Iowa Public Television

• 

  Program: Living In Iowa #1216
  Broadcast Date: Feb. 21, 2002
  

• Visit the Web Site
• Tell Us What You Think
• E-mail a Friend

'To uncover the origins of 4-H, we headed over to Page county where many residents claim that a woman named Jessie Field Shambaugh, from Clarinda, planted the idea for 4-H 100 years ago.

As a 19-year-old rural schoolteacher, Miss Jessie held informal agriculture and home related lessons after school which became the Boys' Corn Club and the Girls' Home Club.

Jessie was elected Superintendent of Schools for Page county in 1906 and with the help of teachers from 130 one-room schools, she cultivated the clubs throughout the county.

Later, to help motivate the youngsters, Jessie organized competitive exhibits and county-wide junior achievement shows which were similar to today's fairs.

We interviewed Ruth Shambaugh Watkins, Jessie's daughter and 107-year-old Martin Johnson who was on the first corn judging team that went to compete in Ames in 1909. Another person interviewed for this story was Esther Williams who became the first 4-H queen to be crowned at the State Girls 4-H Convention in Ames in 1928.

• 4-H
• children
• education
• history
• Iowa
• leadership
• teachers

Post Date: January 7, 2009