I greatly enjoyed the article in last week's Ledger by the 4-H agent. It brought back memories of my family's 4-H times. None of my immediate family ever got into raising and showing large animals. My brothers raised and showed chickens. That was an interesting process, not for the faint of heart.
In the late 1950's and early 1960's the McDavid, Florida train depot still stood. Trains didn't stop there anymore, but some mail still arrived at and departed from McDavid by train. A mailbag hung from a hook on the track side of the depot. It was the job of someone on the train to retrieve the outgoing mail bag and put the incoming mail bag on the hook.
The baby chicks my brothers received by mail came in a box too large for the mailbag. Those boxes were thrown from the train to land beside the depot. Most of the chicks survived this.
After arriving at our house, the chicks needed to be kept warm, fed, watered, and protected from predators. There wasn't as much grooming and training involved in showing chickens as with the larger animals, but it was still a lot of work.
I didn't get involved in the chick raising. I participated in clothing and in gardening. One important part of 4-H that I didn't give due diligence to was record keeping. The only year I really gave that task my best was the year I wanted to go to 4-H camp. Keeping an acceptable record book was one of the requirements for participating in camp.
My 4-H club met at school (McDavid Elementary and a year or two at Century High School). At McDavid my 4-H leader was Mrs. Dean Crary, daughter-in-law of my teacher, Mrs. Margaret Crary. I don't remember who my leader at CHS was. When the 4-H clubs stopped meeting at the school my 4-H time was interrupted.
My next 4-H adventure was as an assistant leader. My good friend Mrs. Myrtle Lee Diamond and my former 4-H leader Mrs. Dean Crary were leading the North Escambia Seekers, the local McDavid, FL club. They asked me to bring some students from my school class to the club and to help with the club. That led to my next venture to 4-H camp as a leader.
Both of my 4-H camp expeditions were at Camp Timpoochie near Niceville, FL. It was located on the shores of a bay. Both as a camper and as a leader I enjoyed swimming, other outdoor activities and indoor crafts. I still occaisionally enjoy practicing the braiding techniques I learned at Camp Timpoochie.
My next 4-H adventures were with my sons, Marcus and John. They both stayed in
4-H much longer than I did, Marcus from age 8 to age 18 and John from age 7 to age 18. We all learned a lot from their 4-H projects. Mrs. Myrtle Lee Diamond taught them more about sewing than I'll ever know. They won many blue ribbons at the Pensacola Interstate Fair and at County and District events. For many years they were selected to represent Escambia County on Consumer Judging teams at the North Florida Fair in Tallahassee.
The moral of this story kids is give 4-H a try. The skills you'll learn and the friends you'll make will last a lifetime.
The next ASHS meeting is Tuesday, March 17th in the Leach House Museum in Century. That's the building that looks like it is about to get ran over by a train. Join us if you can, please.
