ADLC's 4-H Clubs are saddling up for fair season

August is fair season in Montana, and in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County that means it’s time for local 4-H Club members, parents and leaders alike to saddle up and ride to the Powell County Fairgrounds in Deer Lodge for a wide-open range of animal- and project-based learning activities.

It all starts on Saturday, Aug. 12 with Fair Set-Up, which may not sound exciting but the ADLC 4-H Leaders Council is hosting a lunch that day from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the proceeds to go to the Tri-County Fair Board for 4-H projects. Then on Sunday, Aug. 13 is the 4-H Horse Show at 9 a.m. at the fairgrounds, and on Tuesday, Aug. 15 there’s the 4-H Runway Extravaganza at 6:30 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre in Deer Lodge.

The fair then gets into full swing on Wednesday, Aug. 16 as the Exhibit Building will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Exhibit Building will be closed to the public during judging on Thursday, Aug. 17, but reopen on Friday, Aug. 18 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 20 from 8 a.m. to noon. Beyond the exhibits, activities at the fair include the ranch rodeo at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, club boxing at 7 p.m. on Thursday, a drill team performance at 7:45 p.m. on Friday followed by a rodeo and calf scramble, a tractor pull at 2 p.m., mutton busting at 5 p.m. and a rodeo at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Quiz Bowl at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

But for 4-H Club members, what the fair represents is the culmination of a year’s worth of effort to hone their skills and learn new ones.  

“As we roll into the 2023 Tri-County Fair, each 4-H program is buzzing with excitement as they get close to seeing the fruition of a year of dedication and hard work,” said Kayleen Kidwell, the Montana State University Extension Agent for ADLC. “4-H is unique in that it allows each 4-H member, parent and volunteer to provide program direction, learn about negotiation and cooperation, and develop leadership skills that will serve them in adulthood. There is a reason that 4-H is the largest out-of-school youth development program in Montana and is a proud tradition that thousands of families have entrusted the growth of their children to.”

So, what is 4-H exactly? While the basis for 4-H dates back to the 19th century, its name originates from the “4-H pledge” written by Otis E. Hall in Kansas in 1918 and adopted in 1927 as the organization’s original motto: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.” Hence the four H letters on the organization’s familiar four-leaf clover symbol stand for “Head, Heart, Hands and Health.” 

Now administered in the U.S. by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture through land-grant universities, including MSU, the program centers around youth development – not only through agriculture but through citizenship, healthy living, STEM, the arts and other fields through hands-on activities.

Ultimately though, 4-H is about the people who got involved “To Make the Best Better,” in the words of the program’s current motto.

“4-H runs on the dedication and passion of its volunteers and I would like to extend my gratitude to the 4-H members, parents, volunteers, and communities of Anaconda-Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties, as well as the Extension Administration and the Montana 4-H Center for Youth Development in Bozeman that has worked tirelessly to provide guidance and support over the past year,” Kidwell said. “In the words of Franklin Roosevelt, ‘We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.’”

Youth may start enrolling as a Cloverbud between the ages of 5 and 7 years old starting on Oct. 1, and may enroll as a full 4-H member if they are at least 8 years old on Oct. 1, Kidwell said. There are three 4-H Clubs in ADLC: Antelope Gulch Wranglers, run by Carolyn Pasha; Community Friends, run by Jan Torpey; and Montana Clovers, run by Leslie Given.

For more information about 4-H, call the MSU Extension Office for ADLC at (406) 563-4035 or visit the office on the third floor of the courthouse in Anaconda.