Category Archives: History

4-H Photo Fun Club

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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/



Photo Fun Logo

Photo Fun Logo

In 1970, Eastman Kodak Company, sponsor of the National 4-H Photography Awards and Recognition program, with the help of the Extension Service and National 4-H Service Committee, produced the first national 4-H television series on videotape rather than film. The series of six half-hour programs was designed for 9- to 12-year olds and takes place in photography project leader Dick Arnold’s rec room (on the TV studio set).

The series introduces young people to cameras, film, picture composition and turns common errors into learning situations. They learn to tell stories with photos, and how photographs can help record progress made in 4-H projects.


Premiered at a national television workshop in Colorado in mid-1970, 4-H Photo Fun Club was shown on more than 90 commercial and educational stations during its first several months. During the first year over 70% of the stations programming the series were commercial stations, most of them using the series in what was considered prime viewing hours for the targeted audience – 44% programming the series on Saturday mornings; 27% on weekday afternoons after school; and 18% on weekday evenings during the early hours. Stations in Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Orlando, Sacramento, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Honolulu and Raleigh were some of the cities showing the series. Studies showed that 70% of the young viewers enrolled in the series had no previous experience with 4-H and two-thirds of these youth wanted to stay a part of 4-H after the series was completed. The series was successful and a strong visibility plus for 4-H.



A more thorough history of 4-H Photo Fun Club can be found on the 4-H History website in the segment on National 4-H Television Series in the National 4-H History Section.

Elbert and Maria, members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series, demonstrate during the first program two of the things needed to take a picture -- light and subject.

Elbert and Maria, members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series, demonstrate during the first program two of the things needed to take a picture — light and subject.


Members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series listen to photography project leader Dick Arnold explain the meaning of good composition when taking pictures.

Members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series listen to photography project leader Dick Arnold explain the meaning of good composition when taking pictures.



 

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“Yard-long Photos” a Popular 4-H Souvenir

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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/

Panoramic pictures – commonly called “yard-long” photos – became popular in the early 1900’s and were a World War I craze. They were popular through the 1950s and are still being made today. Scenic panoramas were not the best seller. All commercial panoramic photographers specialized in pictures of large groups. (People bought pictures in which they were included, so the more people in the shot, the better the sales.)

The photos were made by a large Cirkut camera which sat on a platform on a tripod. Both the camera and the film moved in such an ingenious, synchronized way as to create a yard-long image.
Cirkut Camera No. 6

Delegates to National 4-H Camp on the Mall and to National 4-H Congress in Chicago often posed for the long pictures. Normally there was no attempt to identify the individuals in the photos, however most of them were amazingly clear and people could readily identify themselves and their friends.

A few examples of 4-H “yard-long” photos are shown here and others are being posted in the National 4-H Photography Gallery soon to be added to the National 4-H History website.

National 4-H Club at the White House, June 23, 1931

 

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4-H’ers Love for Western Movie Stars and Vice Versa

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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/

While it perhaps wasn’t as easy for rural youth to get into town to see the latest matinee performance of their favorite western idols at the local movie theater as it was for their big city cousins, they were true fans nonetheless. And, the western movie stars of the 1940s and 1950s seemed to be well aware of this. For many of the western stars, if not most of them, there was a direct connection with 4-H. Some grew up on farms or ranches. Some had been 4-H members. All of them made regular appearances at horse shows, state fairs and county 4-H fairs.

A few of these western idols and their 4-H connections are documented below:

Western_Movie_Stars[1]

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers was a huge star during the 1940s and 1950s, known as the “King of the Cowboys.” He was one of the singing cowboys which was prominent in western movies at that time, appearing in over 100 films between 1935 and 1984.

Rogers (born Leonard Slye) was born in Cincinnati but grew up on the family farm in Duck Run, Ohio, having a pig as a 4-H project. The April 1957 National 4-H News, p. 18, has a photo of Roy Rogers w/alumni plaque awarded as state 4-H alumni winner in Ohio. He was honored as a national 4-H alumni recipient in 1958.

Roy Rogers appeared in a 1984 promotional film, “4-H is More,” creating public awareness for 4-H. He also assisted National 4-H Council through a national direct mail letter over his name which went to alumni as a fund raising appeal in 1985. Roy Rogers (and his wife, Dale Evans) attended National 4-H Congress in Chicago several times. Their famous theme song, “Happy Trails,” was written by Dale Evans.

Gene Autry

Gene Autry was known as America’s favorite singing cowboy. “Back In The Saddle Again” was Autry’s signature song which he co-wrote with Ray Whitley. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane) was written and originally performed by Autry.

Gene Autry was one of the top money-making western stars in film history. Autry’s film and recording careers, along with wise investments, made him extremely wealthy. Gene Autry sponsored national 4-H scholarship awards at National 4-H Congress for several years during the 1950s. He entertained at National 4-H Congress in 1945 as part of the WLS Barn Dance Show for the Congress delegates.

