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Georgia 4-H was founded in 1904 by G.C. Adams in Newton County, Georgia, USA, as the Girls Canning, and Boys Corn Clubs. The Georgia 4-H Program is a branch of Georgia Cooperative Extension, which is part of the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and is funded by the University System of Georgia and private partners. == History == Georgia 4-H began with the start of the special Boys Corn Club contest that was first organized by Superintendent of Schools, G. C. Adams. Like the corn club he organized 100 years ago, G. C. Adams was unique. He ranked high as an educator. He taught at Pine Grove School in Newton County, he was principal of Palmer Institute at Oxford, he served as county school commissioner, and he was the president of the Fifth District Agriculture School at Monroe. Yet, Mr. Adams never attended high school or college, and he did not go to school more than a year in his entire life. While writing about Mr. Adams in the Atlanta Constitution after he had been elected Georgia commissioner of agriculture in 1932, Stiles A. Martin called him “one of the best educated, best read and most learned men in the state.” Perhaps Mr. Adams’ greatest accomplishment was organizing the corn club, and he is best known for that; but he was a pioneer in other fields, too. He also single-handedly developed a plan for transporting school children, which probably resulted in our school buses of today. In the same year he organized an oratorical association, the first in the South. The plan was for pupils of the various schools of the county to meet and put on a program, with awards being made to schools making the best showing. Out of this grew the field days which are held in many places today, featuring musical contests, debating and other events. Mr. Adams also served in the state legislature. He was elected to represent Newton County in 1926, and served two years. W. L. Weber was Mr. Adams’ good friend. He was head of the English Department for Emory-at-Oxford College. Mr. Adams and Mr. Weber shared many walks from Oxford to Covington. It was during one of the walks in 1903 that Mr. Weber, who was from Illinois, told Mr. Adams about the success of the first known boys’ corn-growing contest, held in Winnebago County, Illinois, during 1900. This idea was spreading very rapidly to other states. “Prof. W.L. Weber, of Emory College, who always manifests great interest in our public school, deserves credit for inaugurating this unique contest in Newton” – G.C. Adams. From this conversation was the motivation that sparked Mr. Adams to begin making plans, which he would announce during the fall of 1904, for the first Newton County Boys Corn Club, which developed into the present day 4-H club. The plans for the contest were announced in a small article in the Covington Enterprise Newspaper on December 23, 1904. Later, Mr. Adams published the rules for the contest on February 3, 1905, but this time he had a large article that was on the front page. He established a deadline for March 15. The contest was open to any boy 6 to 18 years old, who was enrolled in any of the county’s public schools. Each boy would do all work raising his corn crop. There was no limit to variety of corn planted or extent of field. The contestant was not allowed to have any assistance. The boy selected any ten ears of corn out of his entire patch. The boy should nail them in a rat-proof box, delivered it to the Newton County Courthouse by October 7, and it would be weighed on October 16 and the weight will be recorded on the box. Of the 101 boys entering the contest, only 32 boys exhibited their corn. The first place winner was George Plunkett with . The second place winner was Tom Greer with . The third place winners were brothers Paul and Walter Cowan, with . Other details of this contest are given in the Congressional Record of the 84th Congress, First Session on January 10, 1955. Around that 1907, Oscar Herman Benson designed the first emblem for the clubs. It was a three-leaf clover, which stood for head, heart and hands. Second year members, received a fourth H. 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. The Corn Club was followed by many agricultural project clubs in the county and state. 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 selected because it was universally grown and appreciated. It wasn’t too difficult to get a good crop. It was acid and therefore easy to can without too much spoilage. Each girl was asked to plant a plot large enough to provide tomatoes not only for family but also for sale. By the time Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, May 8, 1914, creating the Cooperative Extension Service, both boys and girls, all over Georgia, were active in one or more of the project clubs. Their work was supervised by volunteer leaders and a few paid workers in some counties. After 1914, the County Agents and Home Demonstration Agents were being employed in counties throughout Georgia. Positions are funded by county, state, and federal funds. These Agents would give the leadership to disseminating agricultural and home economic research information to farmers, homemakers, youth, and community organizations. Also in 1914, the Georgia Poultry