The Bulloch County Historical Society monthly meeting was extremely interesting and informative last week. As a parent and grandparent, I was most excited to hear the background and history of the 4-H of Georgia.
We mostly know about 4-H as a camp where our children go in the summer, and we parents and friends encourage our friends and family to buy the beautiful ‘Vidalia onions’ each year. The money helps support and finance their camp experience.
Our presenter at the meeting, Arch Smith, gave a detailed report of Georgia 4-H that traced its beginnings back to 1902. Smith presented with much enthusiasm and detail, and his guests listened attentively.
As a state 4-H leader, Arch Smith was responsible for the University of Georgia 4-H program, which served more than 152,000 young people in 2021. He was also responsible for the staff training of Georgia 4-H agents, program assistants, and volunteers, and for all the personnel and budget issues of the state 4-H office, the five 4-H centers, and the Georgia 4-H Foundation. As a former executive director of the Georgia 4-H Foundation, Arch was responsible for raising more than $4 million for Georgia 4-H, the largest budget of any 4-H foundation in the nation.
Having held various leadership positions since beginning his career in 1985 as a County Extension agent in Carroll County, Smith was only the 8th Georgia State 4-H leader to serve in the 110-year history of the UGA 4-H Program.
Before Arch Smith’s presentation, a luncheon was held in the Pittman Park UMC Fellowship Hall. Approximately 75 guests were in attendance. A fabulous lunch of Chopped Beef Barbecue, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Green Beans, Bread, and yes, my favorite -- cheesecake! Either raspberry or plain. Truly a delight!
Arch Smith began his presentation about how the Georgia 4-H was founded in 1904 by G.C. Adams in Newton County, Georgia, 100 years ago.
The special Boys Corn Club was the early beginnings of 4-H. It consisted of 150 boys in the Corn Club with its purpose: ‘Children Educate Parents.’ G.C. Adams was a unique individual. He ranked high as an educator, held several academic posts, with his last position being President of the 5th District Agricultural School in Monroe.
Mr. Adams never attended high school or college, and only went to school for a little more than a year his entire life. His greatest accomplishment was organizing the Corn Club, and he is best known for that.
Around 1907, Oscar Hermon Benson designed the first emblem for the club. It was a three-leaf clover which stood for head, heart, and hands. In 1911, the 4-H design was adopted, and health was added as the fourth H. The emblem has stood for head, heart, hands, and health ever since.
Following the Corn Club, the most famous club was the Girls' Canning Club in 1911. Just as the boys' work started with one crop, the same method was used for the girls’ Club work. The tomato was their crop.
In 1919, two objectives were established for the Agricultural Boys Club:
- Teach boys values.
- Develop social interest, citizenship and character.
Under the leadership of Mary E. Creswell, the first female University of Georgia College of Agriculture graduate, and Jay Phillip Campbell, Georgia's 4-H Club grew from 350 members in 1910 to 27,000 in 1920. In 1924, they officially acquired the name for 4-H, and the 4-H emblem was patented in Georgia.
In 1937, land was acquired in Dublin, Georgia, to build the first 4-H Center for black students. The headquarters for black extension work was at Savannah State University until 1967.
Amazing -- so much history, so much growth and development!
In 1948, the founders established a 4-H club centers at Rock Eagle and Dublin. Bill Sutton raised $2.7 million to build the Center on a 1,400-acre tract of land. The center was dedicated on October 30, 1954.This facility was built by prisoners and helpers.
In 1997, Arch Smith saw a need for improvement and expansion of the Sutton Dining Hall at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center, as well as a need to replace the 50-year-old cabins there. The new dining hall was finished in 2009, and by the end of 2015, 34 new cabins were completed. They are used annually by the 5 Georgia 4-H centers, serving more than 105,000 individuals with public and private funding.
There is so much more to share. Arch Smith presented a beautiful coffee table book called ‘Rock Eagle: Centerpiece of Georgia 4-H. It is CHOCK FULL of information and over 1000 illustrations.
Smith summed up the ‘historical 4-H stories and tributes’ presentation by noting how so many lives have been changed. Now, Georgia 4-H has a statewide reach and offers an array of competitions, conventions, training retreats, and so much more -- all instilling a number of valuable skills that date back to the early 1900s.
‘ONE man, ONE group of kids, and ONE reason: TO SHOW PARENTS THE NEW WAY.’
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