Georgia 4-H Centennial Historic Legacy.... Dynamic

Future

Georgia 4-H: Still Making the Best Better

1904 - 2004

The Beginning…Corn and Tomato Clubs and Head,

Heart, and Hands

G.C. Adams – The Founder Of Georgia 4-H

• Professor

• County School Commissioner

• Started the Newton County Corn Club in December 1904 with 151 members

G. C. Adams "Like a toy weighted at the bottom and laid on its back, Uncle Claud when pushed always came up smiling and more determined to carry on and start a new adventure. Like a tall oak, the mighty 4-H Club has grown from that small corn club started by G.C. Adams."

-From the Adams family history book

• P.D. Johnson , a black teacher in Newton County, started the Negro 4-H Program at the same time with a corn patch project for sons and fathers who wanted to learn modern corn production practices.

• The first Girls’ Tomato Canning Club was organized soon after in Hancock County.

First State 4-H Winner

• In 1906, the first State 4-H Winner at the Georgia State Fair in Macon was Roy Brown from Toccoa.

The First Three H’s

• Head

• Heart

• Hands

The Fourth H

• Hustle (added in 1911)

• Later changed to the present day H, Health

1912

• 73,000 boys and 23,000 girls enrolled nationwide

• USDA created charter for 4-H

1914

• Congress passed Smith-Lever Act, creating Cooperative Extension Service

• In 1914, the Georgia 4-H Poultry Club was started.

• By 1915, Georgia had 5,507 club girls and 14, 275 club boys

The 20’s, 30’s and 40’s…Global Expansion and National Conferences

Post WWI• 4-H crossed the Atlantic to Great Britain,

Denmark, Sweden, Norway

• 1923 – More than 55,000 Black boys and girls involved in 4-H clubs

• Late 1920’s – Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs created its own Extension Service, promoting 4-H among Native American youth

Camp Wilkins – The First Georgia 4-H Summer Camp

• Camp Wilkins opened its doors in 1924 on the grounds that now house the UGA CAES's Driftmier Engineering Building. Its program incorporated agricultural education and recreation. Each week, boys from all over the state would come to the camp to take short courses on agricultural issues, swim in Lake Kirota, play on the camp's baseball diamond and create lasting friendships.

2001 Camp Wilkins Alumni Reunion

National 4-H Conferences• National 4-H Club

Congress – 1923• National Club

Camp – 1927 (now National

Conference)– National 4-H pledge

and 4-H motto were officially adopted here

Georgia Master 4-H Club• The Georgia Master 4-H Club was organized in

1935. The first meeting was held at Camp Wilkins with 200 members present.

1940-41 Master Club Officers

1937

• In 1937, Georgia has County Agents working in every county.

• 4-H enrollment grew to 82, 962.

Great Depression

Food production and conservation skills learned in

4-H were still an asset to youth, their families, and their communities.

World War II

• 4-Her’s canned, conserved, adopted special recipes, and were at the forefront of the war movement with patriotic pledges and more.

1943- SS. Hoke Smith

• In 1943, Georgia

4-H’ers sold enough War Bonds to buy a $2,000,000 Liberty Ship and grew food to fill it!

Georgia 4-H Foundation• In 1948, the Georgia 4-

H Club Foundation was organized to help further 4-H work in the state. Each 4-H Club member was asked to donate one dozen eggs to the Foundation during 1949. By year’s end there was $7,000 in the bank.

History of 4-H Camps in Georgia

Georgia’s 4-H Camps / Centers Opened:• Camp Wilkins, Athens – 1924• Negro 4-H Center, Dublin – 1939• Wahsega 4-H Center– 1943• Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island- 1946• Rock Eagle 4-H Center - 1955• Fulton – 1971• Jekyll – 1982• Fortson - 2004

CURRENT 4-H CENTERSRock Eagle 4-H Center

Rock Eagle 4-H Center

• Opened 1955• 1,428 acres of

forested land, including a 110 acre lake

Jekyll Island 4-H Center• Just renovated, Jekyll 4-H

Center is on Jekyll Island on the coast of Georgia.

