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Local 4-H club receives Wal-Mart donations
By M.E. Jones
mjones@nashobapub.com
Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - WEST GROTON -- The Middlesex Mavericks 4-H Club recently received two big checks from Wal-Mart -- big in more ways than one.
Wal-Mart Community Service representative Suzanne Bernard, of the Lunenburg store, presented two $1,000 checks to the group at its regular meeting last Friday night at the Groton Legion Hall, and each check came in two sizes. One was a cashable wallet-sized check. The other was a supersized facsimile, great for photos or mounting on a wall -- perhaps beside the Mavericks' handsome wooden logo banner, created by a local artisan.
The point of Wal-Mart's donation, however, isn't the symbolic size of the check, but the sizeable cash value, and what it means to two worthy recipients -- the Mavericks and their pet charity, Loaves & Fishes.
One of the checks went to 13 area youngsters with a penchant for horses and a propensity for good causes. According to co-leader Dee Raferty of Shirley, the kids, whose home towns include Groton, Ayer, Shirley and Westford, will pump this greatly appreciated windfall into club programs, activities and purchases they might not have been able to afford without it.
The budget is tight, Raferty added, explaining that the leaders are all volunteers and that they gratefully accept donations and discounts from local companies. Like Central Graphics, for example, the firm that made -- at cut rate cost -- the snazzy blue jackets the members all wore, embossed with a horse emblem and the group's logo.
The other Wal-Mart check went to the Mavericks' charity of choice, Loaves & Fishes, a Devens-based non-profit that provides food, clothing and emergency shelter assistance to area people in need. Bob Hewson and Frank Harmon accepted the check on behalf of Loaves & Fishes.
Historical Perspective
Beyond the signature shamrock four leaves symbolizing head, heart, hands and health the form and function of 4-H may not be as familiar to some as the Scouts or Boys' and Girls' Clubs. These youth organizations may share similar aspects, such as pledges that key into certain universal values, but 4-H has a unique identity and 7 million members nationwide.
Formed under a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) umbrella, the purpose of 4-H is to improve methods of agriculture and home economics and to and promote good citizenship, according to an encyclopedia definition, circa 1968. By then, both boys and girls were part of the picture.
Established in the 19th century, 4-H evolved from a boys-only, farm-only focus to a multi-faceted program with a more inclusive and varied vision as the socio-economic climate segued from agriculture to industry. Today's 4-H clubs are open to all boys and girls ages 8-19, and they encompass a wide array of interests and activities. While the organization remains traditionally tied to rural roots, the mission has expanded.
Today, although banners of individual clubs across the country may relate to special interest arenas such as horses, pigs, cows, etc. , agendas also include community service and other activities. And not all clubs are in the country or suburbs. Some are city-based, with urban-oriented programs. Regional, state and national 4-H programs, workshops and events target areas of interest in and out of the rural realm, from livestock to leadership to home improvement, also exploring communications, career development and computer technology.
Today's 4-H organization is federally centered and locally organized. Originally intent on improving agriculture, 4-H clubs, circa 2003, are, according to the organization's mission statement, "dedicated to the development of young people."
According to a historic overview on the organization's national web site, 4-H wasn't established in one time or place and doesn't lay claim to a founder or recognized leader. Instead, credit goes to a series of events, societal shifts and two formative forces: concern for education in rural areas and need to advance agricultural techniques. The following timeline traces the development of 4-H.
1909 -- Formerly focused on boys and improving corn production, the USDA brings girls into the loop with "Canning Clubs."
1910 -- Marie S. Cromer of South Carolina and Ella G. Agnew of Virginia organize 4-H clubs, apparently at about the same time, but not in conjunction with one another. (Agnew was the first woman agent for the USDA Farmer's Co-op).
1912 -- 4-H clubs number 23,000 in the United States. Early 4-H programs for girls centered on home-based skills such as sewing and baking. When canning was added to the list, clubs began teaching safe, efficient methods for preserving food. In the process, members gained self-confidence and a sense of community responsibility. As 4-H membership grew, field trips, awarded in competitions, were a popular draw.
1911-12 -- Winners in corn, garden and canning events went to Washington, D.C.
1915 -- Forty-four young corn club winners went to the Panama Pacific Expo in San Francisco.
1916 -- Beef winners went to the Live Stock Expo in Chicago.
1922 -- A team of girls from the Iowa Canning Club went to France and demonstrated prize-winning methods.
Next came an era of educational exchange. In 1940, a group of New York City high school students visited Iowa for a week, and in 1948, U.S. students went to Europe, the first International Farm Youth Exchange.
Fast forward to a cold night in January 2003 and a meeting of the Middlesex Mavericks 4-H Club. In this group are 12 girls and one boy, plus volunteer mentors like Dee Raferty and Casey Palmer, of West Groton. This club's special interest is horses. Most members either own horses or help care for them, working in barns, attending show events, keeping journals that chronicle activities as they move through levels to earn points.
Some requisites relate to horses. Others are community projects. Either way, organizational goals aimed at helping young people grow, learn and improve themselves are imbedded in each activity. Learning opportunities branch from here, including an upcoming all-day event in Chelmsford, where an array of workshop options reads like a wish list, from cooking to scrapbooking to line dancing. In addition to horse-oriented projects and other group programs and activities, these young people have adopted a charity, Loaves & Fishes, raising funds in various ways -- the $1,000 donation from Wal-Mart, for example.
) 1999-2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Nashoba Publications
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