Tag Archives: 4-H History

From a 4-H Clover Poster to . . .

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4-H_StoreFront_LogoFBGL_1919-09_Pg_24For those who shop on the 4-H Mall, you’ll be happy to hear that this 90-year-old 4-H institution has created a “mini-store” called the 4-H StoreFront that now accepts PayPal as well as other major credit cards. The 4-H StoreFront features a small selection of the 4-H Mall product listing, but the list of products available there will continue to grow over the coming months. To visit their new shopping channel, visit http://4-HStoreFront.com

Additionally, the 4-H StoreFront site also allows for the purchase and redemption of gift cards. These gift cards can only be purchased and redeemed on the 4-H StoreFront site. The gift cards are digital and are available in increments of $10, $25, $50, and $100.

The National 4-H Supply Service was launched in 1925 by the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work as a central, non-profit source of supplies, furnishing members and leaders with the pins, labels and stickers they needed to foster a sense of belonging and public awareness of the 4-H movement.

The Supply Service’s very first item was a color poster of the 4-H clover which had gained support through the efforts of Gertrude Warren and other extension leaders as the insignia of boys’ and girls’ club work.

To learn more about the history of this important resource to the 4-H Program; visit
http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Supply_Service/

Traveling with 4-H – Hands-on 4-H History

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In 1959, Iowa 4-H'ers travelled by bus for an exchange program with Kentucky 4-H. Since the National 4-H Center had just been opened they decided to keep going to see what was there and asked 4-H Center staff to plan a program for them. And the rest, as they say, is history. That trip resulted in the development of Citizenship Short Course (CSC) as it was called until the early 1970s when it was renamed Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF).

In 1959, Iowa 4-H’ers travelled by bus for an exchange program with Kentucky 4-H. Since the National 4-H Center had just been opened they decided to keep going to see what was there and asked 4-H Center staff to plan a program for them. And the rest, as they say, is history. That trip resulted in the development of Citizenship Short Course (CSC) as it was called until the early 1970s when it was renamed Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF).

Going to new places through 4-H was a highlight 70 years ago just as it is today. Through 4-H trips, members visit new places and meet other 4-H members who may be from a different county or state. The June 1945 issue of National 4-H Club News mentions a number of 4-H travel opportunities.

Camp is one of the first trips that young 4-H members take. In that year, Vermont was raising funds to establish two or three regional 4-H camps. The 4-H clubs in each of the 11 counties were asked to contribute $20 toward this effort. Louisiana had scheduled 10 camps during their 23 years of camping, and Montana planned 15 camps to serve their 21 counties.

An article by Dr. Clarence Smith, early Chief of Cooperative Extension at USDA, extolled the importance of trips to state and national events like 4-H Club Congress and National 4-H Club Camp (now National 4-H Conference). However, he noted that trips and scholarships are subordinate to doing your best in project work. He said, “The better you do your project work, the more you give of yourself to your club and the more you bring back from adventures which come to enterprising club members.”

Some states offer 4-H international travel experiences. “The thrill of a lifetime” was had by 24 Texas 4-H club boys who drove into Mexico for a 10-day tour of “Old Mexico.” They were to meet with youth their age, visit demonstrations of agriculture, tour the world’s richest silver mine and visit remnants of the country’s ancient past.

Hands-On 4-H History

There are many travel experiences that you can have in 4-H at the county, state, national or international level. Your club may not know about all of them. Have any 4-H members, leaders or parents taken a 4-H trip? Ask them to share their experiences with the club. Perhaps you can mark these on a map (see related story in this issue on the National 4-H Mapping Project). What trips are offered in your state? Ask several members to research what they are to report to the club. As Dr. Smith advised, trips are the result of good 4-H work, and the benefits to those experiences can enrich both those who travel and their fellow club members.

Having started a 4-H camping program in 1915, West Virginia is celebrating its camping centennial this year with year-long commemorative events and special camp activities. (Editor’s note: An article on their activities is in the works for a coming issue of this Newsletter.)

From 1948 until recently, the National 4-H Foundation (now National 4-H Council) and USDA jointly administered the International Farm Youth Exchange – IFYE (later the International 4-H Youth Exchange). 4-H international exchanges with 19 participating states are now administered by States’ 4-H International Exchange Programs, 1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2230, Seattle, WA 98101, 800-407-3314, www.States4HExchange.org

4-H Hands-on History: 4-H Entrepeneurship

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Peter Drucker, author and management consultant, once said, “Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” The Uncle Sam’s Helping Nieces 4-H Club in Philadelphia, NY, started practicing at a young age by opening a store in their local Grange Hall. The enterprising group of girls was featured in the August, 1944, issue of National 4-H Club News.

