`A lot of people say `4-H’ and immediately think of farm animals,” Margaret Burton said.
But neither cow nor tractor was in sight when she started Family and Friends 4-H Club in 1994 while living in Dolton. The club’s 12 members, boys and girls ages 7 to 18, meet once a month to work on arts and crafts projects or study other cultures.
“In the city, you (adapt) 4-H programs to what children can relate to. If they have pets, 4-H programs teach them how to care for them,” said Burton, of Calumet City.
Burton and co-leader Marsha Robinson of Dolton are two of 486 volunteers who work with 35 4-H clubs in Cook County’s south and southwest suburbs. Clubs can be found in Alsip, Chicago Heights, Dixmoor, Dolton, Harvey, Homewood, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Palos Park, Park Forest, South Holland and Tinley Park, among other towns.
Besides craft projects, club members often focus on a specific area, such as science, health, agriculture, mechanics, leadership development, visual arts or public speaking. The club emblem, a four-leaf clover, represents the four H’s–heart, head, hands and health.
Now a national program with clubs nationwide, 4-H had its origins in turn-of-the-century Illinois when the County Farmer’s Institute in Macoupin County held a corn growing contest and exhibition for 500 local boys. The contest proved popular, and agricultural clubs for boys and girls quickly formed in Illinois and other states.
By 1924, clubs were organizing under the 4-H name and emblem. Cook County youth have been served by 4-H programs since the 1950s.
Judith Winters works at the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service in Tinley Park, which oversees local 4-H programs.
“There’s no cost to start a club and no uniform involved. The big issue is finding an adult volunteer to meet with the group on a regular basis. Most of the volunteers have a child in the club,” said Winters, who recruits and trains volunteer leaders. Clubs typically meet once or twice a month, and one leader is responsible for about 10 to 12 members. Membership is open to youth ages 5 to 19.
Kathryn Durkin of Chicago Heights has been leader of the Clover Collectors in Chicago Heights for five years. The club has eight boys and seven girls, ages 6 to 16.
“The club (originally) was called the Nifty Knitters. Some kids grew up, some moved and new ones came in,” she explained. “None of us knitted, so we took a vote five years ago and changed the name.”
Durkin uses a program guide supplied by the Extension Service to run meetings and select projects.
“The books give you so many wonderful, wholesome ideas to help (members) build character. There are projects to help them make their own clothing, take care of animals or start a small business. It’s so diversified,” Durkin said.
Durkin’s daughter Erin, 16, has been a 4-H member since she was 9.
“You learn a lot of different things (in 4-H). And you meet new people you have common interests with,” Erin said.
Despite the wide age range, Kathryn Durkin said, all members learn valuable skills. Older members serve as leaders or mentors to younger children. And all must give presentations to fellow club members.
“Teaching kids presentation skills is one of the underlying strengths of 4-H,” Winters said. Once a year, members must talk about or demonstrate what they’ve learned from their projects.
“It’s easier for them the younger they get started, because they have less fear of getting up in front of a group,” Winters explained. The more presentations they give, the easier it gets. “By the time they reach high school,” she said, “some of these kids are pretty good.”
Some club members used the 4-H guide to create model rockets, while others studied how the human body’s circulatory system and heart function, Durkin said. A recent club project examined recycling.
“We studied what it means to our environment and how much garbage a family throws away,” Durkin said. “Depending on the age of the child, they did a report or (created) a display.”
Clover Collectors take part in community outreach, running clothing drives for needy families, making holiday ornaments for a retirement home and raising funds for children whose parents are incarcerated. Members also studied the Civil War, creating dioramas and writing reports.
“The times we spent together we studied,” Durkin said. “They did the dioramas at home.”
The Clover Collectors joined other clubs in July to display their projects at the South Suburban Cook 4-H Fair at Francis 4-H Field in New Lenox. The fair offered a horse show, a fashion show, a horticulture exhibit, a launching field for members’ model rockets, a watermelon-eating contest and children’s games. Members exhibited photographs, woodwork, jewelry and other projects they made throughout the year. All entries are judged, and entrants receive ribbons.
As for the lack of heifers and hogs at this year’s fair, Winters explained, “Here in (South Cook County), there aren’t any farms left. There may be a few farm kids left, but especially in southern Cook (County), they mainly live in the suburbs. We have a class of small animals — gerbils, hamsters, rabbits, snakes, mice.”
Winters noted that 4-H programs also reach 8,000 students in more than 100 schools in the southwest suburbs. “We train teachers how to set up an incubator and build a whole unit around the care of the embryo and hatching of chicks,” Winters said.
Rosanne Fahey’s daughter Meggan studied eggs and baby chicks in her Palos West 2nd-grade class.
“She brought home a certificate about 4-H members. I’d been in 4-H when I was young, and my kids asked me if I would start the club,” said Fahey, of Palos Park.
That was 11 years ago, and Fahey remains the leader for 4-H Friends Forever. The club, which has six girls and one boy, ages 6 to 18, helps members learn about things they don’t have time to learn in school anymore, Fahey explained.
“Everyone does their own thing as far as projects. There’s sewing, baking, rocketry and woodworking,” she said.
“You learn with your friends. You learn about sewing and child care. And there are projects like drawing or building things,” Meggan Fahey said. “You also get leadership and public speaking skills.”
Her entry at last year’s 4-H fair, a necklace and pin she made, was selected for exhibition at the state fair.
“I think it’s nice about my mom being the leader. I’ve been more into it,” said Meggan, 18, who attends the monthly leaders’ meeting with her mother.
Although most 4-H club members in the area are city dwellers, Burton said that the recent 4-H fair exposed them to much more.
“I like it because it’s a little different,” Burton said. “That’s when you see other children who do have farm animals. You have an opportunity to see all of that.”
And more.
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For information about starting or joining a club, or becoming a 4-H leader, call 708-532-3337.
