Wrapping up the Fun

As I write this I am thinking of the fun we have had this week and all the work ahead of us in the next few hours. But I digress. Let us share what happened today before we talk about tomorrow.

We started this fantastic day with our traditional breakfast and flag raising before heading off to the days activities. With the trekkers making their way back to camp and the adventurers waking up at their camp site the rest of the campers had a special treat. A hay ride to the home of Betsy and Jeff Penn, our 4-H camp's namesake. Their historic home which is right around the corner from the camp is called Chinqua Penn Plantation. It was built by Betsy and Jeff Penn in the 1920's and is filled with artifacts from all their travels around the world. Photos can not be taken in the house but outside, around the grounds is another story. This is considered one of the top ten best preserved historical homes in the state. Both Jeff and Betsy are buried on the grounds of the home they loved so dearly. The Penn's had no children together but loved children so after Jeff's death Betsy ultimately donated the property for the camp we are attending this week. After touring the immense house, the youth took a hike back to camp which highlighted the farming operation of Chinqua Penn.

After the tour it was time for lunch. What more could a child want other than corn dogs at camp. After that it was time to go back to some of our favorite activities. Some people took to the rock climbing wall while others were horseback riding, swimming in the lake, or even line dancing. The day was filled with everyone's favorite activities. Of course we can't forget our final camp store session where everyone got to spend all their money left on their cards.

To wind the day up we had a special dinner. Barbecued chicken, fresh corn on the cob, carrots and peas, creamy scalloped potatoes and rolls were the first course of our final dinner. You would think it couldn't get any better, but you would be wrong. It was followed by fresh peaches served over yellow cake with whipped cream on top. It was so good some of the campers were begging for more.

After dinner we were begging for the rain to stop. It seems after a nearly perfect weather week mother nature decided right before the dance to open up and douse everyone with a much needed storm. Not that it seemed to dappen the campers spirit any becuase they were dancing up a storm. However Morther Nature must have been thinking of the campers because within an hour the storm had passed and we were still able to have our final campfire.
It wouldn't be camp without a traditional camp fire.

Then it was off to the cabins to shower and start getting their gear in order. Many campers were exchanging phone numbers and collecting addresses so they can keep in touch after camp. In the morning we will be tired of packing, excited to come home, and sad to leave all our new friends. It will be a long ride back but we will all have some new memories to share with our loved ones at home.

Stay tuned because there are still a couple of things left to do Friday before we board the buses and we wouldn't want you to miss them.

Middle of the Week Definately Not Middle of the Road

We might have hit the middle of the week but our activities are anything but ordinary today. We started early this morning with a hot breakfast of french toast, sausage, and fresh fruit. As our volunteer Missy said, "it was pretty darn good." Then after our flag raising and cabin cleanup (by the way cabin 7 won the golden faucet for the cleanest cabin, and cabin 3 won the silver toilet seat for the second cleanest cabin) it was off to a day of activities.

The Trekkers, our oldest campers, headed to Pilot Mountain for their overnight adventure. They will have the opportunity to hike, river canoe, repel, and sleep under the stars. Not to mention cook a real campfire dinner over a real wood fire. The adventurer group, the next oldest group of campers, is camping out here at camp. They also had the added opportunity to work on GPS tracking today and Geo caching. Camp has gotten so high-tech.

Tonight our regular campers had the opportunity to take part in our annual camp talent show. We were treated to story telling, duck calls, violin playing, singing, dancing, karate demonstrations, double jointed displays, and much more. Our event was hosted by a pirate, then crashed by yet another pirate who agreed, after a dance, sword fight and parli to agree to share the hosting duties.

After our evening snack some of us had the chance to visit the moon. Staci and the camp staff set up a really neat telescope so that we could view the moon which was very visible in our evening sky. After talking with the man on the moon we headed for the showers. As the campers settled in for a good night's sleep and the counselors settled in for a well deserved rest so that we can get ready for our last full day of adventure.

