Let’s take a quick journey back in time. The year is 1907, the setting is a small schoolhouse in Wright County. This is a story about how that quaint little building in the middle of nowhere became an infamous historical sight of today: The Birthplace of the 4-H Emblem.
It all started when Mr. O.H. Benson, superintendent of Wright county schools, was travelling a year prior in 1906 between the country schoolhouses in his area. Upon arrival at the Lake Township school, he noticed students were on a hunt for four-leaf clovers, which teacher asked the students to give their lucky findings to the superintendent as a symbol of good luck. That gesture sparked his idea to use the rare four-leaf clover to represent the programming and clubs emerging to prepare young people with the skills necessary to stay on farms.
Benson developed a theme around the four “H’s” on the clover emblem that represented a four-square education and training model of the Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. Timing also play a role as in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed the Country Life Commission to investigate the disconnect between young people and lifestyles in farming and as a result, Mr. Benson’s model was officially adopted by county and state leaders in the nation’s capital.
Since that adoption of the 4-H clover over 100 years ago, the organization has experienced many changes, including expanding programming to include topics not related to agriculture. Although evolution is constant, the value of Making the Best Better remains today.
In fact, during the 2018-2019 school year, Iowa 4-H programming reached 90,998 participants, with 22,536 youth ages 4th through 12th grade being club members. An additional 8,027 youth in Kindergarten through 3rd grade were members of Clover Kids clubs. 100 extension offices operated in the state to serve youth in all 99 counties.
For more information on 4-H programming or club membership in your area, contact your local extension office.