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4-H, county fair make for a perfect fit By TRACY KIEL While the four DeHart siblings have a variety of hobbies and interests, this summer they have a unique activity in common. They are all building rockets in their living-room. The children of Dave and Jane DeHart have been 4-H members for six to seven years and belong to the Garfield Climbers club. They are each building a rocket as part of a club project for the county fair in August. The rockets are made from kits purchased in stores and are comprised primarily of plastic, cardboard, and wood. In addition to the club project of the rockets, the DeHarts are taking a variety of individual projects to the fair. Four-H members who submit projects have over 50 categories to choose from. These include areas such as animals, gardening, arts and crafts, performing arts, and food. For most of the categories, members will be judged on their projects and then receive a blue, red, or white ribbon and, perhaps, a small monetary prize. Also, in most categories there will be an award given out for champion, grand-champion, reserve grand-champion, and reserve champion, with one person going on to the State Fair. The DeHarts will be entering projects in a variety of categories. Megan, 11, will be submitting a cross-stitch picture of a cat. She also plans to sew a pillow with the help of her grandma. She is planning to put the pillow together in squares like a quilt. Meganıs favorite project is her marionette, which she will submit in the arts and crafts category. She had made it for a communications class as part of a book-talk and had planned to submit it last year but had forgotten it at home. The only problem with it now, she said, is that she isnıt sure where it is at the moment. However, she is confident she will find the puppet before the fair. Daniel, 15, is bringing a model airplane in the aerospace category. He made the SR71 Blackbird from a kit and has spent hours putting it together, he said. ³Itıs a lot of little details you have to do,² he said. If the directions arenıt followed precisely, the airplane wonıt work. There is a bloopers category, where students can enter projects that have been ruined beyond repair as long as they can explain to the judges what went wrong. However, Daniel wonıt be entering anything in that category this year. He did have to redo two pieces on a clock he is submitting in the shop category, though. Daniel is also submitting a step-stool that he made in his industrial tech class at school, a project that took him two and a half months to complete. He is also planning to submit projects in the arts and crafts category as well as in food and nutrition, but he is not yet sure what the projects will involve. Sheila, 13, plans to submit projects in areas such as needle art, clothing, and food and nutrition. Mark, 16, is only submitting one project, the rocket. ³I like doing projects like that,² he said. However, he has become increasingly busy with baseball, work, and church activities, having less time to devote to 4-H projects. While there is no cost to enter projects in the fair, 4-H members do have to pay for the project materials. Rocket kits usually start at $8, but the price increases into the $20 and $30 range with the quality of rocket. Although the children keep the prize money, Jane said she and Dave primarily pay the bill for project materials. ³And who gets the check when it comes back? Them,² she said with a laugh. Megan said her grandma has also helped pay for materials. With so many projects to finish during the summer, it is difficult for the 4-H members not to procrastinate. ³They tell you how bored they are all day long,² Jane said. She keeps trying to persuade her children to work on their projects. While some projects like the step-stool and marionette have been finished for quite some time, other projects in the categories of food, nutrition and gardening can not be started until just before the fair. However, other projects need to be finished or started while there is still time. ³Itıs hard,² Daniel said. ³You try putting it off, and it starts getting too late.² Mark, Daniel, and Megan all still have some work to do on their rockets. ³There is plenty of time that I should be able to get it done,² Daniel said, ³If I donıt have to mow lawn.² Megan and Daniel have already begun to plan ahead for the fair next year. Megan wants to bring her two cats, or she plans to play piano in the performing arts category. Daniel is interested in model cars and wants to build one for the fair. The DeHart family finds many benefits in submitting 4-H projects. ³You learn to think and just use your hands,² Mark said. ³Youıve got to have patience.² ³You learn to do a lot of things on your own and not depend on other people,² Daniel said. He has had help with some of his projects; for instance, his shop teacher helped him with the step-stool. However, he has done the majority of work on his own, he said. Megan said she has learned to do a lot of things through 4-H projects. She has learned to cook from projects in the past and sometimes cooks supper now. In addition to cooking, the DeHart siblings have learned and will learn skills in a variety of areas ranging from cross-stitching to wood-working. ³Thereıs so many things they wouldnıt learn if they didnıt have 4-H,² Jane said. ³They wouldnıt know anything about rockets.²
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