Swinging into Action on Tuesday

As if yesterday was not enough fun for our campers we had to change things up today. Up being the operative word, as you will see in a moment. Our campers had a traditional breakfast with eggs, bagels and bacon before hitting the road for a whole new set of activites. Of course we had our traditional horses, canoeing and archery activites. Some campers had the chance to hit the arts and crafts shelter for some creative and bizarre tye dyeing fun. Then there were trips to the rock wall, Beaver Pond, and of course the Ropes Courses.

The agents and volunteers took a few moments out of their busy schedules to help shuck fresh corn for Thursday night's dinner and we even got a chance to make our own tye dyed t-shirts. I think they will look awesome.

There are two sets of ropes courses at Betsy-Jeff Penn a low ropes and a high ropes courses. the low ropes course allows youth to work together and develop team working skills to complete tasks. The high ropes courses allows youth to face their fears and try some really neat stuff, about 20 plus feet in the air (they are safely harnessed the entire time with an entire team anchoring them so they can not fall and hit the ground). They have one challenge that allows the youth to climb to the top of a telephone pole and jump to a swing. Another challenge has them climb up to a telephone pole that is horizontal and walk from one end to the other. Also there is a zip line which is really cool watching them fly by. The youth had so much fun and really faced their fears.

After a dinner of chicken pot pie and fresh biscuits, we headed to the flag lowering ceremony. The formal event was done by our youth who read passages about the flags and then had them lowered in an official manor. After flag raising one group headed to the pool area for water sports fun...while the others had campfires and s'mores. Once again it was an action packed day that ended with everyone in a sound sleep as I write this. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Day 1 at Camp Slides By

It was a busy day as our campers hit the ground not necessarily running but sliding by. The morning started with a hot breakfast and flag raising. After it was off to activities. Some campers climbed to new heights on the rock wall while others climed onto horses and galloped off (to the other side of the ring). Our older youth took to the woods for orientiering, canoes for canoeing of course and then there were those who felt swimming in the lake was the way to go. We had swimming tests in the pool, archery and hopefully some rest time.

After a delicious make your own taco dinner it was time for water sports. There were relay races where the youth had to spin around five times, grab a water filled sponge and race down the hill to squeeze the water into a bucket. First team to fill their bucket wins. There were relay races in the swimming pool and a wet parachute game or two. The real event of the night was the slip and slide. As youth hit the plastic sheet they sailed down toward the cabins with water hitting their bodies and grins on their faces. There were shreks of laughter everywhere as everyone played until they were exhausted.

As I type everyone is tucked into their sleeping bags and should be sound asleep resting up for all of tomorrow's action. Stay tuned for more fun notes and photos as we head into our next day of camp.

We're Back!!!!

Robeson County descended on Betsy Jeff Penn Camp Sunday afternoon and we made our presence known. When the buses rolled up, we rolled out and grabbed our stuff and checked in. We had already made new best friends within our group and among the Richmond County 4-H group which picked up along the way.

After moving into the cabins we made our way to the ball field and played all sorts of games to get to know each other. While one group played duck duck goose, another played an updated version of red rover and another played a murder mystery game. We played, ran and laughed until it was time to eat. The counselors cooked hot dogs with baked beans, chips, watermelon and chocolate chunk cookies. It was YUMMMMMMMMY!

After dinner it was time for intros of all the staff and volunteers. We learned some very interesting things about the counselors and had a lot of fun cheering on our county volunteers and agents. The Heritage Dance took the next portion of the night as everypne learned a new version of the Virginia reel and we had fun kicking up our heels. After that it was time for us to drag our weary bodies to the campfire where the counselors sang for us and presented some really funny skits. Then off to bed we went, except for one cabin that had a birthday to celebrate. The girl adventure/trekker group celebrated the birthday of Jasmine Jacobs. She turned thirteen on our first day of camp so we had an ice cream party to celebrate.