Uncle-Sams_Nieces

To raise money for the club and help their community during

WWII, the members held a weekly rummage sale from their store. The girls collected clothes that had been outgrown or were otherwise unwanted. Sometimes they used their sewing skills to make minor repairs to holes or buttons or to give a garment a fresh look by adding lace or colorful touches of fabric from their scrap bag. They collected old jewelry to send to soldiers overseas to use as barter.

The girls were responsible for selling the items and keeping proper financial records. A member who was leaving the club donated an old wagon. The club painted it green and white and used it to make collections of items to sell.

The money earned in their store was used for 4-H camp scholarships and other club purposes.

Do you have any entrepreneurs in your club? Give it a try and find out! There are 4-H entrepreneurship 4-H activity and helper’s guides available from National 4-H Supply (4-H Mall) and some state 4-H programs.

Discuss in your club ideas for starting an entrepreneurship project. What items or services might you provide? How would you manage your business and the funds earned? The 4-H entrepreneurship materials will guide you through the process of planning, preparing, implementing and finishing a 4-H business.

You can have a successful 4-H business like the Uncle Sam’s Helping Nieces4-H club did over 70 years ago.

 

Early Roots of 4-H Education Philosophy

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The following story is from the July 2015 issue of the 4-H History Preservation Newsletter

During the 1890s, progressive educators were beginning to promote the idea that teachers need to be teaching more than the three Rs (readin’, ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic). In fact, M. Buisson of the French Ministry of Education, speaking at the International Congress of Education at Chicago on July 26, 1893, said: “Let the school teach, we say, what is most likely to prepare the child to be a good citizen, an intelligent and active man. Not by the means of the three Rs, but rather by the means of the three Hs – head, heart and hand – and make him fit for self-government, self-control and self-help, a living, a thinking being.” (Page 263 of the proceedings of the National Education Association for 1893)

A few educators were beginning to grasp what Buisson was talking about. Liberty Hyde Bailey, a naturalist at Cornell, was offering nature studies to young people in the 1890s that closely resembled 4-H work of later years. Perry Holden, known as the father of hybrid corn and the nation’s first agronomist, first at the University of Illinois and then at Iowa State College, was almost evangelical in his quest to get small businessmen and bankers involved in financially supporting young people with project loans. At the turn of the century, a few superintendents of schools and some of the landgrant colleges were coming on board. In 1902, W. M. Beardshear, President of Iowa State College and President of the National Education Association, gave a speech on “The Three Hs in Education” and stated “We are coming to embody Buisson’s definition of education, and harmoniously build up the character of the child.” Yet, there was no organized plan, no organized movement. It seems almost as if it happened through “little clusters of people” standing around talking about these three Hs, nodding their heads up and down and saying, “this is a good idea,” but it was moving ever so slowly. What they drastically needed was a great public relations person, a person who could present their case to the media. But 4-H promotion and visibility was not yet on the horizon.


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4-H History Preservation Newsletter
August 2015

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Most Washingtonians (DC types) leave town in August because of the heat, but your 4-H History Team is still here!


Record Amount of 4-H Enrollment

What activity expanded 4-H enrollment to over seven million in the 1970s? Want an easier question? OK, what put 4-H in the Comic Book business? Same answer.

People Who Made 4-H Great

We start a new 10-month series featuring “People Who Helped Make 4-H Great!” Reprints from 1962 National 4-H News highlight the significant contributions of individuals whose leadership formed and strengthened the program.

Entrepreneurship in 4-H Clubs

“Hands-on History” this month is about entrepreneurship activities your club can take on. Make money for an important goal just like 4-H clubs have done for decades.

Corn Clubs at 1904 World’s Fair

The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exhibition (sometimes known as the 1904 World’s Fair) was the site of a significant 4-H exhibit. What would Illinois 4-H want to show the world?

National 4-H History Map Unveiled

4-H’ers from seven states recently unveiled their National 4-H History Map to 16,000 cartographers from 120 countries. Have you decided which people, places or events you want to memorialize on the 4-H History Map?


