4-H: A Family Affair

 

Randy in 1967, a 5th grader and his first year in Stafford County 4-H with his first 4-H beef project.

 4-H is "very fun." Just look at any beginning 4-Her's permanent record book.

Randy's record book from his first year as a Stafford County 4-Her in 1967 said:

This year is my first year in 4-H. I have enjoyed it very much. Going to the 4-H things has been very fun. I really enjoyed the refreshments very much. I am looking forward very much to next year in 4-H. This year, I have enjoyed 4-H camp and have got lots of ribbons. 

My first 4-H story was also written in 1967, as a fourth grader. (The photo at the left was the one attached to my 4-H permanent record.) My story was longer. (There's a big surprise, right?) I used the word "fun" six times to describe my song leading job, picking out ingredients for my Snacks and Little Lunches project, 4-H Sunday and assorted other 4-H events. I also "enjoyed" things twice and "liked" 4-H another time or two. A glance at Jill's and Brent's record books mirrored our family's outlook that 4-H is "fun" and very likeable.

4-Hers - and their parents - have been "liking" the youth program for more than 100 years, long before there was a "like" button on Facebook pages. On Saturday, we went to the Shawnee County Fair in Topeka to see Kinley's and Brooke's 4-H projects. Kinley and Brooke come from a long line of 4-Hers, including their maternal great-grandparents and their paternal great-grandmother (Bonnie Ladd). 

 

Bob & Janis Moore - Pratt County Fair service award recipients

 in 2011

 

My family's involvement with 4-H started with my parents back in the 1940s. Both were members of the Lincoln Bluebirds 4-H Club in Pratt County, the club that my siblings and I later joined. (That club later merged with another, and we became the Lincoln Climbers.) 

 

Eric's family is similarly entrenched in the 4-H program. These days, Eric is one of the community leaders for the Auburn 4-H Club in Shawnee County. 

 

Participating in county fairs is second nature to all of us - including Kinley and Brooke. This year's fair for the girls wrapped up on Sunday. They had a great fair, though it was a little different this year. Kinley left for camp the day after consultation judging for most projects, so she was unable to compete in the dog show with Summer. 

 

But the girls definitely excelled in the foods division. They swept the champion ribbons in the intermediate division for decorated cookies or cupcakes. 

 

Kinley's cupcakes decorated with succulents won the champion ribbon in that division. (I know I'm looking at them with "grandma glasses," but I think they look professional.)

And her sister got the reserve champion ribbon with her cookies decorated to look like bakery treats.

However, in the specialty yeast bread category, Brooke edged out Kinley with her savory pull-apart bread. She earned Top Yeast Bread.

Kinley's savory sundried tomato and herb bread got a reserve champion ribbon. 

 

 

Both the girls got to sell their bread at a premium auction on Sunday. We arrived in Topeka in time to watch Brooke remake her pull-apart bread for the sale. 

 

 

 

 

Brooke handled display duties for herself and her sister at the food sale.

 

 

They also had blues on their iced layer cakes. They looked like purples to this grandma - at least from the outside.

Kinley's Snickerdoodle Cake

Brooke's Strawberry Cake

We got to sample a "reject" strawberry cake, and it was delicious. Kinley's three-layer cake didn't require a re-do, so we'll hope for another opportunity to taste it down the line. But the Ladds' say the earlier attempt was tasty. 

Brooke got a champion ribbon on the menagerie of sea creatures she created from air-dry clay and displayed in an aquarium.

Since Kinley couldn't compete in the dog show, she made a poster to complete her project and received a reserve champion ribbon.

Grandma was thoroughly impressed with her business notebook. 

She developed goals and advertising strategy for her small business, Kinley's Care and Co., in which she cares for pets and waters plants for neighbors. She also has a spreadsheet showing how she divides her earnings for a car fund, clothing and personal care items and savings. 

 

 

Kinley also had several purples for her photography project. One of them got a star, which means it was considered for a champion - but not this year. 

 

I really liked her selfie, which she took with a timer. It was representative of her first year competing in hurdles. Her favorite sport - tennis - also was the subject of one of the purples.

Both the girls competed in clothing buymanship. Brooke has been enrolled in that project for her whole 4-H career, but this was Kinley's first year. 

 

Our final event of the 2025 was watching Brooke model her two outfits during the style show.

Kinley was at camp, but she was a champion with her dressy outfit in the intermediate division and has the opportunity to model during the Kansas State Fair fashion review in September.

 

Photo taken by Gina Marie Photography, Topeka, during a family photo session

  

Old 4-Hers can be called into duty at any time. Grandma Christy and I helped Brooke and Jill with the concession stand Saturday afternoon. One of the times assigned to the Auburn 4-H Club was during the kids' pedal pull, so helpers were hard to find for awhile. Christy and I are old pros when it comes to helping with a fair food stand. Back in the day, we Pratt County 4-Hers served up sloppy joes. I still use that recipe when I need a roaster of sloppy joes today. 

Photo credit (and working credit, too) to Christy Ladd

Jill worked in the food stand at the Stafford County Fair. So we had three generations of 4-Hers helping in that time-honored fundraiser. 
 

 

Brooke's favorite part is serving the food. But we also had a little bit of time to work on the fine art of counting back change. 

 

And while it's great to collect those purple ribbons and extra prize money, I hope what the girls ultimately collect from the 4-H experience is to take the 4-H pledge and the 4-H experience to heart.   

 

 I pledge my head to clearer thinking 

 My heart to greater loyalty

 My hands to larger service

 And my health to better living

 For my club, my community, my country and my world.

 The 4-H Pledge, Written in 1919 by Kansas 4-H Leader Otis Hall

 

It would probably be a better world if all of humanity would think about the principles that 4-Hers vow to uphold: Clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service, better living ... those are all attributes that would do this old world a whole lot of good.

For 123 years, 4-H has been changing lives. Back in 2006, we celebrated 100 years of Kansas 4-H. The youth program has been part of the national landscape since 1902.

The 4-H website says:

The 4-H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. That idea was the catalyst to begin the 4-H movement and those values continue today.

 

No wonder it's stuck around this long.