SHAPLEIGH — For some, like 8-year-old Caroline Chessie of Shapleigh, joining 4-H is a family tradition; her mother, Rosanne Chessie, was a 4-H youngster, and so was her grandmother, Gloria Crawford Pillsbury.
For others, 4-H is a new experience, brought to boys and girls age 5-18 in afterschool programs and libraries or places like the Community Bicycle Center in Biddeford.
Still, whether youngsters are members of the Four Leaf Clover 4-H Club in Shapleigh ”“ which has operated continuously for 95 years ”“ or making robots out of toothbrushes and batteries in a library setting in Springvale or Biddeford, 4-H is continuing to make a difference in children’s lives.
And this year, 4-H is marking a major milestone. The 4-H program was first established in Maine 100 years ago, and is under the helm of the county cooperative extension agencies attached to the University of Maine.
York County clubs ”“ there are about 17 in all ”“ will be marking the 100th birthday during the Acton Fair, which begins Aug. 22 and runs through Aug. 25. There will be special 4-H exhibits, they’ll take part in the Acton Fair parade, and those involved in raising goats, cattle or other animals will show them at the fair.
4-H has its roots in agriculture, and while many clubs in York County remain farm-related, whether you’re completing a project on wind power, building birdhouses or learning bicycle safety, in the end, it’s about learning and leadership, 4-H leaders say.
These days, said Trent Schriefer, who oversees 4-H at York County Cooperative Extension, students learn how to generate electricity, raise a cow, or acquire leadership skills while camping, like the youngsters from Biddeford and Seabrook, N.H. who camped last week at Vaughn Island, off Kennebunkport.
At Four Leaf Clover 4-H Club in Shapleigh, Else Cook, who became assistant leader in 1975 and leader in 1992, said 4-H kids take on projects of their choice from a list of 100 categories that they complete on their own, as well as projects completed within the club.
“One year, it was woodworking and we all made a birdhouse,” she said. Another year, it was sewing, with the 4-H boys and girls making pillow slips. This year, there are 17 youngsters in the Four Leaf Clover 4-H Club.
Rosanne Chessie said back when she was in 4-H, her project was raising a pig.
These days, she pointed out, 4-H offerings have expanded, from skills like learning photography to fitness and more.
“There are a lot of opportunities, she said.
Heidi Thuotte, a 4-H program aide with the York County Cooperative Extension, said some of those opportunities include citizenship and leadership conferences in Washington, D.C. and in Atlanta, Ga.
She said 4-H is growing, with about 250 in clubs in York County and 200 to 250 in after school programs countywide.
On Monday night, the Four Leaf Clover Club met at Shapleigh Town Hall, held a business meeting, and then proceeded to discuss the float they’ll decorate for the Acton Fair parade. Lilybelle Delano, 9, of Waterboro volunteered to perform a bicycle safety demonstration at the fair. Others, along with their mothers, will help out at the 4-H Leaders food tent at the fair.
Club members reported they’d sold lemonade and tickets for a quilt raffle at Shapleigh Community Day, raising about $150. And they contributed their pennies to a fund that will go to a charity they’ll choose at the end of the year.
Nate Cole, the 4-H leader of the Kidding Around Club in the Springvale and Alfred area, said 19 club members learn various aspects of animal husbandry, from hoof care to vaccinations and more. While the primary focus of Kidding Around 4-H used to be confined to dairy goats, it has been expanded to include sheep, cattle, chickens, llamas and rabbits, said Cole, 21, who was a 4-H kid himself. Now studying agriculture education at the University of New Hampshire, he became a 4-H leader when he “aged out” as a club member.
“I love doing it,” he said of his involvement in 4-H.
While the Four Leaf Clover Club in Shapleigh began in 1918, its roots go back a few years earlier. In 1914, Nettie Hussey Staples started The Homemakers Club for girls, and Lawrence Staples started a potato club for boys a year later. In 1918, the clubs were combined to form the Four leaf Clover 4-H Club. It received its first charter in 1919 and had 20 members. In 1920, Town Meeting voters approved $25 to benefit Shapleigh children enrolled in 4-H, a tradition that carries on today, though now the sum is $300, said Cook.
Hazel Goodwin, 91, became assistant leader of the four Leaf Clover 4-H Club in 1954 and leader in 1961, continuing in that role until 1984. She continues to be involved, mostly at special events like Parents Night, she said, where the youngsters show off the projects they’ve completed, and at the fair. Goodwin was enrolled in 4-H when she was a child and her children were also enrolled.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
Cook, in her 37th year with 4-H, said she became involved when Goodwin asked her to, back in 1975. Cook can sew, paint, is good with tools and knows about woodworking ”“ all skills that come in handy with 4-H.
She’s seen as many as three generations of 4-H kids.
“I really like working with the children,” said Cook. “I’d hate to give it up.”
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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