The Michigan 4-H History Collection
In celebration of the 2002 centennial of 4-H in the United States, the Michigan
4-H Foundation, Michigan 4-H Youth Development and the MSU Museum initiated
the Michigan 4-H History Project under the direction of LuAnne Kozma,
Asst. Curator of Folk Arts, MSU Museum and Coordinator, FOLKPATTERNS Project
and Betsy Knox, 4-H Program Leader. The project's purpose is to document
the history of Michigan 4-H, through collecting objects related to Michigan's
4-H history and through recorded oral history interviews with individuals
who are or were connected to Michigan's 4-H youth program from the years
1908 to present. Topics covered by the project include Michigan 4-H organizational
history, statewide events, conservation, community service, clothing and
textiles, foods and nutrition, cultural heritage, arts, crafts, woodworking,
entomology, gardening, forestry, international exchange, canning, television,
technology, communications, agriculture, livestock, and animal projects.
To date the collections include handmade projects by 4-H youth including
textiles (such as 4-H aprons, tea towels, clothing, and quilts that depict
the group's history and interests), woodworking objects (such as bookends,
wastebaskets), displays (on such topics as wildflower identification,
insects, or electrical projects), and commercially- or mass-produced ephemera
affiliated with 4-H (such as posters, mugs, buttons, trophies and ribbons).
In addition, the collections contain photos, videos, audio tapes of interviews,
field notes, tape indexes, 4-H bulletins, scrapbooks, handwritten materials,
posters, letters, award certificates, 4-H record books, and other ephemera.
Donors:
Current and retired Michigan 4-H staff members, MSU Museum staff, 4-H
volunteer leaders, and 4-H youth members.
Related Collections:
4-H History Collections located at the Michigan
State University Archives and Historical Collections, Conrad Hall, Michigan
State University.
Exhibitions:
"The Michigan 4-H History Project: Celebrating 100 Years of 4-H," Michigan
State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, April 2002-February 2003
and 4-H Kettunen Center, Tustin, Michigan, dates TBD.
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