AMES, Iowa -- One quilt and one afternoon made all the difference for a Butler County 4-H’er.

The pink, blue and green zig zag children’s quilt was Laura Edeker’s home improvement exhibit for the county fair. The day was May 25, 2008.

“My family lives in Parkersburg, but we were in Clarksville that afternoon at my grandparents’, so I could work on my quilt,” Edeker wrote in her exhibit report.

She’d learned the basics of quilt making at a 4-H workshop. She’d learned to sew straight lines and triangles, and make mitered corners — not bad for a fifth grader. On this particular afternoon, her grandmother was helping her with the binding.

“It was lucky that I decided to sew my quilt at my grandma’s that day,” Edeker wrote. “While I had been busily working on my quilt, our house in Parkersburg had been completely destroyed by an F5 tornado, with barely anything left to salvage. It was hard to believe that everything was gone, but we were so thankful that we weren’t at home when it happened.”

She added, “Now whenever I look at my quilt, I will not only remember the hard work I put into it, but I will also remember the day I finished it, and how much my life changed in just one afternoon.”

Edeker earned a purple ribbon and the right to exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, but her quilt has far more meaning than any ribbon can convey.

Edeker is a member of the Albion Dandy Dozen 4-H club, said Crystal Griffin, Iowa State University Extension’s 4-H youth coordinator for Butler County. Several Butler County 4-H youth and adult leaders lost their homes and possessions in the tornado, Griffin said. In many cases, 4-H helped them deal with all that had happened — restoring a sense of normalcy as they got back into the routine of working on their fair exhibits and participating in their club activities.

“4-H is more than just ribbons at the fair,” Griffin said. “4-H is like a huge family.”

When someone connected to 4-H is in need, Griffin explained, the other “family” members come together to help. They donated clothes and money to those who had lost everything. In addition they gave of their time — 4-H youth and adults from other clubs and other counties helped clean up the mess the tornado left in its wake.

4-H also helps young people get ready for whatever their future may hold in store, added Mitchell Hoyer, a program coordinator with ISU Extension 4-H Youth Development.

“4-H’ers learn leadership, citizenship, communication and other life skills,” Hoyer said. “They select projects based on their interests, abilities and maturity. 4-H’ers have fun learning in partnership with caring adults. They also have opportunities to meet and work with other youth throughout their county, across the state and from around the United States. For many 4-H’ers, interests they develop through 4-H lead to future careers or lifelong pursuits.”

Many 4-H’ers attest that 4-H has been life-changing.

Butler County 4-H’er Rebecca Abbas said, “When I started 4-H, I was scared of talking in front of people. Since I have held offices and done working exhibits through 4-H, my communication skills have improved a lot. I will definitely be able to use those skills in my future career as a veterinarian.”

Abbas is a graduate of Aplington-Parkerburg High School and is majoring in animal science/pre-veterinary medicine at Iowa State University.

Franklin County 4-H’er Taylor Collins said, “The utmost important skill 4-H has taught me over the last nine years is community service.  4-H has given me the drive and passion for a lifelong career in service.  This passion is why I want to major in elementary education with a literary endorsement and become a Title 1 reading teacher.”

A recent graduate of Hampton-Dumont High School, Collins is attending the University of Northern Iowa.

One quarter of Iowa’s young people in grades 4 through 12 are involved in 4-H. They can belong to 4-H individually or as members of clubs and groups.

Gov. Chet Culver has officially proclaimed Oct. 5-11, 2008, as National 4-H Week in Iowa. The Iowa 4-H program is a part of ISU Extension and headquartered on the campus in Ames. For more information about 4-H or how to get involved, contact the local county office of ISU Extension.

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