We Celebrate 4-H Club Work

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Mother loves to tell the tale of my first 4-H meeting. I volunteered to give a talk, a demonstration and bring refreshments to the next event -- all before I officially joined the Scottville Skyscrapers. I may have offered to host the next meeting at our home -- we are split on that memory.

What we always agree on is my enthusiasm for 4-H club work never waned. I joined the minute I was officially old enough at 8 and kept on until the age limit of 18. Cloverbuds for younger ages didn't exist back then. Boy and girl clubs were also separate in those days, so I was also a member of the Scottville (Illinois) Redbirds to facilitate the farming side of my interests. There were very few projects I didn't explore or experience. I would go on to become a 4-H club leader, a 4-H parent, extension council volunteer and lifelong advocate of the program. These days, being asked to judge exhibits at 4-H shows and get a first-hand look at the future is a personal highlight.

Building a ready generation in a world of change is the emphasis of National 4-H Week, which runs Oct. 7-12. A theme of becoming "Beyond Ready" seems appropriate as the program focuses on the opportunities and experiences to shape youth. More than 6 million youth across the country count on 4-H to train them for tomorrows.

Many of the DTN and Progressive Farmer staff benefited from these same opportunities through 4-H club work. The memories and stories they share in this article are testimony to the importance those experiences continue to play in their lives.

I can track my inclination to get involved, ask questions and learn basic life skills to my 4-H upbringing. I don't need to reach for the "I Learn to Bake" cookbook that launched my love of the craft anymore. The splattered pages remain close at hand, but the lessons are mostly second nature these days. The network I made showing sheep and hogs continues to be a valuable thread in my professional and personal life.

Yes, I also remember some harrowing experiences -- such as being so far behind on a clothing project that I hemmed and sewed on buttons in the car on the way to the show. There were all-nighters spent baking and breads that didn't rise because the yeast didn't activate or times when a family member ate the entry by mistake, or we ran short of ingredients and made desperate calls to neighbors for the proverbial cup of sugar. The list of livestock escapades is long -- like standing dead last in a Southdown yearling ram class with a pampered pet that I insisted on showing after Dad had deemed him a dud.

The adage about learning from your mistakes is true. Those moments when things didn't go my way were difficult and sometimes embarrassing, but they cultivated coping skills that went beyond blue and purple ribbons.

Read on to learn some of our staff 4-H memories and how their 4-H club work fostered community and helped them become "Beyond Ready" for what life might serve up.

RICK THORNTON: VICE PRESIDENT CONTENT

"I was in 4-H in Accomack County, Virginia. It was a dairy goat club started by a local farmer. My mom raised a small herd of dairy goats on the side at our potato farm. For many of my formative years, I made the county fair/state fair circuit dressed in all white showing our prized Alpine dairy goats. Ribbons and trophies covered a wall in the barn."

CHRIS HILL: DTN DIGITAL DIRECTOR

"I won a district award in Georgia for a woodworking project presentation -- the presentation and award were given at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center. I still have the project I made and the award pin. And as a side note, many moons later, I became the editor of Lowe's Woodpost/Lowe's Creative Ideas for Woodworkers magazine."

JOEL REICHENBERGER: PROGRESSIVE FARMER SENIOR EDITOR

"I was in 4-H until high school and participated in many projects such as rocketry, photography and leathercraft. I think I even played saxophone at the annual competition a few times. The most memorable to me some 35 years later was geology, which was led at the county level by a very enthusiastic geologist in Wichita.

"This geologist organized two to three big trips each year and had all the spots lined up for us to search, permission from all the appropriate owners and all the maps ready to hand out. At 8 a.m. on a Saturday we would rendezvous somewhere in Western Kansas, for instance, and a caravan of 10-15 cars would go through six to eight different stops. We'd carefully bag up our finds at each stop, mark the bags for their location, throw them in the back of the minivan and head to the next stop. We found all kinds of cool stuff, such as sharks' teeth and a bunch of other fossils, lots of unique minerals and other rocks. Then, in monthly meetings, the leaders helped you sort it all out and decide what was worth keeping and what wasn't, and how to present it all for the fair. A purple ribbon was pretty much expected, and our group's boxes were always the best in the state.

"It was a great experience for a lot of reasons, but a big one was that I saw the state corner to corner and experienced all kinds of weird Kansas roadside attractions."

