Category Archives: History

It’s a Great Year for 4-H Calendar Art!

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



The National 4-H History Preservation team is delighted to announce that already this year not one or two, but three pieces of original calendar art were found by 4-H Staff. In the seven years since we started working to preserve national 4-H history, only one other National Calendar painting outside of the 4-H Center had been discovered, purchased and presented to the National 4-H Council for the permanent collection.

The first two of this year’s discoveries were made by Allen Auck, Ohio State 4-H Staff. The third was found by Jim Kahler, National History Preservation Team. (Incidentally, he’s the person who found, bought and donated the only other one in the history of our team’s work!)

You Can be a Calendar Art Detective and join these two to help “bring back the 4-H Art. Please be on the lookout for published calendars and original art to help document this rich visual history of 4-H.
Some of the best places to look are antique shows and malls, internet art sales and even flea markets and farm sales. We are not only looking for the original art but also copies of any and all published 4-H calendars.

The national 4-H calendar program was originally authorized in 1937 but the first calendars that we have seen are from 1942. The last known 4-H calendar produced by a company is from 1991. We would like to have an image of every calendar printed between 1939 and 1991.

All three of the “new” art pieces were painted by James E. Seward for the Shaw-Barton Calendar Company of Coshocton, Ohio. At this time, we believe that he created at least 18 National 4-H Calendar paintings beginning with the 1970 calendar and going up through 1987 and possibly longer.


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Cal_Art_1978
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Seward also was one of 100 artists from around the country picked for the National Arts in the Parks Competition. He was also commissioned for portraitures by many organizations. His paintings grace the walls of such companies as the General Motors Corporation, the Wells Fargo Bank, The McDonald Investment Company, and the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma.

Remember, we’re looking for both original art and printed calendars to fill in the blank spaces in the archives of the National 4-H Calendar program. The calendar itself, a photograph or a scan of any calendar with the 4-H Clover on it will help us document what calendar company produced it and what year it was released. For some paintings we are missing records of the year or title or the name of the artist. Having a copy of the printed calendar itself would give us that information. Right now we have two pieces of original art and six photographs of 4-H calendar art but we don’t know the year, the title of the image or – in some cases – which calendar company produced them.

You can learn more details about the National 4-H Calendar Program and what records we have found on your 4-H History website at http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Calendars

 

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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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Folks Who Helped Make 4-H Great:
Gertrude Warren

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This is the eighth in the series of 10 articles, reprinted from 1962 National 4-H News, which featured people identified by Extension Service professional staff members as “folks who helped make 4-H great.”

Gertrude Warren

Gertrude_Warren“Guardian Angel of 4-H.” That’s what one Extension veteran has called Miss Gertrude L. Warren, one of the earliest 4-H workers still active in the service of club work.

A review of the contributions this fine lady of 4-H has made to present-day club work quickly justifies the title.

Among her contributions, the greatest in subject matter is undoubtedly the broadening of girls’ 4-H work. Canning was the only national home economics project when Miss Warren came to 4-H in 1917. Today’s program includes clothing, room improvement and many others. These projects help more fully to meet the needs of 4-H members and their homes and communities.

Not only did Miss Warren introduce the new projects into the 4-H picture; she also had to prepare much of the written material for them. That was necessary then in order to get material to 4-H girls which was written at their own level. Since then, Extension home economics specialists in each state have produced 4-H literature. Miss Warren’s influence and insistence helped effect this change.

Only part of the picture of this early 4-H worker’s service is portrayed, though, by her work in home economics. She led major advances in many phases of 4-H. The following are only a few:

  • Wrote the first bulletin on training local volunteer 4-H Club leaders.
  • Led in the development of the team demonstration as a means of showing what had been learned in 4-H Club work.
  • Authorized a basic bulletin on “Organization of 4-H Club Work for Use of Local Leaders,” later translated into several other languages for use in foreign youth programs. She also devoted much time to training local leaders in early years.
  • Worked with T. A. Erickson to create National 4-H Sunday and wrote a bulletin on the Heart H.
  • Led in the establishment of the National 4-H Club Foundation and in selecting a site for the National 4-H Center in Washington, D. C. (One of the main buildings at the Center is named Warren Hall in her honor.)
  • Persisted in urging the use of the term “4-H” to replace the earlier title “Boys and Girls Club Work” by which the program was known until the early 1920’s. She also took leadership in having the 4-H emblem copyrighted.
  • Helped plan and initiate the National 4-H Club Camps which included housing in tents in the shadow of the Washington Monument in 1927 and following years. Now, as the National 4-H Conference, this annual event takes place at the 4-H Center.
  • Conceived the plan in the early 1930’s for the 4-H fellowships which provide a year’s study grant for promising 4-H workers to train at the U. S. Department of Agriculture and at nearby universities.
  • Contributed articles on 4-H Club work to various publications, including the Encyclopedia Britannica and others.
  • Not only led in the initiation of National 4-H Club Week but wrote material on the observance of this annual event.
  • anticipated in many conferences and on many committees in Extension, youth and farm home activities.

Brought up on a New York farm, Miss Warren went into home economics teaching while still a student at Columbia University. She went against the advice of many friends when she went into Extension work a year after her graduation in 1917. She was leaving a promising career in an established field to move into the unknown area of 4-H Club work.

After 35 years of service, she retired in December, 1952, and has continued active ever since in 4-H affairs. She is still the guardian angel of 4-H, always ready to combat those who would exploit

 

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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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Folks Who Helped Make 4-H Great
Guy L. Noble

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This is the sixth in the series of 10 articles, reprinted from 1962 National 4-H News, which featured people identified by Extension Service professional staff members as “folks who helped make 4-H great.”

Guy L. Noble

Guy_L_NobleOne of the unique features of 4-H Club work is its extensive system of private support and the allied network of incentives and awards which help encourage boys and girls to do their best work. This support exists at all levels – national, regional, state and local. It came into existence as the Extension Service and 4-H Club workers expressed needs for help in various facets of club work.

One man stands out as the greatest influence on early national and regional support – Guy L. Noble. Co-founder and first director of the National 4-H Service Committee and co-originator of the National 4-H Club Congress, Noble successfully welded the link between business and government that was so sorely needed in the early days of 4-H.

Noble’s story can’t be told without telling the story of the founding of the National Committee, as 4-H workers refer to the organization in Chicago.

As an employee of Armour and Company, Noble induced his company to sponsor about 40 all-expense trips to the 1919 International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, then wrote to state club leaders in areas where Armour bought livestock, inviting them to select trip winners. In the meanwhile, he arranged a program of entertainment and tours for the Armour trip winners plus some 100 boys and girls who came to Chicago as guests of their local communities, railroads and other sponsors. That assemblage at the 1919 Exposition is recognized as the first National 4-H Club Congress. At that meeting, Noble met E. N. Hopkins, who came with the Iowa delegation. Hopkins had been promoting rural youth work for years, first as editor of the Arkansas Fruit and Farm magazine, then as editor in charge of youth activities for the Meredith Publishing Company.

These two men, Noble and Hopkins, in 1920 and ’21 followed up on earlier proposals to form a national committee to coordinate the growing number of trips and prizes for club work. In late 1921 the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work was born, with Noble leaving Armour to become executive secretary. (The name changed in 1960 to National 4-H Service Committee.) Industrial leaders included E. T. Meredith, Thomas E. Wilson, John Coverdale and others.

As the program progressed, Noble established the National 4-H News as an idea exchange medium for 4-H workers, the National 4-H Supply Service and other types of aid to 4-H. His success in enlisting the financial and other help of respected industrial leaders was a source of prestige for 4-H. Noble always set high standards for entertainment and other incentives offered to 4-H’ers.

Co-workers of this pioneer, in describing his work, use such terms as “Dedicated,” “had a deep conviction about the value of 4-H training for youth,” “a strong promoter of 4-H who publicized club work widely,” and “did more to sell 4-H to the businessmen of this nation than any other single person.”

Not only did Noble raise the status of 4-H in the eyes of other Extension workers by strengthening projects and providing the best in entertainment and other features for Club Congress; he helped all of Extension by working hard for large appropriations from the national legislature for the support of Extension work.

