When the girls attending the 1948 National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago boarded buses to travel up to the famous Edgewater Beach Hotel on Chicago’s Lake Shore for the luncheon sponsored by Montgomery Ward they really thought that was a special treat. But the treat was yet to come in a thrill of a lifetime.

There to entertain them was Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, in person. Every one had heard – or heard of – this master radio showman, but to actually see him lead his 69 musicians was one of the top-flight experiences of the crowded Congress week.

But, Mr. Waring had a special purpose for entertaining these Congress delegates as part of the program was the first first performance of a very special new 4-H song written by Fred Waring himself – “A Place in the Sun.” The whole of the 4-H world would soon hear this music in days to come, but these privileged girls can always say “we heard its first performance!”

This is just one of the stories in the May issue of the 4-H History Newsletter. Go to http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com and “click” on the Home and News Section of the menu bar and then on Newsletter.

From the National 4-H History Preservation team. info@4-HHistoryPreservation.com

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