At last check all was quiet, everyone was curled up in their beds, sound asleep waiting for the next day of camp to begin.

Lighting Up the Next 100 4-H Years

Thursday is bittersweet when it comes to 4-H Congress. It is the last day that we are together and we know things are winding down. However it is also the day the allows the youth to demonstrate and celebrate their leadership skills, which is why we come to Congress in the first place.

Our morning started with inspiration as our keynote speaker inspired our youth to think of others. After that there were workshops which included topics like ethics and working with youth of different ages and stages.

After a brief lunch break the youth reconvened their meeting for the purpose of state officer elections while the adults met to tied up loose ends and talk about our third year of celebrating our centennial. With 11 running for various offices it was not surprising that two races, President and Reporter, went to a run off election. In the end the youth elected; La as President, as Michael Drake as Vice President, as John Norwood as Secretary and Ann Margaret as Reporter.

As soon as the election was decided we rushed back to the dorms to get ready for the closing banquet. The Robeson County delegation mad either presence known at the banquet as possibly the best dressed 4-H delegation in attendance. At the closing banquet the state officers made their final remarks and welcomed the incoming district and state officers. Then it was off to the Dorton arena for the oaths of offices and candle lighting ceremony.
This traditional event begins with each of the state officers lighting a candle as they take their oath and passing the flame on to district officers and they pass the flame to each youth member in attendance. When they are done passing the flame the candles make up a huge 4-H clover which ushers in the beginning of our new 4-H year.

Of course we can't just end there, we had to celebrate. So to celebrate our outgoing officers, the election of our new state officers, and usher in the next 100 years we had to do what young people like to do best...we had to dance. Everyone kicked off their shoes and enjoyed time with their old friends, new friends, and even their 4-H Agents and Volunteers. It was a celebration to remember as the delegation returned to the dorms around midnight and started packing up. Several members of our delegation are planning to return to Congress next year, wouldn't you like to be part of the fun?

4-H Makes a Difference Everyday

Wednesday is traditionally the hands to service day for 4-H members attending State 4-H Congress. This year was no different as hundreds of 4-Her's from around the state descended on a variety of nonprofit organizations and did anything and everything they could to leave a positive impression on each organization, their clients, and all the citizens of North Carolina.

Robeson County had the opportunity to join forces with Rowan, Polk, Rutherford, and Harnett Counties to make a major difference for UNC-TV. UNC-TV is a public television station located in Research Triangle Park. Like other public television stations UNC-TV is funded through contributions from viewers, corporate sponsors, and volunteers who give their time for various opportunities. Our rather large group took over several areas of the station to lend a whole bunch of hands. In the conference room we took over stuffing envelopes, and getting ready for a mass mailing. In the library we helped arrange books. In the office we helped make copies, and collated paperwork. Outside we washed vehicles, mats and 'lil Roo. For those of you who have been to the state fair you have probably seen the gigantic inflatable kangaroo that greets folks at the fair. Yes, every once in awhile that kangaroo needs a bath, and we had the fun of doing that as part of our service.

Before we left we presented several UNC-TV employees who helped us get the job done, centennial pins and took a group photo of the entire gang. They gave us all water bottles and thanked us for a job well done. Let me also add I was particularly proud of our youth who took part in this project. All day they smiled, asked what else they could do, and had the best attitude of any Congress delegation I have been a part of. They got the job done and left the impression that Robeson County youth are polite hard workers who want to make a positive difference in their world and learn while they are doing it. It was truly a privilege working with them as they accomplished a great deal today.

The afternoon contained one of the youth's favorite activities, free time. They voted to go to the mall and shop and look. After free time we travelled to Johnston County to enjoy a performance by the 4-H Performing Arts Troupe. The Troupe is made up of 4-H members from around the state and they only had six days to practice and put together an original musical performance. The performance highlighted the incredible history and present of 4-H and was absolutely incredible. Robeson County will be purchasing a recorded copy of the performance so that we can share this remarkable performance and talent showcase with all of you.

