their handyman, Paullie, who’s a bit of a character. Sammy and Annette take to their hosts right away, and soon settle into the routine of farm life. They meet Moochie’s pet chicken, admire Mrs. McCandless’s flower garden, and are amazed to see how Paullie yodels to call the cows into the barn for the night. Jimmy shows Sammy the machinery used for automatic cow milking, and they watch the local veterinarian cure a calf made sick by eating paint from Moochie’s forgotten brush. At a local 4-H meeting they try dancing the polka and enjoy the European folk singing.

The 8-program series originally ran on Disney in November of 1956, during the second season of The Mickey Mouse Club. Touting educational programming, one of the program features was to be an ongoing set of serials examining future careers for kids and the daily lives of those following such careers. The first series was about airline careers, “American Pilot, Airline Hostess,” sponsored by TWA. The American Dairy Association sponsored the second series. At the behest of the ADA the WD_AF_AiD_SqD_w5inseries was filmed in color, the only original production for the Mickey Mouse Club that was.

Disney stopped showing the series on The Mickey Mouse Club after the 1958-59 season and the film rights then transferred to the American Dairy Association, who made the series available to schools, 4-H and other interested groups through the Education Film Library Association for several years.. ADA also published a 16-page, color, storyboard booklet, “Adventure in Dairyland,” which was distributed free of charge.

National 4-H Donor Support Added to History Website

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

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The Nation’s First Lady, Mrs. Patricia Nixon, and J. C. Penney, meet at the White House to discuss their role in 4-H as honorary 4-H co-chairmen of the National 4-H Club Foundation’s Advisory Council. With them is Barbara Evans, 4-H’er from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Over the past year the history of the private sector and 4-H donors at the national level has been researched and is now up on the National 4-H History Preservation website. For nearly a century National 4-H Council and its two predecessor organizations – National 4-H Club Foundation and National 4-H Service Committee (earlier called the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work) – has secured funding for the support of 4-H programs across America and around the world.

Funds have been generous, coming from large corporations and small businesses, banks, foundations and associations, governmental agencies, state and county 4-H foundations, 4-H leaders’ councils, and from individuals and trusts, totaling well over a million gifts.

This new section attempts to document the most relevant areas of this support from a historical perspective: it is still a “work in progress” as they say, adding information as it is researched and located. It will never be complete. Some records have been lost. In many cases we listed the most significant donations, not attempting to document each and every gift or pledge. It’s for this reason that this new donor support segment has been added to the site in PDF format. This segment is located in the National 4-H History section of the website at

  http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Donor_Support/National_4-H_Donor_Support.pdf  Please note that this is a PDF file that will download to your device.

“Voices of 4-H History” will be a Major Feature of 2015 National 4-H FilmFest

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Logo_5th_Film_FestThis year’s FilmFest will take place in St. Louis, Missouri on June 14-17, 2015 at the Hilton Fontenac.

For the third year, the National 4-H History Preservation Program is sponsoring the 4-H history category of the competition. For more information on this year’s event visit: http://4h.missouri.edu/filmfest. To learn more about documenting 4-H history with film, go to the http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com website and “click” on the Voices of 4-H History button in the left-hand menu bar on the homepage or contact: info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com

Coke and Georgia – A Promotion & Fund Raising Campaign

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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/ .

Donald R. Keough, president, The Coca-Cola Company, admires 4-H commemorative Coke bottle with Bill Gentry, state 4-H officer from Carroll County, Georgia. Keough is a member of National 4-H Council's Board of Trustees. (From 1985 Winter National 4-H Council Quarterly)

Donald R. Keough, president, The Coca-Cola Company, admires 4-H commemorative Coke bottle with Bill Gentry, state 4-H officer from Carroll County, Georgia. Keough is a member of National 4-H Council’s Board of Trustees. (From 1985 Winter National 4-H Council Quarterly)

In 1984-85, 4-H’ers in Georgia were selling Coke bottles as part of a fund raising campaign. However, these were no ordinary Coke bottles. The bottles read, “Rock Eagle: The World’s Largest 4-H Center, 30 Years of Service to 1,000,000 citizens of Georgia 1954-84.” The front of the bottle flashes the 4-H emblem – a 4-leaf clover, just below The Coca-Cola Company logo.