Noble also contributed to the cultural side of 4-H. He introduced concerts and other music at Club Congress, as well as plays and skits. He encouraged drama and singing as 4-H activities.

“A boyhood in State Center, Iowa, a degree in dairy husbandry at Iowa State College, and interims of work on railroads, Iowa farms, a Colorado ranch, and Washington and Alberta wheat fields” were the prelude to Noble’s work at Armour, according to Franklin M. Reck in his official history “The 4-H Story.”

When Noble retired in early 1958, he had served 4-H diligently and well for nearly 40 years. The cooperative effort marking 4-H Club work today is a monument to his foresight and industry.

 

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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/

 

Please help us preserve 4-H History . . .


Folks Who Helped Make 4-H Great
C. B. Smith

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This is the seventh in the series of 10 articles, reprinted from 1962 National 4-H News, which featured people identified by Extension Service professional staff members as “folks who helped make 4-H great.”

C. B. Smith

C_B_SmithMany 4-H workers have a deep-seated philosophy about 4-H. It’s a special gift to be able to lend words to such feelings about this youth movement. And one of the more articulate speakers and writers on this subject was Dr. Clarence Beaman Smith, who spent 26 of his some 40 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in serving Extension work and, as part of it, boys’ and girls’ club work.

In his poetry and prose, Smith put into words the feelings that he and many other pioneers of club work developed as they saw – but not from the sidelines – the movement grow and flourish. For Smith and his fellow trailblazers transformed their feelings into an action program.

C_B_Smith-2In several ways does today’s 4-H Club work reflect Smith’s contributions.
The youth program’s strong position in overall Extension work is partly a result of his vigorous backing in early years, when many agricultural workers “didn’t have time” for club work. Smith was instrumental in setting up the policy-making 4-H Subcommittee of the formal Extension organization.

As has been said for all the 4-H pioneers discussed in this series, Smith exerted a strong influence for high standards in club work. He didn’t deprecate material things, but he stressed high ideals in youth training. This Federal Extension worker helped establish the memoranda of understanding which put the Smith-Lever act of 1914 into operation by creating Cooperative Extension Services in individual states.

In his position of national leadership, Smith helped create the first National 4-H Club Camp (now National Conference). He opened that 1927 gathering – housed in tents on the U.S.D.A. grounds – with a talk on 4-H in which he stressed that “education is not preparation for life but life itself.”

Smith was born in a one-room log cabin at Howardsville, Mich., the son of Alonzo and Harriett Smith. In the words of one biographer, “Here Dr. Smith learned the fundamental values of life – work, thrift, neighborliness, integrity …”

After attending high school in Gaylord, Mich., Smith borrowed $40 from his parents and started out for the state agricultural college at East Lansing. He worked his way to a B.S. degree in 1894 and an M.S. degree in 1895. After one year as a high school principal, he joined the U.S.D.A.’s Office of Experiment Stations. In 1912 he was made Chief of the Office of Cooperative Extension Work for the entire country, and in 1932 was appointed Assistant Director of Extension. He held this position until his retirement in 1938, after which he continued to write and speak for 4-H.

What kind of man was this 4-H pioneer, who died in 1948? Two of his early co-workers, Gertrude Warren and Paul Taff, describe him as “a great character” with a kindly face and a businesslike manner, a deep thinker and careful organizer. His decisions were fair and were based on strong convictions.

But the continuous thread of philosophy, made evident in his poetry and prose, seems the outstanding trait of C. B. Smith, who wrote:

“The biggest thing (parents) can leave (their children) is an ambition to do and accomplish, to endow them with healthy minds and bodies … Yes, there is growth in struggle. And it is our business in 4-H Club work to place before rural people the things in life most work striving for.”

 

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National 4-H Poster Program

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National 4-H posters were popular visibility tools in 4-H for decades. The first national poster was created as a sales item by the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work in 1924, a year before the National 4-H Supply Service was even launched. It showed a large 4-H clover emblem with the words, “We are for Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work.” It was suggested by Gertrude Warren, 4-H/Extension Service, USDA.