Stay tuned because we aren't done yet...it is going to be one heck of a celebration on Thursday and we have a lot of business yet to complete.

The Meeting of Leadership and Minds-North Carolina 4-H Congress

This is the event of the 4-H year. State 4-H Congress is going on this week and already in day two we have had some major accomplishments, incredible opportunities, and an insight into the next 100 years of 4-H.

Congress is an annual event for teens. The first day and night are also open to youth who are participating in presentations on the state level. It is an incredible experience for our youth to mingle with youth from across the state and sharpen their life skills during the week. Our delegation this year is made up of Aljaquan Nixon, Camry Ocean, Cierra Buckman, Yazmin Washington, LaQuanwanda Banks, and Jessica McLean. Marilyn Merritt of the Young Leaders 4-H club volunteered to go with the delegation this year.

Monday started with the preliminary items. We drove to Raleigh to the N. C. State Campus, where we stay for the week. After taking care of the paperwork and other registration items we moved into our dorm rooms in the high rise towers. After meetings for youth and adults, then district meetings it was back to the dorms and to the dinning hall for dinner. It really makes you feel like you are in college being part of 4-H Congress.

Dinner led way to the opening ceremony at the Exposition Hall on the State Fairgrounds. We began with the traditional county flag ceremony. Cierra Buckman, our Robeson County County Council President has the honor of carrying our flag in this year. The flag ceremony was followed by the 4-H Honor Society tapping and state 4-H fashion competition before heading back to the dorms.

Tuesday was tapped as the Centennial Celebration day and boy did Robeson County celebrate. We started the day with our 4H State Activity Day at Athens Drive High School. Youth from across the state competed in Presentations and Public Speaking. To get to the state level a youth must win on the county and place first or second on the district levels, before heading to the state competition. Elizabeth Keenum, Camry Ocean and Machiko Hill all competed in public speaking. In the 11-13 age division the competition was extremely difficult and Keenum and Ocean both gave excellent speeches however neither placed in this division. Machicko Hill however received a bronze medal for her efforts in the 9-10 year old age division. Also presenting on Tuesday were Dillon McCartney in soils and Cierra and Bridget Buckman who gave a presentation in dairy foods. Dillon place bronze in his division and the Buckman sisters placed gold in their division.

After presentations we had a few hours to rest up for the big event of the evening the centennial celebration. After touring the 4-H exhibits in the Kerr Scott building and having the opportunity to mingle with famous 4-H alums we headed down to the expo center for the main event of the night. After a buffet dinner the youth had the opportunity to see the North Carolina 4-H Hall of Fame inductees as part of a slide show. We were also treated to a presentation on 4-H's past, present and future. This presentation included a video address from Dan Blue, a Robeson County 4-H member who is now serving as speaker in our North Carolina General Assembly. The evening included excerpts from our 4-H performing arts troupe and a special performance by the Peay Brothers. You may remember the Peay brothers sang as part of the CBS morning Shows Family talent competition and made it all the way to the finals. They performed for us again, reminding our youth that with hard work and by setting goals you can accomplish anything you want. After the centennial song performance the youth headed back to the Kerr Scott Building and settled in for state 4-H officer campaign speeches and a dance. Then it was back to the dorms to rest up for Wednesday and all the fun in store.

Tying a Knot at the Libraries

We did it and so did they. About 100 youth worked with 4-H at the Maxton, Red Springs, and St. Paul's libraries and had a ball (and used a ball of yarn) learning about old fashioned story telling. The youth, and parents as well, got a chance to take a spin on some old fashioned yarn games like handcuffs, witch's broom, cup and saucer, as well as Jacob's ladder. The youth had great big smiles on their faces as they learned the different activities and even adults had a good time reliving their childhood.

This is the last of the library programs for us this year. We had a great time telling everyone about 4-H and inviting them to our centennial programs. We are looking forward to next years programs and hope everyone will join us this year for lots of 4-H fun.