William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy)

The small town of Hendrysburg, south of Piedmont Lake in Ohio, is the birthplace of William Boyd who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy in western movies during the 1940s and 1950s. Hopalong Cassidy was one of the “good guy” western stars to dress in black. Boyd made 66 films as Hopalong Cassidy. Unlike the other two major western stars of the 1940’s-50’s, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy’s character did not sing and, in fact, Boyd disliked Western music. Like Rogers and Autry, however, Boyd licensed much merchandise supporting the Hopalong Cassidy brand, a wise move which made all three stars extremely wealthy.

Hopalong Cassidy attended the Thomas E. Wilson Day dinner at the 1955 National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago where he entertained the delegates.

Duncan Renando (The Cisco Kid)

Duncan Renando was an American actor best remembered as The Cisco Kid in films in the 1950’s and the TV series, “The Cisco Kid.” He attended the 1955 Thomas E. Wilson dinner at National 4-H Congress in Chicago, entertaining the 4-H Congress delegates at the height of his popularity.

Rex Allen

Rex Allen was a film actor, singer and songwriter born on a ranch in Mud Springs Canyon, Arizona. He became a rodeo rider and then headed to Chicago where in the 1940’s he was a performer on the WLS program, National Barn Dance (with 4-H Congress delegates as one of his audiences). Beginning in 1950 Rex Allen became a film star for Republic Pictures in Hollywood, making 19 Western movies, becoming one of the top 10 box office draws of the day.

Rex Allen starred in Universal Pictures 1961 4-H film, “Tom Boy and the Champ,” produced in honor of 4-H Clubs across the country. Allen also entertained 4-H delegates at the National 4-H Congress in Chicago in 1945 at the Thomas E. Wilson Day banquet.

Johnny Western

Johnny Western (born Johnny Westerlund) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He was born in 1934 in Two Harbors, Minnesota and began recording at his local 4-H Club singing Gene Autry’s “Riding Down the Canyon” and other songs. He was in several movies and performed with Gene Autry and was part of the Johnny Cash Road Show for a 40 year period. In 1958 Johnny Western wrote and performed the theme song, “The Ballad of Paladin” for the CBS television program “Have Gun – Will Travel” with Richard Boone. Through the shows 225 episodes, and reruns, the show has technically never been off the air. Western’s last tour and performance was in 2013, the 4-H alum retiring from show business except for doing one or two planned projects a year.

Tom Mix and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger)

Tom Mix was the first movie superstar and was paid an enormous salary. He established the form of the western movies for decades to come by making western movies flamboyant and action oriented. He appeared in 291 films between 1909 and 1935… mostly silent.

Clayton Moore was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character the Lone Ranger and it became his life-long occupation. In addition to a number of films, “The Lone Ranger” TV series became the ABC network’s first true hit program.

Both Tom Mix and Clayton Moore exemplify the western stars who appeared over the years at country events at state and county levels including many 4-H fairs and horse shows.

Randolph Scott, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Lee Marvin, James Arness, Walter Brennan and dozens more all made western films during this 1940s-1950s era but are also known in a much broader context than the “cowboy movie stars” listed above.

 

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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/

Chix_in_Space_Vellinger_Mission_Patch[1]

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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4-H Centenarian is Still Making News

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

M_A_Miller_w-BookYou may have seen the Story in USA Today late last month about a 4-H alumna who participated with her students of 57 years ago to tell about the first day they were involved in the integration of the first white school in Virginia. We decided that Women’s History Month was a perfect time to tell our readers a little more about this former 4-H’er and her experiences.

Even though she has lived about 10 miles from the National 4-H Youth Conference Center, her busy life had kept her away. Her 4-H visit to Washington, DC, preceded the establishment of the National Center and even the first National 4-H Camp on the mall. However, she remembers her trip here as if it were yesterday. Her first trip to the National 4-H Center was a memorable one for all of us who met her.

Martha Ann Riggs went to Washington, DC, as one 12 “Corn Champions” from Indiana according to a 90-year-old newspaper clipping from the Evansville Courier that she showed me recently. And guess who was in the photo with her? Well, who else but President Coolidge and the other 11 Indiana 4-H Champions who had won their trips in many other fields besides Corn. Miss Riggs, now 104-year-old Martha Ann Miller of Arlington, Virginia, was the State Baking Champion and the youngest member of the delegation (at 14) by several years.