GREGG HILLYER: PROGRESSIVE FARMER EDITOR IN CHIEF

"I was in the Future Feeders 4-H Club (Mills County, Iowa). We always loved going to the county fair to show our dairy calves and other exhibits to earn that treasured blue ribbon ... and in rare cases, a purple ribbon designating it worthy to move on to the state fair.

"But the real reason we enjoyed the county fair so much is it gave us a reprieve from the daily chores on the farm ... a sort of mini-vacation to spend time with friends and getting into mischief such as water balloon fights with other 4-H club members."

RUSS QUINN: DTN STAFF REPORTER

"I was not in 4-H as a kid as our area outside of Omaha in Douglas County had become more suburban than rural and there were not any livestock clubs. But my dad and his brothers were in it, and they showed dairy cattle. They were milking Guernsey cattle then and that's what they showed.

"My kids are/were in 4-H with the Future Producers 4-H Club of Washington County, Nebraska. They have shown cattle and goats in the past and this year they showed sheep, hogs and poultry.

"I am one of the leaders of our club, which has mostly Arlington and Kennard (Nebraska) kids in it. In addition, I serve on the Washington County 4-H Council. I was the president of the council in 2023. I guess I'm making up now for not being in 4-H as a kid!"

JENNIFER CARRICO: DTN SENIOR LIVESTOCK EDITOR

"4-H has been a big part of my family's lives. I was a member of the Linnfield Pioneers, which is the club my dad belonged to, and my kids joined when they were old enough.

"Growing up, my main project was beef cattle. We raised black Angus, so when dad brought home my first steer and he was a red Chianina, we were all surprised. Bill, named after the man we bought him from, was extremely tall and lean, as a lot of cattle were in the '80s. He never really got fat, and that red steer was the only red ribbon I received for a calf at the fair. He was also the only red animal I ever showed. He redeemed himself by being my partner to win champion junior beef showmanship. Bill and I were a team, and he started my love for raising cattle and my drive to work with my animals to attain purple ribbons."

ELLAMAE REIFF: DTN CONTENT EDITOR

"As a 10-year 4-H member in the Pierceton Hayseeds club, I absolutely loved my time in the program. My main projects were Horseless Horseman and Color Salon Print (Photography). I had the honor of winning Grand Champion for Color Salon Print back-to-back years, and both projects went on to the Indiana State Fair. It was through 4-H that I discovered my passion for photography, especially portraits.

"Thanks to a four-year renewable 4-H scholarship, I was able to attend Purdue University, where I ended up graduating in three years instead of four. I'll forever be thankful for the opportunities and network that 4-H provided for me."

ANTHONY GREDER: DTN/PROGRESSIVE FARMER CONTENT MANAGER

"I was a 4-H member for 10 years, from age 6 until I started high school. Throughout that time, I belonged to the Plum Creek Rangers 4-H Club, named after a Niobrara River tributary, that wound its way through our home county of Brown County, Nebraska.

"I have numerous wonderful memories of my time in 4-H -- memories that I hold even more dear now since many of them involve spending time with my mom, who passed away from cancer last year. Mom, who was a rural grade school teacher for many years, also played the role of teacher, coach and cheerleader to me and my younger brother and sister, who were also involved in 4-H. She spent countless hours helping us select our projects every year, going through the lessons in our project guides with us, helping us stay on task throughout the summer, and making sure everything was polished and ready to go by fair time.

"Some of my favorite projects over the years were photography, woodworking and range management. But the project I put the most time into and received the most recognition for was raising and showing rabbits. We raised several different breeds over the years: New Zealand whites, a large albino breed with a fluffy, snow-white coat and pink eyes; Rexes, a smaller breed with short, velvety fur; and Holland lops, most recognizable by their droopy ears.

"A tip Mom picked up from one of the rabbit breeders we bought our first rabbits from was to add a small amount of apple cider vinegar to the rabbits' water to make their coats more luxurious and improve their overall health. I don't know if there's science to back that up, but it seemed to pay off: I brought home numerous first-place and grand-champion ribbons and trophies for my rabbits over the years.

"Another fond memory from my time in 4-H was attending 4-H camp at the historical Nebraska State 4-H Camp nestled in the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, Nebraska. Sadly, two years ago, a fire destroyed the entire camp, which had hosted thousands of children and adults since the 1960s. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I shed a few tears the first time my parents dropped me off at camp. It was the first time I had spent any significant time away from home. But by the end of the week, I had turned into a seasoned camper, ready to dive into my next new adventure."

Did 4-H touch your life or is it still? How? We'd love to hear your stories.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @PamSmithDTN

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