Feathered Friends are Flocking Home

It is the last of the animals that we give out each year in 4-H animal science, our broilers. Broilers are meat chickens that our youth will raise for the fair. Five youth will have the opportunity to bring the best two broilers that they raise, to the Robeson Regional Agricultural fair in October. They are about a week old when we give them out and they will grow incredible fast. In the meantime we will check in and make sure they are growing strong and getting ready for their day in the ring at the fair. Stay tuned as we update you on the growth of the birds and our youth!

Horsin' Around Horse Club takes the Reins at State

This past week 4-H horse enthusiasts from around the state came together for the annual State 4-H Horse Show. Although Robeson County did not have anyone riding in the show we still made people stand up and take notice in the Horse Creative Expression Contest.

Three members of the Horsin' Around 4-H Horse Club entered 6 different pieces of work to take home three awards. Dakota Strickland entered an original photo and took first place in the cloverbud division, receiving a medal for his efforts. Rebekka Girouard and Megan Hurst both juniors entered pieces into the photo and drawing divisions and Megan also completed a painting for the painting division. All of these divisions are very competitive. When the judges had their final say and the points were tallied Rebekka earned a fifth place ribbon for her photograph and Megan earned a fourth place ribbon for her painting.

These 4-H members worked hard on their artistic pieces and deserve a pat on the back for their efforts that show Robeson County youth have incredible talent. We are just glad they took a chance and people across the state took notice of our incredible 4-H youth.

Story Time Gets Creative For Rowland Adults

Thursday was the day to visit the Rowland library and get creatively stringy with them. Today we had a new addition to help us, China Troy who is a summer intern with the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, travelled with our 4-H department to help out with this creative endeavor. A few youth joined us for the weekly story time but something magical also happened. Shortly after story time started a group of developmentally disadvantage adults walked to the library to join us. A few of the adults who came remembered doing this as children and it just took a few pulls of the string in different directions to remind them of all the fun they used to have. Before you knew it everyone had mastered the techniques we were teaching and the adults showed us some new stuff. However after years of making the designs they found it difficult to break it down into steps to teach so we all worked together to make it happen and the next thing you know there were more than a dozen people doing "Jacob's Ladder" in string and a whole lot of smiles to go with it. Stay tuned as our string tour will continue next week with the Maxton, Red Springs and St. Paul's libraries still to come.

Dirt, Worms and Stuff

One of the great things about 4-H is that you learn by doing. You can gain public speaking skills by taking part in a public speaking contest or demonstration speech contest. You learn about animals by taking care of an animal. You learn about the environment by getting in there and getting dirty. That's right getting dirty and that is exactly what we did with about a dozen Scotland County youth on Wednesday.
Kerri Roach, the Horticulture Extension Agent in Robeson County was brave enough to travel over to Scotland and help in the get dirty process (which did not seem like a problem at all for her). The youth were part of the Scotland County 4-H Summer program and seemed eager to see what we had planned.
We started the day with some buggy activities. We learned about the different senses the bugs use by playing the smell game and making bug eyes. Then it was time to address the big black canister in the room. We learned about vermicomposting (composting with worms) and everyone got to see our worms in our worm bin and stir the food that is turning into really rich compost. They learned that worms are vegetarians and all about their habitat. Then we got down and dirty and recycled paper to made paper pulp to make grow cards to give to others. The youth made enough for two cards a peice and even had some extra. So they graciously gave those grow cards to the Scotland County Extension staff to have and plant.
After lunch (and a kinda neat video about tropical rain forests) we went outside and did some selective pruning of plants so that we could make some plant pounding artwork. Who knew that hammers in hands would put such a smile on their faces? After the dust and smells settled from that project we devised our own hamburger plants and learned that every part of a hamburger is derived from a plant. Then we checked out some bugs and played a few more games before calling it a day.
We had a lot of fun and everyone learned something new to take home with them. What more could you ask from a dirty wormy kind of day?