Mulligan Stew Made 4-H Television History

Member project book for television viewers. The

Member project book for television viewers.
The



The sweltering heat is not a deterrent; 4-H continues to build and honor its history! Enjoy this issue.

4-H History Preservation Newsletter
July 2015

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Norman Rockwell painted the “The County Agent” for the cover of Saturday Evening Post. The people pictured were an actual county agent, 4-H family and their hired man.

Unusual summer rains didn’t dampen the 4th of July crowd’s spirit on DC’s National Mall!


Declaration of Independence… July 4 or August 2?

As we all know, the US Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. However, even though independence had been declared, delegates to the Continental Congress had not yet signed the document. It wasn’t until August 2, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence became official.


National 4-H Supply Service

 How old is the National 4-H Supply Service? Who was its very first customer and which 4-H products were the first items to be sold? You can find out inside.



The County Agent

 The iconic Normal Rockwell painting, “The County Agent”, illustrating 4-H projects of an Indiana farm family, was first published as a Saturday Evening Post cover. Can you guess the publication date?


Hands-on . . .

 “Hands-on History” this month features photography, a great way to visualize the important and fun parts of your 4-H history.



IFYE (International Farm Youth Exchange)

Though 4–H entered the international arena as early as 1935, it wasn’t until years later that the first exchange of farm youth took place. IFYE (International Farm Youth Exchange) was born in 1948.


Map Your 4-H History

“2015 FilmFest 4-H” and “Map your 4-H History” highlight two examples of “Contemporary 4-H History,” current nation-wide programs that are now making 4-H History.


The July 4th fireworks are over in this marvelously independent country and the 4-H summer season is underway. Amid the hard work and deserved fun, enjoy this issue!

4-H a ‘Career Starter’ for TV Program Host

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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/

During a major 4-H push with urban programming in the 1960’s, a local television station in Indianapolis – Station WLWI (now WTHR) – created a weekly 4-H Saturday morning show called “Clover Power.” The show host was a young David Letterman, later to become a late night network talk show host. Letterman attended National 4-H Congress in Chicago, covering the Indiana delegation for his “Clover Power” show.

With Mr. Letterman retiring from his role hosting the David Letterman Show on the CBS network we wish him all the best in retirement and in whatever future endeavors he may pursue. (We are always in need of volunteers for the 4-H History Preservation Program.)Button_Clover_Power

4-H and the Great Depression of the 1930s

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Wisconsin State 4-H Band and Chorus in 1939.

Learn more about 4-H programs developed to cope with the Great Depression in this new segment. One of the major objectives during the Depression years for the 4-H Extension office of USDA and the National Committee on Boys’ and Girls’ Club Work, in Chicago, was “to try to make life a little richer, a little more fun, for rural America.” With the dust bowl and lower prices for their commodities, life was tough for farming families.

The National Committee published a National 4-H Songbook in 1929 which was widely used throughout the decade of the 1930s. They published a series of 4-H skits and plays, particularly adaptable to 4-H club meetings or community events. Radio programs and music appreciation were being carried through network 4-H to thousands of 4-H families and clubs.

Not only was 4-H fortunate to be able to retain almost all of their national awards program donors during these Depression years, but even more were added, particularly in areas relating to the needs of the farm family. The 4-H Farm Accounting program and the 4-H Rural Electrification program were two main ones.

The Farm Accounting program, sponsored by International Harvester, encouraged youth of the “dust bowl era” to work with their parents in a more business-like approach to farming. It promoted sons and fathers, working together, to set goals, keep track of expenses and profits and to maintain accurate farm accounting record books. To put it bluntly, it often meant “save the farm.”

In 4-H Rural Electrification was supported by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The program enabled young and old to intelligently participate in the era of rural electrification expansion. Through the program Westinghouse pioneered the concept of encouraging local power suppliers and Westinghouse employees to serve as resource people in the local communities training volunteer leaders.

While these were major thrusts at the national level during the 1930s, other areas of 4-H strength at the state and local levels included an increase in 4-H camps for summer activities and organized sports teams and competitions at the club level, particularly in baseball and basketball.

Whereas the decade may have been a challenge, there were many positives with new opportunities arriving throughout these years. To read the entire segment on 4-H and the Great Depression of the 1930s go to:

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

U.S. Presidents and 4-H

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OBama_2015-04-13

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.