The 96,000 special bottles were printed by The Coca-Cola Company as part of a five-year fund raising program to raise $2 million for the renovation of the 4-H camp and conference center in Eatonton. The 4-H’ers were selling the Coke bottles for $1 donation, or more, at county fairs, harvest sales, grocery stores, convenience stops and school stores.

Don Keough passed away on February 24, 2015 at the age of 88.

Goecke Takes International

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

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Goecke “Takes” International

Clarence Goecke, a 12-year-old 4-H member from State Center, Iowa exhibited the grand champion steer at the 1928 International Live Stock Exposition – the largest livestock show in the world. This is the first time a 4-H member’s animal had topped the show – the first such victory in history – causing headlines across the country.

Adult showmen used to give their junior rivals a patronizing glance, but after Goecke’s win, they eyed them with concern. Not only did Goecke’s steer – named “Dick” – win the show, but the animal was knocked down on the auction block for $7. a pound. The previous high price, paid in 1926, was $3.60 a pound. The purchaser in 1928 was the J. C. Penney Company, New York. The youthful owner saw his pet, which he had raised from a calf, auctioned off with solemn face despite the fact that the price paid meant he would receive more than $8,000. in addition to over $1,000. prize money he already had received. The below photo shows young Clarence Goecke on the left, James C. Penney in the center, and Emma Goecke, Clarence’s sister and an employee of the local Penney store in Iowa, on the right.

National 4-H Music Hour

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

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National 4-H Music Hour

During the 1930s the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work negotiated with the National Broadcasting Company to produce and air a monthly hour-long educational musical show on the NBC network. The programs were broadcast mid-day from 12:30 to 1:30 Eastern Standard Time – always on the first Saturday of each month.

Announcements for the shows, carried in the National 4-H News magazine for 4-H leaders, explained that the United States Marine Band would play the music and annotations relative to the songs and composers would be given. The Extension Office, USDA helped coordinate the programs and R. A. Turner, 4-H USDA, narrated the annotations.

Themes apparently were selected for the entire year. For example, “Songs That Live” was the theme for the 1936 series of the National 4-H Music Hour. “A Musical Journey Around the World” was the theme for the 1938 series and “Stories Told by Music” was the focus of the series in 1939. The programs were intended to be both uplifting and entertaining, while also carrying a strong theme for music appreciation.

The National 4-H Music Hour was part of a much larger plan of the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work and Extension USDA to contribute to uplifting the spirits of rural farm families during the great depression years.

An Arabian Tale

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

An Arabian Tale

The fast-paced sing-song voice of the auctioneer… a scream… a cheer… and the winning bidder is announced. A lucky 4-H’er will go home with a dream horse, as another fine Arabian gelding is sold at a unique auction held at entertainer Kenny Rogers’ Beaver Dam Farms in Georgia.

At the 1984 sale, only 4-H members had the privilege to bid. They had the opportunity to purchase animals at well below their real value, since all the horses offered for sale had been donated to the Georgia 4-H Foundation by Rogers and several other Arabian owners. Proceeds of the sale went directly to the Foundation.

Arabian horses are important to Kenny and Marianne Rogers and so are young people. Its position as the largest youth organization in the state made 4-H the perfect means for channeling Rogers’ interest in providing opportunities for youngsters.

“It’s our way of giving something back,” said Rogers. “We are glad we can support 4-H in this way. It is a worthwhile organization that deserves support.” The sale provided 4-H’ers an opportunity to buy horses at prices they could afford, and, for Rogers, it also was a way to encourage youngsters to develop an interest in the breed. There were 18 geldings for sale at the auction and more than a hundred young 4-H’ers bidding on the animals, and hundreds of others cheering them on, so competition was stiff. Based on the responses from the horse breeders, this first sale of its kind will probably not be the last in Georgia; and, perhaps some other states.