Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Friday, June 21, 2024
The mother of 4-H. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. You work hard to provide for your family. Make sure you maximize your family's financial security regarding your trust, estate, and asset management. This is John Jacobson. Protect your family's financial interests for generations. Learn more about security national banks, trust and asset management services. Go to snbconnect.com for more. I look forward to earning your trust. Investment and insurance products are not FDIC insured, not a bank deposit. Not bank guaranteed may lose value, not insured by any federal government agency. Celestia Josephine Field was born on Sunnyside Farm near Shenandoah on June 21, 1881. Her mother was also named Celestia Josephine, so the newborn was known throughout her life as Jesse. At age 19, Jesse Field was hired to teach at Clarinda's Golden Rod School. She felt that rural children needed more connections with each other than they were getting. So she began holding informal after-school lessons in what became the Boys Corn Club and Girls Home Club. She continued her own education and wound up as a school principal in Montana. Before long, her older brother Henry Field, who was himself getting quite a reputation for his seed company, showed and asked her to move back home because the job of Page County Country School Superintendent was open. She got the job in 1906. She continued working with students outside of school and to reward those who excelled. In 1910, she designed a three-leaf clover pin with a letter H on the leaves, standing for head, hands and heart. Later, a fourth leaf was added, originally standing for home and later health. Soon, these 4-H clubs spread to other areas, and by 1914, a national 4-H organization was born. Jesse Field moved to New York City in 1913 to become National Secretary of the YWCA. She returned to Southwest Iowa in 1917, married, and voted the rest of her working life to family and connecting with homemakers via programs on her brother's radio station. She died in 1971 at the age of 89, after breaking her hip in a fall which then led to pneumonia. More than 25 million young people have participated in 4-H in the century it has been in existence. The mother of 4-H, Jesse Field-Champa, was born near Shenandoah on this date in 1881. And that's Iowa Almanac for June 21st. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.