Getting Even More Creative

Tuesday was filled with even more 4-H and library fun as we visited Fairmont and Proctorville libraries. The gathered around as we shared this old fashioned story time illustration technique with them. Some of the parents and grandparents even got into the act and dusted off their skills to show us things like cat's whiskers and Jacob's ladder. The event promoted a whole new level of communication between the adults and youth as we had a great time at both libraries. Stay tuned as we visited every library in Robeson County to "Be Creative" with our youth.

Get Creative with 4-H and the Library!

Summer is one of the best times of year for 4-H. We are busy trying to meet as many youth as we can and tell them about 4-H and some of the things we offer. One way we do that is by partnering with the library and helping out with their weekly story time at all eight public library branches in Robeson County.
Our first stop this year, the Pembroke and Lumberton libraries. We worked with more than 100 youth who ranged in age from 3 to 15 on all sorts of neat things. Everyone had the opportunity to learn about 4-H and what the 4-H's stand for. They can also tell you what our logo is, what our official colors are and the secret about our logo so you know it is our official logo. They also got a really cool, official, 4-H sticker for their hard work learning about the 4-H's.
After that they worked on practicing a type of story telling. They learned that back before television and other modern conveniences people told stories to entertain each other. Often they would illustrate their stories with a piece of yarn or string that they turned into different shapes. As time has gone on many people who learned to do this as a child have forgotten as adults. So now it is up to the youth to learn and reteach the adults. The youth were ready for the task.
Each learned how to use their yarn to play a game of capture with someone and then how to let them loose again. They also learned how to make a witches broom and make a cup and saucer just by twisting and turning the yarn across their fingers between their hands. We even had a few string artists who were able to do Jacobs ladder and a few other really neat tricks.
The neatest trick of all was on that a day care leader from Pembroke showed us. She made our yarn magic yarn. We took our yarn piece and folded it three times, smoothed it out with our hands and put it in our pockets. Then it was disappearing yarn.
We will have the opportunity to meet with youth at other libraries over the next few weeks and we are looking forward to sharing this type of creative story telling with them also.

Mini-Society Rules! In So Many Ways....

It was a program specifically made for a 4-H mini-day camp, Mini-Society. The program allows youth to create their own government, financial system and business, while they accidentally learn about money management, citizenship, and marketing. Each day is filled with fun and exciting adventures that they create and allow to run the course.
On Monday they voted on their town flag, money design and conducted interviews for important jobs like banker, money cutters, county council President and more. It was a day of deciding what their society would be like, who could come and go, and how decisions would be made. The youth also worked on their posters for their businesses which would open on Tuesday.
After job assignments on Tuesday and having a brief county council meetings to discuss issues the group got ready and opened their businesses. They even voted to allow some outsiders to come in and spend money (mainly office staff). They had some creative businesses, from a beauty shop to a gift shop, a food store to a technology shop you could find almost anything your heart desired. After the stores closed it was time for the auction. The money they made could be used to buy other items put up on the auction block. They had the opportunity to auction items as well. It was a true free capital program in full force.
Wednesday it was time to learn about managing money and writing checks. Each you got the opportunity to learn about checking accounts and how to balance them. They also got to open their stores again and sell more items. During the county council meeting they put in a request for a special friend to come visit. After voting for it, the group received a special visit from our official 4-h county dog, Manny. He was very happy to see everyone and help them end their busy and profitable day.
Thursday was field trip day. After an exciting visit to the Robeson County Board of Elections (to add to their citizenship skills), the group traveled to Lumberton City Hall. While there they met with the new City Attorney, got a chance to meet the Mayor and see the room where City Council meetings are conducted. After their graduation lunch the group travelled back to the O. P. Owens Agricultural Center and wrapped up business for this year. A good time was had by all and everyone really enjoyed this 4-H day camp again this year.