New Page 0

As published in The Legend

volume 1, issue 4

Fall 2002

The 4-H Centennial

a local look at a family centered organization

by Tracy Million Simmons

Blitz, an 1100 pound black steer, follows Laton Dowling, age eleven, like a docile puppy. “People say pigs are smarter,” says Laton, “But I like my steer. He works with me. He acts like he knows what we’re doing.”

That is certainly the impression you get watching Laton gently tug on the harness when the pair rounds the corner, and the animal briefly plants its feet. Laton seems to know what he is doing, as well. For an eleven-year-old boy, Laton’s confidence when it comes to handling cattle is impressive. He answers questions about his animals, and what’s involved in caring for them without hesitation.

Laton’s older brother, Payden, age thirteen, is also extremely articulate about showing cattle. As well, Payden can rattle off names of the numerous flowers in his garden as if he’s introducing old friends. His rose bushes, in fact, are named for his favorite basketball stars.

Payden agrees with Laton that showing cattle, an activity both boys enjoy, is better than showing pigs. Squirrelly and Petunia, 4-H pigs for this year’s county fair, appear to be as tame as Blitz, though possibly a bit friskier.

Laton and Payden work with their animals daily. They are fourth generation members of the D.I.Y. (Do-It-Yourself) Jr. 4-H club in Ford County, Kansas. Their college-aged brothers, Tanner and Garrett, are D.I.Y. alumni, as well as their father, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Their mother, Roxanne, is a 4-H alumni from Finney and Meade counties.

In fact, the birth of their father, Kelly Dowling, was announced in the D.I.Y. Jr. club newsletter in an era when 4-H was a central family activity and social event.

Grandfather, Dean Dowling, was an eight-year D.I.Y. Jr. member, serving time both as president and as a member of the 4-H council. Grandmother, Louise Fullerton Dowling, was also a D.I.Y. Jr. member, serving as secretary of the club. In adulthood, Dean and Louise dedicated years of service as community leaders.

Laton’s great-grandparents, Carl Dowling and Mary Kimbrell Dowling, were also active 4-H members, beginning when the program was still called the National Farm Boys and Girls Club. They served as community leaders of the club, as well.

Clubs across the nation celebrated the 4-H centennial in 2002, even though it is difficult to pinpoint an actual starting date, or place, for the organization. Boys and girls clubs for agricultural education were established across the country in the late 1890’s to early 1900’s. The widely recognized clover emblem was first used around 1908. In Ford County, the D.I.Y. Jr. 4-H club was chartered in 1927, making it one of the older 4-H clubs in the area.

As Laton’s grandmother, Louise, reminisces, 4-H has changed a lot over the years. Once a staple activity of the rural community, 4-H meetings were a primary source of socialization, as well as education, for many farm families. Livestock, crops, food preservation techniques, and household skills were once the main topics of exploration.

Monthly newsletters from the D.I.Y. Jr. club in the 1950’s, show strong rural community ties and spirit. Members often remained active in 4-H club throughout their teen years. One long-time member, Danny Hahn, continued to stay in touch with the club through monthly letters while in the Marine Corps. In one letter, he described his daily marine duties as “projects” such as those he undertook as a 4-H member.

“Now my food project,” he wrote, “…I helped peel about eighty pounds of potatoes a day and also helped make all different kinds of salads.”

Many 4-H alumni, such as Dean and Louise, became community leaders soon after their active membership years were over, and before they had 4-H aged children of their own.

A look at the D.I.Y. Jr. 4-H club today shows a slightly different picture. The most active members in the club are now of a younger generation, seven to twelve-year-olds being most likely to appear at monthly meetings. Community leaders are most likely to be parents of those same aged members.

While agricultural projects are still a focus of many 4-H clubs in southwest Kansas, 4-H is no longer just an agricultural phenomenon. Projects today range from crop and livestock sciences, to rocketry and electronics. Photography, crafts, sewing, cooking, gardening, forestry, woodworking, and geology are just a few samples of the many projects open to 4-H members in 2002. It is easy for a member today, to play an active role in 4-H without ever setting foot in a barnyard or digging with a hoe in the dirt.

One aspect that hasn’t changed, that sets 4-H apart from many youth clubs today, is the fact that it remains a family centered organization. A program based on mentoring, children and adults attend 4-H meetings and events together, and are likely to be equally as active.

Nationally, 4-H club membership was reported at 6.8 million members in the year 2000. Not an insignificant number, but fewer than when membership hit an all-time high in the early to mid-1970’s with membership exceeding 7 million.

In an effort to maintain and regain membership, 4-H clubs in southwest Kansas are attempting a variety of programs. Ford County 4-H clubs are now host to a growing number of Cloverbuds, a program for three to six-year-olds, those not old enough to become regular 4-H members.

Recently introduced by Ford County Agent, Amy Gerdes, the Cloverbud program has more than doubled in size in three years. About half of new Cloverbud members have been new families to 4-H, a welcome addition in an age where 4-H membership suffers from numerous competing activities.

Robyn Swonger, Walnut Creek District Agent, says school athletics is the biggest competition for 4-H membership, especially as kids enter high school. Swonger, in an effort to maintain membership in Lane, Ness, and Rush counties, is getting more involved in formal after-school and enrichment-type programs.

Cathy Thorsell, Gray County Extension Agent, agrees, “Kids have to make choices today and those choices are tough. There is so much more variety. There are so many outside interests for kids compared to 25-30 years ago.”

Thorsell, however, points out that the educational presentations and activities of extension have never just been limited to 4-H members. Kansas State Research and Extension, of which 4-H is a branch, has a long history of providing services through cooperative efforts with various organizations throughout the community. Thorsell takes nutrition programs to the schools, a joint project with SRS. They conduct a yearly hunter’s safety course with their local parks and recreation department. They also have a shooting sports curriculum, and conduct programs in conjunction with the scouts.

While admitting that 4-H membership may be lower than it once was, Gerdes points out that the kids involved are completing more and more impressive projects. Ford County, for instance, has an active junior leadership group, the Ambassadors, who work on programs such as leadership for teens, exchange trips, and fair events like talent programs and just-for-kids activities.

“These kids impress even me with their initiative and the tasks they’ve undertaken,” Gerdes says, clarifying that many of the projects this group completes have been initiated and directed by the kids themselves.

Tim Jones, Morton County Extension Agent, says there is a lot of satisfaction in being involved in a mentoring-type program like 4-H. Jones sees 4-H as an opportunity for kids to gain exposure to many new and different things. “It’s really something to watch them succeed,” he says, “I’m often surprised by their interests, and their knowledge.”

The Dowling boys, Laton and Payden, are just one example of how deep that interest and knowledge can run.