Throughout the rest of the decade of the 1920s, the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work produced annual posters which were distributed throughout the Extension System and to donors, and then offered for sale through the Supply Service. The last of this series apparently was the poster issued in 1931. Due to the Depression, no new posters were issued until after World War II. There were, however, a couple of wartime 4-H posters produced and offered through the National 4-H Supply Service.

In 1946, Coats & Clark Inc. (J. & P. Coats and Clark), which had been sponsoring the National 4-H Clothing Awards Program since 1941, began sponsoring the National 4-H Poster Program, too. Working with the 4-H Office, Extension, USDA and National 4-H Service Committee’s information staff, Coats & Clark annually produced and distributed (for free) the national 4-H poster; later, they also provided the poster design as a colored slide. The poster distribution was geared to having the posters distributed in time for use during National 4-H Week.

Following many years of providing 4-H leaders and agents with free posters by simply writing their headquarters, in the late 1960s Coats & Clark started offering the posters for a fee – 5 cents each (order in multiples of 20). They were available from the county agent or state
4-H office, not from Coats & Clark.

Many of the annual poster artwork pieces were painted by the famous artist, William C. Griffith, who also was the artist for about 15 of the historic 4-H calendar art pieces.

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National 4-H Poster Art Exhibit, created by Mrs. Fern Kelley, program leader, 4-H, Extension USDA, confirmed that the 4-H Poster Art Program, which was held for the first time in 1970 was such a tremendous success that it would be continued again in 1971. It was her idea that 4-H Members should have a role in creating their National Poster

According to Sue Benedetti, then 4-H Extension, USDA, who coordinated the program in the early 1970s, more than 1,350 original posters were submitted by 4-H members, as well as clubs, in the first year of the program. The posters were judged by delegates to National 4-H Conference during sessions on 4-H image. In 1971, a change in the program made it possible for posters to be judged at local, county and state levels with a highly selective group being sent to Washington for final national judging.

By the mid-1970s, delegates to National 4-H Congress were asked to suggest theme areas for 1976 posters. An article in the Fall 1978 issue of National 4-H Council Quarterly reports that the 4-H Poster Art Program continues to grow – that a recent survey conducted by National 4-H Council showed that 47 states were participating in the program, accounting for over 130,000 4-H members submitting posters that could eventually become the design for the national 4-H poster.

It is believed that the National 4-H Poster Program was disbanded in the early 1980s. Some of the original national poster art is located at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. A complete history of the National 4-H Poster Program can be found in the National 4-H History section of the 4-H History website http://4-hhistorypreservation.com/Posters/

4-H_Poster_Working_Together

A nearly complete set of the posters from 1946 through 1981 is also a part of the Elsie Carper Special Collection at the National Agriculture library http://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/poster-collections/elsie-carper-collection-on-ext

The only poster missing is the one pictured below in this advertisement in the February 1953 National 4-H News. If you have seen or own a copy of this poster we would appreciate hearing from you at Info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com We are eager to complete this national collection and the historical records.

Hands-on History. 4-H’ers Help Fight Hunger

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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/


At the start of 1919, much of the world was still recovering from World War I which had ended nearly fourteen months earlier. The January issue of Junior Soldiers of the Soil (predecessor to National 4-H News) had a number of articles about hunger in the aftermath of war.

One member wrote, “We are glad that the war is over but I am not going to stop raising food. It is just as patriotic to raise food now as ever, so let all Junior Soldiers raise more food and make ourselves known as loyal Junior Soldiers.” Later in the issue is a call to “Organize a Junior Soldier Squad.” President Hoover cautioned that, “We must export ten times as much food if we prevent Europe from starving during the coming year. Let every one of us raise food and feed” to help save Europe.

Since that time, programs have been created to help combat hunger in the US and countries around the world. Yet, USDA reports that in 2014 an estimated 14.0 percent of American households (over one in seven) were food insecure at least some time during the year and the prevalence of very low food security was at 5.6 percent.

Rhode Island Club girls show their patriotism with this 1918 exhibit of canned produce they have grown and preserved. Notice the flags among the canned goods.

Rhode Island Club girls show their patriotism with this 1918 exhibit of canned produce they have grown and preserved. Notice the flags among the canned goods.

 

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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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