Club was started, which required each member to prepare at least one setting of purebred eggs. By 1915, Georgia had 5,507 club girls and 14,275 club boys. About 1921, serious thought began to be given to the matter of trying to bring back interest and develop a steady growth in 4-H club work. Businessmen and leaders of agricultural organizations established the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work with E.T. Meredith as chairperson in 1921. The organization was held in Chicago, where the first National 4-H Club Congress was held in 1922. President Calvin Coolidge accepted honorary chairmanship of the National Committee on Boys and Girls Work, the start of a tradition followed by each succeeding U.S. President. This was also about the time that the name 4-H Club came about, instead of project clubs. It was thought that the emphasis should be placed on the community, county, and state organization of 4-H club members and that there should be combined with this organization idea, emphasis on social, recreational, and leadership training. Under the leadership of Mary Creswell and J. Phil Campbell, Georgia 4-H Clubs grew from 350 members in 1910 to 27,000 in 1920. It wasn’t until 1924 when club work acquired the name of 4-H and the 4-H emblem was patented. In 1927, state 4-H leaders adopted the national 4-H pledge and the 4-H motto at the first National 4-H Club Camp. In 1933, Georgia started the first Wildlife Conservation Camp. P. H. Stone became the first Negro state 4-H leader in Georgia in 1924. By 1937, Georgia has county agents working in every county and 4-H enrollment had grown to 82,962. Land was acquired in 1939 in Dublin, Georgia, to build the Negro 4-H Center. The center had 150 meetings for 5,000 people annually. The headquarters for black Extension work was at Savannah State College until 1967. With U.S. entry into World War II, 4-H’ers across the country responded to the needs for increased agricultural production and support of the war effort. 4-H members were directly responsible for more than 77,000 head of dairy cattle, 246,000 swine and 210,000 head of other cattle. 4-H contributed more than 40,000 tongs of forage crops and 109,000 bushels of root crops. By 1942, 4-H had 1.6 million members, gaining 650,000 new members during the war. District Project Achievement (DPA) Meetings were set up in each Extension District in 1935. The Georgia Master 4-H Club was created during the same year. Becoming a Master 4-H'er is the highest award offered in 4-H. The first District Project Achievement meeting was held at Camp Wilkins with 200 members present. As an outgrowth of these contests and state contests, a State 4-H Club Congress was first held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1943 with 53 4-H club members attending. In 1948, the Georgia 4-H Club Foundation was organized to help further 4-H work in the state. The Foundation helped establish 4-H Club Centers at Rock Eagle and Dublin. Each 4-H Club member was asked to donate one dozen eggs to the Foundation during 1949. By year’s end there was $7,000 in the bank. In 1952, construction began on Rock Eagle near Eatonton, Georgia. Bill Sutton raised $2.5 million to build the center on a tract of land. The Center was dedicated oct. 30, 1954. It is now one of the largest 4-H Centers in the country, hosting 4-H’ers, students and adults year-round for 4-H camp, environmental education and conferences. In 1963, the World Atlas of 4-H was published by the National 4-H Foundation, indicating 84 4-H and similar programs in 75 countries. Georgia’s enrollment of 150,000 was the largest in the nation. In 1956, Newton County 4-H boys and girls worked at Belks, to raise money to help finance other members who were selected as county winners to represent Newton County at the Northwest District Project Achievement at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. Newton County had two Extension Programs, a white and a black, until 1965 when they were combined under the leadership of one County Extension Director. The black extension staff was transferred from Savannah State College to Fort Valley State College in 1967. Both the University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University now conduct active 4-H programs for all Georgia youth. 4-H’ers celebrated the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 with a new citizenship program called The Sunshine Brigade and rode an old-fashioned wagon train to the nation’s capitol. In 1994, 4-H joined the Character Counts! Coalition to develop a training program for teens to work with young members on the six pillars of character. Georgia 4-H has been an active participant and leader in this effort. In 2008, Georgia 4-H had 180,000 members. Georgia 4-H'ers continue to take part in judging competition, knowledge quiz bowls, livestock shows, animal education shows, food and nutrition contests, teen leadership programs, essay contest, educational camps and conferences, Clovers & Co. performing arts group, the International 4-H Youth Exchange program and many other educational and recreational opportunities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Georgia 4-H」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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