• The center was originally the Dolphin Club and Motor Hotel, but after desegregation the facility was shut down.

• During the 1960’s and 70’s the facility was used for a group camp and youth center

• In June 1983, the Georgia 4-H program leased the facility from the Jekyll Island Authority and it became Jekyll 4-H Center as we know it today.

Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island

• Renamed in 2004, Burton 4-H Center is located on Tybee Island on the Coast of Georgia

• One of the older camps, Georgia 4-H began using Tybee 4-H camp ( then known as Camp Chatham) in 1946

• Tybee offers 4-H’ers the opportunity to experience marine ecology and much, much more!

Wahsega • Before this valley in the

Chattahoochee National Forest north of Dahlonega, Georgia was called Wahsega 4-H Center, it was home to the McDougal family.

• In the 1930's, the valley was used by the CCC as a camp for the men building roads and bridges in this area of north Georgia.

• In the late 1930's the site was used as a summer camp for underprivileged youth. By 1943, Georgia 4-H was using the facility for conferences and rallies. 4-H Summer camp was first held at Wahsega in 1947.

• In 1998 Environmental Education program started at Wahsega

Fortson 4-H Center• Once a Henry County 4-H

camp, Fortson became a Georgia 4-H Camp in 2004

• Fortson was used as a community camp while not a 4-H center.

• Fortson has been the home of Georgia 4-H Officer Training for 3 years.

• A new history will be written for Fortson in the next century of Georgia

4-H.

Other 4-H Milestones

• 1954 – 50th Anniversary Celebration of Georgia 4-H

• 1958 – The first 4-H Automotive Club in Georgia started in DeKalb County

• In 1963, Georgia 4-H enrollment was the largest in the nation with 150,000 members

• In 1976, 4-H’ers celebrated the nation’s bicentennial with a new citizenship program called the Sunshine Brigade.

Corn and Tomato Club Members Celebrate Georgia 4-H 50th Birthday!

Other Milestones

• 1979 – Georgia 4-H Turned 75!• 1981 – The Georgia 4-H Performing Arts group, Clovers

& Company was formed. • 1984 – 4-H Environmental Education began at Georgia’s

4-H Centers• In 1990, Rock Eagle 4-H Center was renovated and

rededicated.• In 2002, 1,200 youth and adults from throughout the

county participated in The National Conversation on Youth Development in the 21st Century in honor of the National 4-H Centennial.

More Milestones

• In 2002, Founder’s Lodge was dedicated. This facility honors those who gave significant time, talent, and energy to the development of Rock Eagle 4-H Center.

4-H: A Partner in Education

• Short-term educational programs• Taught by teacher or Extension Staff member• Over 190,000 youth participated in Georgia 4-H in 2003• Georgia 4-H’s District Project Achievement

enhances language arts, encouraging the development of both oral and written communication skills

• 4-H has become an active partner in the Cooperative Curriculum System

Georgia 4-H75th Birthday Party!

2004…Still Making the Best Better

Important Dates for the Centennial Year

Don’t Miss…

Some 4-H Centennial Events

• June 26, 2004 - Kickoff of the Georgia 4-H Centennial at State 4-H Council

• Centennial 4-H Gala,August 14, 2004, Atlanta

• Georgia 4-H Centennial Celebration Day, October 12, 2004.

Some Centennial Programs

• Centennial Website at www.georgia4h.org

• Georgia 4-H Hall Of Fame – Fall, 2004

• 4-H Centennial History Book

• Bradford Basket Collector Basket Program

• 4-H Quilt Expansion Project

A Few Famous 4-H’ers

(Drum roll, please…)

Holly Hunter

Georgia Alumnus

Garrison Hearst

Georgia Alumnus

Hershel Walker

Georgia Alumnus

President Jimmy Carter

Georgia Alumnus

Governor Sonny Purdue

Georgia Alumnus

Nancy Grace

Georgia Alumnus

Nikki DeLoach

Georgia Alumnus

Faith Hill

Jim Davis

Reba McEntire

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Ann M. Veneman

Johnny Carson

Dolly Parton

David Letterman

Alan Shepard

Reggie White

YOU!!!