But the interesting story about this “young woman” doesn’t end there. Not only did she receive a trip to Washington DC, she also was awarded a four-year scholarship to Purdue University (the first home economics scholarship ever given to a 4-H’er in Indiana) as a result of baking the best loaf of bread from among thousands of young 4-H’ers in her state. She went on to tell me, “I had quite an impressive summer that year. Since we also had hired help on the farm for the season, I did a lot more baking than usual. I had made 1,200 biscuits, 600 loaves of bread, and more than 500 pies, in addition to cakes, cookies and other treats.” Luckily for her, Purdue held the scholarship for her for five years until she finished high school.

When asked what she regards as the most significant event in her life, she doesn’t hesitate to say that it was winning that 4-H scholarship for four years of college. Since she had two brothers, and was a Depression Era farmer’s daughter, she says that she would not have had a chance to go to college at all without that scholarship.

This story may sound similar to many stories we’ve heard about 4-H’ers today or in years past, and like many other 4-H stories, Martha Ann’s continues to amaze. The reason I was alerted to find and meet this woman is that at age 101 she decided to write her first book. She says, “I never dreamed of writing a book until I found myself telling about events of the past that were exciting, full of history and unique.” When I last spoke to her she was talking about writing a book about her husband next because he was a very interesting man and did a lot of good things for his community.

Based on our earlier conversations, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Martha Ann written up as a part of a panel discussion on school integration in USA Today just last week. Here is the link to that article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2016/02/17/voices-ordinary-persons-extraordinary-life/80376908/

Miller was involved in education all of her adult life. Her first job out of college was working for the gas and light company as a home economist. She says, “I worked with about eight other women and we would go to every home when they bought a new stove. We would show them how to adjust the flame and gave them a cookbook. I was using my training from college; that’s why I was hired.” Once she was married and had a family, she and her husband became involved in working for better schools where they lived in Arlington County, Virginia, through organizing and volunteering with the Citizens’ Committee for School Improvement. Their work paid off in that schools in that county are still some of the best in the nation today. Sounds a lot like the new theme: “4-H Grows True Leaders.”
After her children were all in a good public school environment, Martha Ann pursued her professional calling as a junior high home economics teacher. She says her Purdue University home economics qualifications led to a 21 year teaching career in that school. However, after one year, the state made science a mandatory subject for 8th graders, which meant that one subject had to go: home economics. Luckily, Martha Ann had taken night classes to be certified as a math Teacher since she had found difficulty earlier in finding openings for home economics teachers. So, she was able to move into that position where she stayed for the next 20 years.

How can one put such a fully-lived and productive life into a few short sentences? Since it’s not possible, here’s the information about her book so that you can read it for yourself. The First Century, And Not Ready for the Rocking Chair Yet, Amazon, by Martha Ann Miller.

 

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Hands-on 4-H History – The Birds of Spring

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



If your club has a woodworking leader or member, you can learn to make your own bird houses for our feathered friends. Invite a speaker from a local Audubon Society or bird watchers’ club to speak to your group about the birds in your area. Take a trip to a local park or wildlife refuge to observe the birds. Bring your mobile device and do citizens’ science with an app to identify and catalog the birds that you see.


Although you can no longer win the Farm Boys’ and Girls’ Club Leader Bird Club Contest, members can write stories and take photos of the birds that you see to share at your club meeting. You might even have your own contest and award small prizes, just like they did for the 4-H boys and girls back in 1921.



Birdhouses
 

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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.


Firestone_Cagney_72[1]


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.

Welk_Floren[2]

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.

Peter_Max_Scarf[1]

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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Hands-on 4-H History – 4-H Mechanical Engineering

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

Engineering has been a 4-H program area since the early years of the program. Maintaining engines in farm machinery and equipment has been a valuable skill for youth to learn for many decades. In more recent years, projects like small engines and robotics have expanded engineering learning opportunities to more youth beyond the farm.

The February, 1920, issue of Farm Boys’ and Girls’ Leader had a detailed article about Junior Farm Mechanics. The illustrated article told how to scrape and tighten bearings, clean carbon from piston rings and grind valves to improve engine efficiency.

Piston_Rings

Several decades later, a 1945, issue of National 4-H News announced the Live Power Program competition that covered the care and operation of farm tractors. Members and volunteers enrolled in the 4-H farm tractor maintenance program from 14 central and western states were eligible. County winners received a sterling silver medal. The top county winner received a $15 scholarship to attend the state Tractor Maintenance Clinic. One representative from the top state group received an expense-paid trip to National 4-H Congress in Chicago.
Hands-on History

Today there are a variety of opportunities in engineering projects at the county, state, multi-state and national levels for 4-H members in tractor, small engines, robotics and more. If you have club members or volunteers who are involved in these programs, ask them to talk about their project work. If you don’t have any members in these programs, invite a local business person to talk to your club about safe operation and maintenance of engines that your members might work with. Talk to your 4-H educator about 4-H project opportunities in engineering at the county and state levels. It could start a new project interest in your group!

 

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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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