Quietly, without fanfare, 4-H camps take place across the Mountain State each summer. Most of them are annual county events, often separated into younger and older camps, while a few are state camps at West Virginia University's Jackson’s Mill, in Jane Lew.
All such camps are experiences in friendship, youth development and leadership, providing a wholesome and always fun approach to “learning by doing.â€
Early 4-H leaders in West Virginia figured out what many miss about young people, namely that they wanted to learn but in a way that they felt valued.
4-H invites youth to be key players in their own development and progress, thinking through the process of completing a yearly 4-H project or participating in their county’s annual 4-H camp. They respond eagerly to such opportunities, because they become invested in them personally.
This year, my 9-year-old son was eligible to attend his first 4-H camp in Preston County. Several years had passed since I had served on the volunteer staff there, and the camp was well managed by the county’s 4-H agent, David Hartley.
He divided responsibilities with the staff, while still tending to young campers in their first week away from home, listening intently to an occasional homesick camper or tending to a stubbed toe. 4-H agents are part business manager, part nurse and in all things a role model who sets the tone for the entire camp.
4-H has always combined a reverence for tradition with keeping up with the times, so it came as no surprise that this year’s camp included a STEM class, taught by a WVU student.
But what impressed me most of all was that so many youngsters could go without their cell phones and tablets for a week. 4-H camp has always kept campers busy with a daily schedule that both keeps them occupied with a diverse range of activities while allowing for short breaks and free time.
In short, the campers don’t have time to be bored and don’t even miss their electronic devices much.
The first 4-H camp in the United States took place in 1915 in Randolph County and was called "Camp Good Luck.†Few could have imagined that this camp would lead to a national movement for youth development that began in rural areas and expanded to towns and cities across the country and to 70 countries around the world.
As a result, West Virginia’s neighborly values and concern for young people have affected innumerable lives through the 4-H program invented here 110 years ago.
Stephen N. Reed is a former radio host on WCHS Radio.
